Toyota Aygo X review: new city car, OLD engine?

We test the new, 2022 Toyota Aygo X - can its charm overcome the dated engine?

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Toyota’s Aygo X city car has been released at a time when many brands are leaving the segment. So with more opportunity to steal a significant slice of the market, what does Toyota’s latest model offer to tempt you from the likes of the Volkswagen up! or Hyundai i10?

Unlike its predecessor, which shared tech with the mechanically identical Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108, this time the Japanese giant’s city car has gone it alone. To make the most of the brand’s in-house know-how, the Aygo is based on a shortened version of the platform used by the Yaris. The Aygo X is quite a bit longer than its predecessor, however, but at 3.7 metres, it’s still a compact city-focused machine - albeit one with an SUV inspired twist. A jacked-up body and plastic body protection give it a more serious look, but despite the new underpinnings, the Aygo X uses a 1.0-litre three-cylinder motor that traces its roots all the way back to the original, 2005 Aygo. Will this be its undoing? Nicola Hume finds out in this full review.

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[DrPhibes]

The engine may not be powerful but they are bullet proof

[williamegler]

Who cares if the engine is "OUTDATED".
It does everything asked of it and with proper maintenance it will last for eons.

[kenzohkw]

Best 3 cylinder ever made. Near 60mpg every day. No other 3 cylinder comes close to its reliability and simple servicing.

[dashcam]

An old bullet proof engine that will not blow up because it has a turbo strapped to it .
Simple, reliable, engineering.
Thank you Toyota 😊

[terence]

Makes more sense than any electric car.

[nathanb]

The engine might be outdated, but it's good to see firms like Toyota are still committed to making small city cars in a time of electrification 😃👍

[colinrenfrew]

So, it’s not a £30k EV city car? Looks great, plenty of tech and fun to drive in real conditions. Big thank you, Toyota!

[richardcarter]

I like it. Keep it simple, no hybrid, EV nonsense. Simple, light, cheap.

[TrickyWoo]

I had an Aygo years ago and it returned more than 600 miles from a full tank! Can't argue with that! 👍👍👍

[bankruptpensioner]

There is a good reason why the car is cheap and the car has not been through significant changes and therefore manufacturing and dev costs are at a minimum. It does not need a new engine, this triple is wonderful and does the job really well. The problem today is that we set an expectation to end users that they need a car that does 0-60 in 3 seconds and has a top speed of 180mph. For most, this level of performance is simply not required and this is the reason why cars are so expensive and can only be purchased via a PCP agreement. Conspiracy maybe :) More cars should be like the aygo, back to basics and relatively cheap to own.

[gsonz]

They should have put the 90hp engine of the Yaris Hybrid in this car, just without the electric part, then it would be perfect.

[peteg]

Faster and more roomy than my old VW Beetle, and we all loved them back in the day. 20 seconeds to 60.

[jamesmccormack]

For some one looking for a first car or just a city run around for the shops etc this is perfect! Never understood why manufacturers never put effort in to small cars. When ever the launch a small car is sells well until they start making them bigger with every model update and folks stop buing them cause they are no longer small cars. City cars like the original polo are now as big as golf's and yet demand for the up! Is crazy. Then the original 206 sold in buckets then they made it to the swollen 207 and it stopped selling as well, then the new 208 is smaller and its selling like hot cakes again? The mini (wen mini size) sold so well? the original Ds3, was everywhere then boom they ruined that buy making its a weird suv thing?? And the 500 its small and wasn't the best car but still sold in millions. Cause some people want or need small city cars. This I hope does well for Toyota. (Sorry for the semi rant there haha)

[logandw]

I have peugeot 108 with 1.2 engine and its a pain in the back side. Thinking about making a jump to aygo x. At first this review put me off but the comments about engine being bulletproof are very encouraging !

[jonessenoj]

Tried and tested across Peugeot and citroen too, and a quick search on Autotrader will show you they last easy 10yrs with proper maintenance, we have a 17yr old one and a 5yr old one. Easy to service yourself! £50 per year for parts, cheap for spares and plenty of them in the scrap yards as they get older (youngsters crashing them). As comments below no stupid turbo to blow up. No dpf's to clog up, no battery pack to lose power etc also No cambelt!!! ... nippy enough and fun on those back roads! Great car ! NOW 10YR WARRANTYS if you keep up maindealer service's! Already has 5yrs! Which you won't need!

[colinwirral]

I am 76 and I have not stalled it, nor have I used too many revs, it’s called clutch control all cars used to have less than the 71 bhp of this delightful city car. I get 60 mpg on a run and it runs happily at 70 plus on the motorway. If you want roomy rear seats and more performance then buy a bigger car!

[meloaleo]

THANK YOU TOYOTA BULLETPROOF OLD RELIABILITY

[Ziggyziggy]

This is just a perfect car, for most people.

[Rapscallion]

I think the review rather misses the point of this model. It starts at 15k and even with all the toys is barely 20k. Yet I don't think they mentioned price at all. It's an inexpensive car. And god bless Toyota for that.

[polopowered]

2:16 Looks an iQ. Which is the ultimate compliment. The iQ could still hold its own today...