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Fleet form, pleasing details, compact dimensions - with the new Aygo X, Toyota presents a pretty city car.
Photo: Jayson Fong / Toyota
The first impression:
plastic strips on the fenders, a two-tone paintwork in contrasting colors and a little more ground clearance - the Toyota Aygo X is supposed to be a small SUV.
That's what the manufacturer says:
The clientele for small cars consists not only of nursing services and pizza deliverers - and they deserve more than boring cars.
Toyota designer Ken Billes is convinced of this.
With a few robust strokes and tweaks, he has brought the Japanese entry-level model close to an SUV.
"We're demonstrating that even a small car can have a big, proud personality," he says.
The car also expresses its new character with the suffix X.
The result is perhaps the first SUV that no longer deserves fundamental criticism.
Because this vehicle doesn't waste space and doesn't tread aggressively.
Toyota is following the trend with its SUV bonds.
Otherwise, the Aygo X does not seem to fit in with the times.
Just because it is so compact - most manufacturers have said goodbye to this size class.
The costs for exhaust gas cleaning and the necessary assistance systems are considered by many to be too high.
Good margins are hardly possible, says VW boss Herbert Diess.
VW is therefore only building the Up as an electric car and is reportedly considering canceling the Polo.
Opel's Karl and Adam models are already history, the Ka has disappeared from Ford, the 107 from Peugeot and the C1 from Citroën.
The latter two have so far rolled off the assembly line together with the Toyota Aygo.
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So far, Renault Twingo, Fiat Panda and 500, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto and Mitsubishi Space Star have survived.
The last three models can still be sold in large numbers, especially in India and some Asian emerging countries.
In contrast to these models, the Toyota Aygo is completely European and that makes it more expensive: it is developed in Brussels, designed in Nice and produced in Kolin, Czech Republic.
Retiring the model line was out of the question for Toyota, says Andrea Carlucci, Toyota's marketing director in Europe.
The so-called A segment is still important for Toyota.
“We brought a lot of new customers to the brand here.” Customers who later buy a different, sometimes larger and more expensive car – including one from Toyota.
That's what we noticed:
One forward, one back - and out!
No parking sensors are needed to maneuver the 3.70 meter long Aygo X out of a gap.
The five-door is smaller than any other Toyota.
He turns in a circle of just 9.40 meters.
It is helpful when maneuvering that the driver sits noticeably higher than in other city cars.
Specifications Toyota Aygo X
Manufacturer | Toyota |
Type | Aygo X |
body | small car |
engine | Three-cylinder turbocharged petrol direct injection |
displacement | 998cc |
system performance | 53 kW / 72 hp |
torque | 93 Nm |
transmission | 5-speed manual transmission |
drive | front wheel drive |
From 0 to 100 | 15.6 sec |
maximum speed | 158km/h |
consumption | 4.8L/100km |
fuel | great |
CO2 emissions | 108g/km |
Length/ width/ height in mm | 3700/ 1740/ 1510 |
Weight | 1015kg |
trunk | 231 liters |
rebuilt | 829 liters |
Price | 15,390 euros |
Except for the usual hard plastic - after all, it is painted in two colors - the Aygo X doesn't look like a small car inside.
The vehicle looks tidy, the displays are digitized except for the speedometer.
Knee and shoulder room at the front exceed expectations.
To the rear it is tighter, but the back seat is no longer an impertinence for children.
Adults will continue to complain about small rear doors and small seat pitch.
The trunk has grown by 60 liters, which means at least one more bag when shopping and another bag on the way to vacation.
Because the Aygo X also has a longer wheelbase and a wider track, it stands solidly on the road and drives more relaxed.
If you don't demand the three-cylinder engine excessively, you'll forget after a few meters that you're sitting in the smallest Japanese car.
You have to know that:
The Japanese made the first two Aygo generations on a common platform with the Peugeot 107 and Citroën C1.
Now they use the slightly larger Toyota Yaris.
Its floor assembly is shortened, the wheelbase is reduced by 30 centimeters and the length by 24 centimeters.
What remains is the solid chassis for a small car and many extras that are not common in this class.
For example, LED headlights, heated seats or cloud-based navigation.
With a basic price of 15,390 euros, the Aygo X is around 2000 euros more expensive than its predecessor.
This is where the basic problem of the segment becomes apparent: even a small car is often no longer a cheap car.
For that reason alone, the Aygo will probably lose some fans.
The 72 hp engine (one liter displacement, 92 Nm torque) struggles a bit with the 1015 kilos of the Aygo.
From 0 to 100 km/h in 15.6 seconds and at full throttle 158 km/h - even in city traffic the Aygo X is not lively.
While customers can choose between manual and continuously variable transmissions, there is no alternative to the engine.
Toyota no longer offers small diesels, a hybrid is too expensive in this class.
We won't forget that:
the app that enables remote access to the car.
It can be used to check the fuel level from the kitchen table and determine where the car is.
That may seem unimportant to some - but it shows how a car from the battered small car segment is looking for its way into the future.
