This small car, which is a touch taller than a Yaris, has the same safety and entertainment as its bigger rivalsThe Aygo X has the sort of peppy, eager performance that makes city cars so much fun to drive at low speeds, but it’s not quite up to par with rivals.In time this car may come to represent the peak of the SUV crossover craze. Here we have a fully fledged city car, designed for urban life, yet dressed with off-road design cues.
If there is a single styling trait that seems to signify mock-SUV in the auto market, it is plastic wheel-arch claddingMore likely, there would be a need to base any bans on a vehicle’s emissions, weight, height or length. In all these instances, some “regular” cars are likely to fall foul while models like the Aygo X will clearly slip through net.If there is a single styling trait that seems to signify mock-SUV in the auto market, it is plastic wheel-arch cladding.
For all its SUV pretensions, when it comes to living with this car, the real pinch-point is in the rear, where legroom is cramped, similar to the back seats of a sports car. You get your first warning when you reach for the rear door handle, which is nearly part of the rear light cluster. While rear seat passengers don’t get much joy in the Aygo X, the real improvement is up front, where the car feels a lot more spacious, akin to a proper family hatchback. A completely revamped dash also delivers far more spurts of colour than the usual sea of hard black plastics that’s a trademark of small Asian cars.
Aygo X comes with Toyota’s Safety Sense 2 package. This includes features such as a pre-collision system that can detect other vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. At first it issues an audible warning if it suspects a collision is imminent, and then boosts the brake force if the driver responds.