Toyota Aygo X review

The Toyota Aygo X is here to prove that there’s still a place for affordable small cars – and they don't have to be electric to be nippy and cheap to run.

Indeed, if you're thinking of buying an Aygo X as an urban runaround, you might also be considering electric cars. True, there’s the attractively priced Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03, but many rivals still demand a bigger investment from the get-go. 

Toyota’s smallest and cheapest model started out with a simple 1.0-litre petrol engine. However, the Aygo X has gone through a significant mid-life update and has managed to shoehorne the full-hybrid setup found in the bigger Toyota Yaris. 

That involved redesigning the front to make room for a bigger engine and repackaging the rear underpinnings to accommodate a battery.

While there aren’t any direct hybrid rivals, there are plenty of petrol-powered alternatives, including the Dacia Sandero, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto and Suzuki Swift.

Toyota Aygo X video review

Despite its mildly rugged looks, the Aygo X isn't blessed with four-wheel drive. Sure, there’s plastic cladding on the wheel arches, but this isn't a car with any notable off-road ability. It's designed to be easy and enjoyable to drive on the road.

So, how do we rate the Toyota Aygo X against the best small cars? Read on to find out...

What’s new?

- September 2025 - New hybrid version introduced with the lowest emissions of any non-plug-in car on sale, at an estimated 86g/km. 1.0-litre petrol model discontinued.
- October 2024 - Special edition Aygo X JBL features 300-watt audio system, silver-black paint and alloy wheels 
- March 2024 - Aygo X Undercover is a limited edition with two-tone grey paint, 18in alloys and red accents

The Toyota Aygo X combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor to produce a combined power output of 114bhp. This full hybrid setup is the same as what you’d get in the bigger Toyota Yaris and drastically improves the performance over earlier versions of the Aygo X, with a 0-62mph time of 9.2sec (rather than 14.9sec previously).

It doesn’t leap off the line quite as eagerly as the Yaris - the Aygo X has been tuned to accelerate more gradually to help provide a smoother driving experience in the stop-start conditions of city driving. However, there’s plenty of muscle on the move to keep up with other cars and you can overtake slower traffic with more confidence than any Kia Picanto or Suzuki Swift.

That means it has a similar get-up-and-go to the turbocharged version of the Hyundai i10 to haul you out of bends and scale inclines without prolonged downwards pressure on the accelerator pedal.

Being a hybrid also means the Aygo X is only available with an automatic gearbox. It’s responsive enough and helps deliver a smooth power delivery.

The Aygo X's tight turning circle makes low-speed manoeuvres easy. It also handles neatly, resisting body lean in bends, and while the steering response could be sharper, the well-judged weighting helps you place the car accurately on the road. It's more fun than a Sandero, although the larger Seat Ibiza handles in a more sophisticated fashion.

The GR Sport comes with slightly stiffer suspension and tweaked steering to sharpen up the response, but the difference is negligible. Thankfully, it doesn’t have a negative effect on ride comfort, either. The ride in all versions is fairly firm but it rounds off bumps at low speeds in a controlled manner. On the motorway it can struggle to settle down and become a bit choppy at times.

The hybrid system allows the Aygo X to drive with the engine off for very short distances at low speeds, so it can make for quiet progress. The three-cylinder engine fades at motorway speeds and, while it is vocal when accelerating, at least you don’t need to work it hard for long. There’s some engine vibration but it’s vastly reduced over the earlier 1.0-litre version.

Road noise is kept in check, but wind noise grows markedly at motorway speeds, mainly from around the front door pillar and – if fitted – the sliding fabric roof. When it rains, the retractable roof also gives you the pitter-patter sound you get in a tent.

Despite the brake pedal needing to combine the regenerative braking system (which harvests back energy to help recharge the battery) with regular friction brakes, the positive and linear response makes it easy to bring the Aygo X to a smooth stop. You can slide the gear-lever into a B mode to increase the braking strength but it’s not strong enough to bring the car to a complete halt.

"The Hybrid version of the Aygo X has drastically improved one of its previous shortcomings. I like that the added punch means it no longer feels out of its depth once you leave town" — Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

The Toyota Aygo X's driver's seat is height-adjustable and the steering wheel and pedals line up neatly with one another. Sadly, the wheel adjusts only for height (not reach), so you might struggle to get completely comfortable. We'd advise a test drive before buying.

Behind the wheel you'll find a 7.0in digital drivers display showing useful information including your speed in digits, fuel economy and what proportion of your journey has been covered on electric power. It's a simple but effective arrangement.

The air-con controls are easy to use, and forward visibility is excellent, helped by big door mirrors and relatively narrow windscreen pillars. True, the chunky rear pillars and small rear window make seeing out of the back tricky, but all versions come with a rear-view camera as standard to help when parking and the image displayed fills up the whole infotainment screen. Top-spec Excel trim also includes front and rear parking sensors.  

There are two sizes of infotainment touchscreen available, and both have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring as standard. Icon and Design models have a 9.0in screen, which has fairly sharp graphics, but it can be quite sluggish to respond to commands.

If you upgrade to range-topping Excel or GR Sport trim, the screen grows to 10.5in and responds quickly enough to prods. These trims also get a wireless phone-charging pad and give you the option of adding a more powerful JBL sound system. It’s clear and has enough punch from the subwoofer, but you still only get four front speakers. Those in the back will struggle to hear much.

As for interior quality, the Aygo X feels really well screwed together. Controls such as the indicator and wiper stalks feel surprisingly solid given the car's low price, and even the steering wheel is trimmed with tactile leather.

Granted, it feels pretty low-rent inside compared with a VW Polo (there's no soft-touch plastic on the dashboard, for example) but it has the edge over a Dacia Sandero.

"I like the looks of the Aygo X, admittedly, but my favourite view is the one out. Here is a small car that's very easy to drive thanks to its excellent all-round visibility. The steering wheel feels nice in the hands, too." — Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

There's plenty of space in the front of the Toyota Aygo X – plenty of elbow room to avoid you feeling squished, and enough leg and head room for those well over 6ft tall. The mid-life update introduced a height-adjustable front passenger seat, so taller occupants won’t have to feel as perched up as they would have in earlier models.

Storage space up front is reasonable, with a tray for your phone in front of the gear lever and a pair of cupholders on the centre console. The door pockets are more like letterbox slots, though, so can only take small bottles.

Rear passengers are not nearly so well catered for. Head room is tight (a six-footer will need to cower) and the optional canvas sunroof lowers the height of the ceiling even further. With limited leg room and small side windows (which pop out instead of wind down), claustrophobia could set in quickly.

Access to the rear seats is also restricted because of the small rear doors that don’t open very wide, which makes installing a child seat difficult. What's more, the Aygo X has only two seats in the back, whereas the many rivals have three. Put simply, if rear space is a priority, you're better off looking at the Dacia Sandero, Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto.

In terms of rear storage, the centre console that extends from the front over the rear footwell has a couple of shallow storage trays, but that’s your lot. You don’t get map pockets on the back of the front seats or any door bins.

The Aygo X’s 231-litre boot is pretty titchy – even by small car standards. The i10 and the Kia Picanto offer more than 250 litres, and the Sandero more than 300 litres. Still, there's enough space for a small weekly shop or three carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf.

However, go for the optional JBL sound system and the boot shrinks to 189 litres, due to a raised floor that caters for a subwoofer sitting underneath it.

You can fold down the rear seats if you need to carry more, although the backrest (which splits 50/50) flops on top of the seat base, creating an awkward step in the floor of the extended load bay.

"You won't be buying the Aygo X for acres of interior space, but there's plenty of room up front. I've found that younger friends and family members are quite happy in the back seats for shorter journeys." - Darren Moss, Deputy Digital Editor

Prices are yet to be confirmed ahead of the car’s arrival near the end of 2025, but the starting price of the Toyota Aygo X is expected to be similar to high-spec versions of the Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto. That makes it slightly pricier than the budget-focused Dacia Sandero and similar to big-selling small cars, including the Skoda Fabia and VW Polo. The Toyota Yaris Cross doesn’t cost much more, either.

Even so, thanks to excellent fuel economy (officially up to 76.3mpg) and cheap insurance, the Aygo X should work out cheaper to own than almost all other new petrol cars in the long run.

Entry-level Icon trim is worth considering. It has all the kit you really need, including 17in alloy wheels, electric front windows, automatic headlights, air conditioning and adaptive cruise control.

That said, we reckon the mid-rung Design trim is worth paying extra for. It adds a bi-tone paint finish, 18in alloy wheels, climate control, automatic wipers and rear privacy glass.

Range-topping Excel trim gets you keyless entry, ambient lighting and some faux-leather trim on the seats, but pushes the price into the territory of more polished small cars. There are some optional extras, including a canvas roof, but none that are really worth forking out for. 

GR Sport brings the option of black paint finish for the bonnet and is the only model available with a yellow Mustard paint finish.

The outgoing version of the Aygo X came joint top in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey – its 100% reliability rating suggests that it should be very dependable. It shared the number one spot with the much pricier Lexus NX. Better still, Toyota's warranty extends for up to 10 years if you get your car serviced annually by an official dealer.

The safety experts at Euro NCAP awarded the Aygo X four stars (out of five), which is better than the score of some other budget small cars, including the Sandero and the Hyundai i10. All trims come with automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance, traffic-sign assist and tyre-pressure monitoring.

"You're not going to go far wrong with the long-term reliability if you buy an Aygo X. Toyota frequently scores well in our reliability survey, and I reckon the potential for an Aygo X to have a 10-year warranty is almost unbeatable." — Oliver Young, Reviewer

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