Toyota Aygo X 1.0 VVT-i 72 Collection test: city car and adventurer?

To put it bluntly, despite its adventurous air, the Toyota Aygo X does not like to go out of town. It must be said that with a length of 3.70 m and an ultra-small turning radius of 4.7 m, it is the queen of slots.

It’s time to launch our Aygo X using the big button provided for this purpose. The three-cylinder blows and feels (a little too), especially when going up the hill of the old Montjuïc car circuit.

Admittedly, when it comes to sound filtering, we’ve come to know it better. For economy, there is a direct link with the body plate. While driving, we observed – on the driver’s side – 62 B at 50 km / h and 71 dB at 130 km / h.

Thanks to its pocket size and despite its large 18-inch wheels, the Aygo X is especially playful and easy to handle in the city. The accelerations of its brave three-cylinder are enough, perhaps because the 72 hp and 93 Nm of torque only have 970 kg to drag.

Another reason for satisfaction is the precise steering and the agile front. When it comes to braking, the pedal attack offers a frank response.

Where the image darkens is when it comes to leaving the city. We suspected it, but it’s a fact: road and mountain walks are not your cup of tea. In fact, you have to constantly play with the shift lever to restart the engine and take advantage of its extension, which makes it excessively noisy. Finally, in terms of cushioning, if the front is convincing, it will quickly punish the buttocks of the rear passengers with their stiffness.

Of course, the Aygo X prefers to play it fresh in the heart of the cities where it will shine for its compactness, but also for its low consumption that we will detail in the next part.

In terms of security, the manufacturer has developed an internal package called Safety Sense. Although it is an urban car, the Aygo X benefits, like the previous version, from driving aids (ADAS).

The Aygo X combines sensors, a monocular camera and wave radar, which gives it a pre-collision safety system with detection of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, also active at intersections. We also highlight the automatic headlight lighting and an emergency call system.

Line crossing alert with help to maintain the line, which does the job properly without the ping-pong effect with the white lines, a trajectory assistant and a smart adaptive cruise control are at stake. There is also a reversing camera and a rear seat occupancy reminder system (very handy with young children).

Unlike the Yaris, the Aygo will only be available with a combustion engine. Get out of the hybrid, which would have increased the weight of the car (940 kg) but also its price.

Under the hood is the 1.0 l three-cylinder petrol engine that develops 72 hp (93 Nm of torque) associated with a five-speed manual gearbox. One option allows you to opt for sequential or automatic transmission (S-CVT).

Toyota announces an average consumption of 4.9 l / 100 km (WLTP cycle) with the manual transmission compared to 5 l / 100 km with the S-CVT transmission. Which makes it one of the cheapest microurban cars on the market. Note that the fuel tank is quite small with 35 l.

During our test we obtained an average consumption of 5.2 l / 100 km from the on-board computer, with urban use and a few fast portions, which would have led us to a range of 657 km. Therefore, the Aygo X prides itself on great sobriety and its low power consumption even allows it to eclipse microhybrid competitors.