The Toyota Aygo X is a pumped-up city ride – all for less than £15k

TO hand out solid car advice you only really need to learn one word: “Toyota.”

Who makes a great family estate? Toyota. Where should I go for an affordable new sports car? Toyota. Which make should I consider for a new pickup truck? Toyota.

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Few brands make consistently class-leading or near class-leading cars of so many types.

The city car segment is shrinking faster than Boris in the opinion polls.

In recent years we’ve seen the death of the Ford Ka, Skoda Citigo, Peugeot 108, Citroen C1 . . . I could go on. There’s too little money in them, you see.

They cost a lot to develop but only command a small price. And with more and more pressure to electrify cars, the maths doesn’t work.

But Toyota refuses to give up. In fact, it’s doubling down on affordable motoring by giving the Aygo city car a serious overhaul.

Aygo X (pronounced “Aygo Cross”) still sits in the smallest A-segment of the car market but it’s grown. At least, it’s grown upwards. The car is 11mm higher than the old Aygo and the driver sits 55mm higher.

You can now spec it with 18in wheels. The biggest the old Aygo did was 15in.

So what you’ve got is a mini crossover which, Toyota hopes, will help Aygo appeal to a slightly more grown-up customer.

Even so, da yoof will still love it. All of the paint jobs are pointlessly named after spices, like Chilli and Cardamon, and they’re all two-tone, contrasting with a gloss black roof.

This keeps it keen against other fashion-forward models like the Fiat 500.

Toyota is charging just under £15k for Aygo X, which is a hike over the last car and a whiff more expensive than more sober-looking rivals like the Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto. But the increase is justified.

As standard, Aygo X comes with Toyota’s Safety Sense package, which means you get adaptive cruise control, pre-collision assist with pedestrian and cyclist recognition and emergency steering assist. All for less than 15 grand.

The pumped-up ride height helps with safety too. In the old Aygo, pulling up next to a truck at traffic lights felt as safe as washing a nosebleed face first in a piranha tank.

Not only can you see more in Aygo X, you can be seen.

Another improvement is the infotainment system. Up to 9in in size, the graphics and response time aren’t the sharpest but it’s easy to use and packs Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard.

There are gripes. The back seats are almost non-existent and though the boot has grown to 231 litres, it’s still not the biggest in the class.

Aygo X also uses the same asthmatic 1-litre engine as the old car. It needs more shove if it wants to steal sales from the VW Up GTI. For that reason I recommend the CVT automatic. You have to be very busy with the gears to keep revs up in the manual.

Toyota’s emphasis on safety puts Aygo X at the very front of the class.

Bear in mind this sort of car is often bought by parents for their kids’ first cars. I know I would want the peace of mind.

So who makes a great city car? You know the answer.

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