Toyota Aygo X-Clusive review: A combination of classy and cute… but is the 13th birthday model all that different?
THE Toyota Aygo has just turned 13, and the compact city car has had a facelift - but has all that much really changed in the new model?
ALTHOUGH still waiting for its growth spurt, Aygo is officially now a teenager.
And to celebrate its 13th birthday, Toyota has gifted it a facelift.
Gone is the two-dimensional X motif once splayed across its face in favour of a much more subtle interpretation. The result?
Classier - but in a cutesy way, blending back in with the rest of Toyota's small car range.
Neat LED daytime running lights and black plastic trim under the lamps conjure some aesthetic magic that successfully hints at all-new but without the prohibitive production costs.
Toyota's design team must have rewarded themselves some time off when it came to the rear.
Key facts: TOYOTA AYGO X-CLUSIVE
- Price: £31,895
- Engine: 1-litre petrol
- 0-62mph: 13.8 secs
- Top speed: 99mph
- Economy: 68.9mpg
- CO2: 92g/km
- Out: Now
So subtly simplified it's as good as untouched to the untrained eye. The rorty 1-litre three-cylinder petrol engine gets a weeny 2bhp boost, pushing it to 71bhp.
But the real gains are in its efficiency, now up to 68.9mpg with lower CO2.
Surprisingly for a facelift model, the steering and suspension have also been successfully tweaked and there's less road noise thanks to some much needed insulation.
But the issue I have with Aygo lies inside. Here it's still, largely, 2005. Low-cost grey plastics abound, aside from a splash of customisable colour here and there.
The only score is the 7in touchscreen infotainment system and that's sadly not available on the base model.
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But with DAB, Bluetooth, reversing camera and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto up for grabs, you can easily distract yourself from just how little room you've actually got in the cabin.
Space in the rear, and boot, is even smaller than a VW up! for instance.
Ultimately, this is a successful redesign increasing the Aygo's street appeal. But starting at £9,695 it's more than £300 pricier than an up!
Seems Toyota is putting a lot of pressure on the Aygo's pretty little face.