Purchase Worries about the Toyata Aygo X (Edge)

[Clemenza]

Hi

I’m looking to buy a Toyota Aygo X Edge but am put off by all the poor reviews, specifically in relation to the engine and its poor performance. The situation isn’t helped as the Aygo X doesn’t seem to appear on any of the current lists of top 10 small cars and came thirds third in an Auto Car challenge, when compared against the Hyundai i10 and Fiat 500.

My main use of the car will be shortish runs, but I don’t really want to invest in a vehicle that I’m struggling to use given its underpowered engine, when going onto motorways, climbing hills or when fully laden with passengers.

If anyone has recently purchased an X recently and harboured these very concerns prior to purchase, I would welcome your views and comments.

Thanks

[Wiz201]

Hi Clemenza, read my review just posted on here a week ago. I absolutely love it. 

[flash22]

A lot of the automotive press have a negative bias view of Toyota in general - you can usually pull apart their "reviews" - go test drive one and see if it suits your requirements, it's a 1.0L it's not going to set the world alight

[FROSTYBALLS]

The city cars in the Autocar 'challenge' aren't exactly comparable in terms of performance, price, etc. 

The i10 is the larger, more powerful 1.2 litre (83bhp), and the Fiat 500 is the electric version (116bhp) as opposed to the Aygo X's 1.0 litre 72 bhp engine.

A fairer comparison would be the 1.0 litre i10 and the 1.2 litre petrol 500 - both 69bhp - and these have similar performance to the Aygo X.

One point worth noting is that the petrol 500 is now a 15 year old design, so won't have the same level of safety as the Aygo X and i10.

Aside from that the electric Fiat costs a whopping £12,200 more than the Aygo X and i10 - would you pay an additional £12K over the Aygo X and i10?

So the comparison is flawed and hardly objective.

Best thing to do would be to test drive petrol versions of the Aygo X, i10 (1.0 litre), and 500 and see which suits your needs the best.

[Puglet]

As above, go and test drive one. Agree about automotive reviews even the previous generation cars weren't flavour of the month, they always really like VWs Up and it's derivatives and the Hyundai i10. Not saying they are bad cars, the Fiat 500 and i10 were around when we looked at 1st gen and 2nd gen cars years ago, but went Toyota-ish (Peugeot 107 and 108) back then cos it suited our needs and budget. Back then when we got ours it having a Toyota engine and mechanicals were a big part of us buying our 107 and more so the 108. Ours have been very reliable and fun to drive, so when the time comes an Aygo X would definately be on my test drive list, but nowadays that list is a lot smaller!

[Strangely Brown]

2 hours ago, Clemenza said:

[...] I don’t really want to invest in a vehicle that I’m struggling to use given its underpowered engine, when going onto motorways, climbing hills or when fully laden with passengers.

A couple of things:

Yes, it is "underpowered" when compared to a lot of other cars and whether you really notice it will depend on what you are coming from.

The memsahib has a 2004 Jimny. 1.3 and 83 bhp with terrible road manners but she loves it. We borrowed an Aygo X from a dealer for a few hours last weekend and made a point of using it to replicate her normal daily use pattern. She liked it enough that we ordered one when we got back.

Part of the use is a 20 mile dual carriageway trip to work every day and the same back in the evening, including a couple of not insignificant climb. The car was absolutely fine, and anyway, that's what the gearbox is for.

If by, "fully laden with passengers" you mean four adults then I suspect you will really notice but, before you even think about that take a good hard look at the rear seats and door openings.

As above, borrow a car from a dealer and try it in the way that you want to use it. If it works for you then two thumbs up. If not...

 

[Strangely Brown]

2 hours ago, Clemenza said:

Hi

I’m looking to buy a Toyota Aygo X Edge but am put off by all the poor reviews, specifically in relation to the engine and its poor performance.

This may help...
 

 

[TonyHSD]

I would only add that if after a test drive not entirely satisfied with the performance of the Aygo x just ask to test drive a Yaris hybrid, it is very similar size outside but bigger inside and with more refined and more powerful drive train. Even the entry level Yaris icon is a close price to fully spec Aygo x. 

[Dave the aygo]

4 hours ago, Clemenza said:

Hi

I’m looking to buy a Toyota Aygo X Edge but am put off by all the poor reviews, specifically in relation to the engine and its poor performance. The situation isn’t helped as the Aygo X doesn’t seem to appear on any of the current lists of top 10 small cars and came thirds third in an Auto Car challenge, when compared against the Hyundai i10 and Fiat 500.

My main use of the car will be shortish runs, but I don’t really want to invest in a vehicle that I’m struggling to use given its underpowered engine, when going onto motorways, climbing hills or when fully laden with passengers.

If anyone has recently purchased an X recently and harboured these very concerns prior to purchase, I would welcome your views and comments.

Thanks

I thought the same as you until I had a test drive so I have ordered one the car feels smooth more grown up now bigger boot more chunky at the front you need to have a test drive in one then make your your own decision

[Cyker]

Well it'll feel like it has low performance compared to the ridiculous genitalia-compensating cars they normally review, but for what it is I think it's fine.

It won't win many drag races, but it's light and can beat most heavier cars off the line, and is very fun to throw round corners. Even on the motorway when I'm cruising, it's normally Aygo's flying past me at 70+mph so they can be driven quickly!  

It will get revvy under load, esp. the CVT, so if you tend to accelerate hard all the time or carry a full passenger load all over the hills of Wales then it might get a bit annoying, but under normal use I think it would be fine.

The next option would be the Yaris hybrids as someone said - They have a significant boost in instantaneous torque thanks to the electric motors.

 

[Pumatron]

I regret buying mine, no point rambling on about it, it is underpowered, I have few gremlins in mine that have caused a few issues, some which fix themselves, and others that are still rearing their ugly heads.

Short term I was quite pleased with it, over the long term now, a regrettable purchase, much preferred the old shape Aygo.

Currently looking for a suitable replacement for mine.

🤷‍♂️

[Mojo1010]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

so if you tend to accelerate hard all the time or carry a full passenger load all over the hills of Wales then it might get a bit annoying, but under normal use I think it would be fine.

The next option would be the Yaris hybrids as someone said - They have a significant boost in instantaneous torque thanks to the electric motors.

 

Had 5 people in the MK3 to North Wales for a week last year, wasn't fun to drive at all haha. The MK4 will be better even though it still require a bigger car like the 2.0 corolla. 

[CruxisCore]

Yeah, you don't want to try making it into the smallest gap when accelerating on the highway. Ive driven mine for 15k, pretty 50-50 with highway drive and city drive and I've never felt like it didnt have enough power. I'm a relaxed driver though in general, but still have to constantly pass stuff. I was kinda laughing a few weeks back when I passed 5 cars in my small Aygo X going 140 km/h 😄

You probably should test drive one. Probably the thing that takes most getting used to is the loud revving when going uphill etc. If you arnt afraid of a little noise, this little thing will serve you well everywhere except autobahn.

And due to the CVT transmission (dunno about manual), regardless if you drive 100 km/h on the highway or 40 km/h in the city, it does both pretty cheap. I drive a 300 km trip regularly, its a pretty flat route with mostlu 80-100km/h and best I've done was 3,7 litres/100 km (sorry we dont do MPG here). Town driving is usually a little over 5l/100km.

I've had much more powerful cars and realized I dont really accelerate much faster with them when joining highways either. I've really loved mine. It's a leasing car, but it made me buy a Yaris Cross now that lease ends. The Aygo X made me fall in love with modern toyotas.

But yeah, budget allowing, the Hybrid Yaris will solve almost every "issue" of the Aygo X and improve a little bit of everything. No doubt the Yaris is a better car, but yeah, I've enjoyed my Aygo X, but like someone above say, they regret BUYING one. Might be different for me cos it was always just a 1 year lease so I havnt committed to anything more than that and wont lie that im still glad to upgrade to a Yaris Cross now. A Yaris will retain its resale value better almost surely anyways, so again, maybe consider if your budget stretches enough to a Yaris?

EDIT:

The things I've enjoyed most about it:

It's small, turns on a dime
Has almost all the modern safety features that a car of this price really shouldnt have lol
Android Auto/Apple Carplay
Fuel efficiency
Still somehow takes surprisingly much stuff in when needed
I like how it looks
It drives really well, other than the power/noise related things you know

Things I like less:

Noisy, no way around that
Ofc it'd be nice to have 200 hp instead of 76hp when joining the motorway, but honestly I've never felt it was underpowered in real world applications, the sense of it being underpowered almost only comes from the noise to acceleration ratio. If it was quieter it wouldnt feel so contrasting. But again, it's a feeling, not a real problem (for me)
Rear looks a bit silly which is a shame cos rest of the car looks great
I've had 3 people in the car only once and the third was a child. Wouldnt consider this car if I planned to often ride with more than 2 adults.
 

[Eddie G]

The Aygo before the new Aygo X i had was very good with just me driving it but add a passinger and it was hard work on anything but very short trips am guessing the Aygo X will be same or even a tad worse as same engine but bigger and tad more weight too it (Mine was a manual gearbox Aygo) as a one up run around even on longer runs should be good would test drive and get some banks in on the test drive if possible 👍

[Eddie G]

6 hours ago, Strangely Brown said:

This may help...
 

 

Best review of the Aygo X on You Tube and it said about the from £125 a tyre on each corner price! otherwise seems good 👍

[CruxisCore]

That's actually something I forgot to mention:

I had a tyre explode on me when driving into a pothole and luckily my dealership supported me: they drove 60 km just to bring me an all season tyre to be fitted on the old rim so I'd get on the road again fast while we figure out where to get a new tyre.

Out of the (very few) options that were stock instantly I was offered 300€ and 190€ for one rubber + the work to get it on the rim. But since they brought me the spare I told them Ill just order one online for 80€ and return the spare afterwards.

The tyre profile is pretty much exclusive to the Aygo X and as such it can get expensive or at least hard to find tyres for it fast. Maybe in the UK its different but here market is much smaller.

[Dave the aygo]

12 hours ago, CruxisCore said:

That's actually something I forgot to mention:

I had a tyre explode on me when driving into a pothole and luckily my dealership supported me: they drove 60 km just to bring me an all season tyre to be fitted on the old rim so I'd get on the road again fast while we figure out where to get a new tyre.

Out of the (very few) options that were stock instantly I was offered 300€ and 190€ for one rubber + the work to get it on the rim. But since they brought me the spare I told them Ill just order one online for 80€ and return the spare afterwards.

The tyre profile is pretty much exclusive to the Aygo X and as such it can get expensive or at least hard to find tyres for it fast. Maybe in the UK its different but here market is much smaller.

I might be wrong but as the Aygo x becomes more popular the tyre prices should come down with a bit of luck I am seeing a lot more on the road now so that's good 

[Cyker]

Just be glad it's not a BMW i3! Different tyre sizes front and back, both unique tyre sizes, Michelin (i.e. the most expensive) the only manufacturer initially, although hopefully that's changed now!

[TonyHSD]

The odd tyre sizes will never become much cheaper or much more popular and Aygo x will always suffer from expensive tyre replacement. Same situation as bmw i1 mentioned  above. One model does not make the market and no tyre manufacturers will race to produce tyres specialist to fit only certain make and model. If all small cars start been offered with same size as Aygo x the the tyres will definitely go cheaper in the future, but just for one car I don’t have high hopes. An interview video to watch and learn from . 👍

 

[bradlad]

Had mine - white pure for 8 months and really like it. I bought it as my city daily and only use it in the city so mainly 30 mph. I love it which you may be surprised when I say that my fun other car is the GR yaris. I really do enjoy the AygoX as a nippy city car. Yes, up a hill you need to drop a gear and rev the engine but I like the growl it gives out. I am 6'1" and find it roomy. The back seats are not suitable for adults but mine are permanently down with the dog crate in. It's like a 2 seater van. It drives so smoothly and quietly.

I genuinly do like it a lot but I test drove it and knew exactly what I needed it to do - and it does. I deliberately waited till just before Xmas to go in for the deal and bought the showroom model with a big discount. I effectively paid £14k cash as long as I took it the following week so they got their sale before the end of the year. Overall, I am delighted with it. Go for a good test drive.

[haelewyn]

On 6/24/2023 at 12:45 PM, Clemenza said:

Hi

I’m looking to buy a Toyota Aygo X Edge but am put off by all the poor reviews, specifically in relation to the engine and its poor performance. ....... My main use of the car will be shortish runs, but I don’t really want to invest in a vehicle that I’m struggling to use given its underpowered engine, when going onto motorways, climbing hills or when fully laden with passengers.

I bought the Aygo X and one of the main disadvantages of the car IMHO is the underpowered engine. They did make the gearbox / engine combination that you can rev it high and reach high speeds in low gears.
Up to 45 in 1, up to 90 in 2. I wouldn't advice to do that all the time though.
But : If you want to go fast, don't buy an Aygo X. It's slow. Period.

However... For me it's fast enough cause I got worlds of time. It has a fabulous consumption (5 liter or a little bit less on mine / 100 km) and it's cheap to own.
Is there a faster car ? Sure ! Just, it won't come at the price of the Aygo X at all.

Just an example : The Renault Megane I had was a lot better to drive but the engine was diagnosed damaged inside the cilinders after 30.000 km / 20.000 miles due to a design flaw.
What did i get from Renault ?
Well, they went very far in their efforts : They gave me a new engine at no cost at all..
Just : it was  the same engine with as good as the same design flaws.
Not suitable to do short rides often.
I was very lucky to have imported the car from a country that has 5 years warranty on it cause normally, in my country the warranty would have been 2 years and the new engine wouldn't have come at 0 cost.

Toyota gives you 10 years warranty, under conditions that you have to maintain it with a dealer for the 10 years.
In my country this also includes a very good European assistance in case of mechanical problems, self caused problems or accidents.

If you are going to fill the car with passengers often, know that the AygoX can only take FOUR people. Not five as most other cars do.
Try certainly to climb into one and close the door... Imagine how it would be to sit there for an hour. This car is only made to take passengers in the back on occasion. As rarely as possible.
If you want to move many people, you need to shop a class higher.

Safety stuff on the AygoX is extraordinary. As much as you will need to get used to it for six months or so.
Example : it has a system that will take you away from the side of the road. When i am juggling with things (I know I shouldn't), the car will push the steering wheel away gently when i cross a road mark / line.

Other good things : Mine has heated seats and having had that a few time : i love it.
Mine has sensors front and back. However this is not really necessary, it makes driving more easy and fun.
Also has a system where i can ask the car to follow any car in front of me on the highway. Same remark.

It LOOKS terrific imho. Red + black : i love the paintjob on it.

The small and slow engine is very reliable and CAN handle short drives without getting a lot of problems like the Renault TCE 1.2 engine.

Downsides : sitting into the back and getting into it.
The garage is not half as nice as the Renault guys were to me. Toyota has an attitude problem here at the dealers' workplace.

The trunk became bigger but is still small. However, if you don't take passengers in the back, it can be made huge.

The noise the engine makes, being rather sporty for the young people, isn't my cup of tea. I would admire Toyota more if they made it more silent.
Several things have not been redesigned compared to the AygoII. Usually that is a bad thing.
The price : it's f* expensive but I would trust a Toyota more every day than a VW product.

This is my honest opinion about my own small AygoX with the slow engine.
 

[Cyker]

It depends what you're used to - My first car had a 1.3L 4-pot that put out maybe 50HP if the wind was blowing in the right direction - The aygo's what, 70HP now, with less CC and 1 less cylinder - Not bad!

That said, I must admit, after getting used to turbo-diesels, I find all petrol engines painfully gutless now, which is why I was glad they made the new hybrids more torquey! The Mk4 Yaris is a hoot to drive  

[zuh]

I have an Aygo X.

I would not worry about it being underpowered, unless you buy the automatic gearbox version (S-CVT). The manual gearbox enables to use all the (little) power that the car has. The automatic gearbox struggles to find the BHPs, always hiding when you need them 😄

The engine feels correct with the manual and slightly small with the automatic gearbox. But it is sufficient, anyway, and it offers an excellent fuel efficiency!

You should check if the rear seats are enough because if you carry adults, they might be uncomfortable at the back.

[Cyker]

With the CVT it'll get revvy when you give it the beans, but you'll immediately get all the torque and power that little 1KR has to offer!  

If you don't like revs then it won't be as fun - I can understand that, being a diesel person; I never used more than maybe 2500-3000rpm and that was already hauling pretty quick in the Mk1 D4D  

Did not feel comfortable at all when I switched to a petrol Mk2 and found I had push into the 4000-5000+ region to get anywhere near the sort of power the D4D had, and even now in the Mk4 hybrid I don't like pushing the engine past 3000rpm, although that helps keep the fuel economy up.  

 

[Wiz201]

Yeah I love a revvy engine. If I drive a Yaris or anything slightly more power, it feels boring lol