2015 TOYOTA Aygo X-Wave Review

The touch-ups did their job, but the ever changing market demanded a new model. You see, when Aygo hit the European market along with its PSA brothers, the Citroen C1 and the Peugeot 107 (now replaced by the 108), the competition was scarce. Namely, the Fiat 500 and the ragtop 500C.

Nowadays, new players saturate the A-segment dressed as the VW up!, Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto. And that’s a powerful enough wake-up call no matter what your name is and what kind of cars you build for a living. However, the US will not be receiving the Aygo, only Europeans will be able to buy it.

Coming back to the Aygo X-Wave, it’s essential to lay out that rather than being a completely new model, the X-Wave comes as an option clients can add to five-door X-pression versions for £895 (€1,167 at current exchange rates). In this configuration, the 2015 Aygo X-Wave will relieve you of at least £12,390 (€13,209).

Underneath that bold-looking body kit lies the same skeleton used by the Citroen C1 and the Peugeot 108, but Toyota had to find a way to individualize the Aygo. That task was easy, since Toyota and especially Lexus have a soft spot for sharps edges, so designers had their work done for themselves before even drawing the first line.

Such flippant design cues compared to the C1 and the 108 sealed the end of the brotherhood between the three models. I won’t go as far as saying that Toyota went berserk on Aygo’s looks, but I feel obliged to point out that the car’s desirability went through the roof. I mean, Aygo’s exterior wrapping is like glue to pedestrians and traffic participants.

I’m saying that because of the ladies who couldn’t take their eyes off the car at every crossing and red light. Plus, two guys in a BMW 7 Series went all thumbs up on the Aygo in full traffic. That’s something you rarely get with more expensive drop-tops.

Long story short, the Aygo will not only catch the eye but also awaken a strong feeling of curiosity that you won’t get by looking at its rivals.

Step inside, and you’ll instantly notice the typical Toyota layout, but with a twist. Here, the Japanese tried to hide the cheap feel coming from the plastics on the inside of the doors with a lot of piano black inserts strategically positioned on the dashboard, steering wheel and center console. In fact, the shiny black tsunami even took over the generous 7-inch touchscreen display and the gear lever.

It’s a decent choice, but not enough to distract the eye from the most rugged areas of the cabin. Overall, quality of the materials is at the same level compared to market rivals, so there’s hardly anything to complain about in that respect.

The dashboard acts as an invisible cloak for the plastic-dominated interior but as you spend more time inside the car you realize why Toyota drew inspiration from Japan’s youth culture.

The overall “feng shui” of the cabin is both airy and fresh, not to mention it works together with the front seats to raise the interior’s appeal. Drivers can adjust the height of their seat, but that’s only one of the positives.

Both front seats have proper shapes, and your back will tuck in nicely during those grueling city runs when traffic moves slower than a tortoise. I would have liked a bit more side support from the seats, but in normal driving conditions that won’t become an issue.

The steering wheel column is only height-adjustable, but this downfall gets a correction from the instruments that move with it so you’ll always get good visibility, no matter what. Legroom is at acceptable levels in the front row; there’s also enough room for passengers’ heads, and the overall flavor is a rather comfy one.

I can’t say the same about the back seats, where even a teenager would struggle to fit in. I mean, you’ll have to be five foot three (1.60 m) at most to consider even sitting in the back without having to adopt a semi-crouched, chin-to-the-chest posture.

Otherwise, your knees will be squeezed into the front seats, and your head will hit the canvas roof at the smallest bump. The Aygo is 25 mm (1 inch) longer than the model it replaces and more than 100 mm (3.93 inches) shorter than the VW up! which says quite a lot about the interior space; unfortunately, those seated in the back are most affected.

Boot capacity stays the same as before, but those 168 liters (5.93 CuFT) of cargo room will only take in two large grocery bags or medium-sized luggage at most. In addition, the high lip makes loading and unloading a bit more difficult than they should be.

However, considering you’ll only handle small, light-weight objects as the trunk can’t take very much, no biggie here. As a last resort, the rear seat offers 50:50 split-folding backs but once these get deployed, you only get more space but not an even surface to put things on.

By now, it’s high time we got into Toyota Aygo X-Wave’s central feature: the retractable canvas roof. Although it doesn’t make the Aygo X-Wave a true convertible, it will imbue the cabin with sunlight and fresh air, as long as you don’t live in Mordor.

The canvas roof takes around 10 seconds to open/close from the windscreen to the tailgate - where it folds - by just pressing a button positioned right next to the rearview mirror. However, unlike the posher one in the Fiat 500C, you won’t end up with a textile sandwich blocking your rear visibility.

On the other hand, it doesn’t look as neat as it would have with a retractable rear window. Furthermore, I must also mention that those sitting in the back will be glad to stretch their necks, and their backs, as nothing will block their heads anymore.

Should you decide to travel with the roof open, there’s some good news and some bad news. In case you’re sitting up front, the open top Aygo will not fail to deliver. Regarding those in the back, the equation changes a bit.

And by a bit I mean they will have to deal with a slightly energetic air flow, especially at speeds over 30 mph (50 km/h) but nothing annoying. After all, that’s part of Aygo X-Wave’s charm, right? Just in case the draft is too much to take for you, closing the roof halfway will make things more livable.

The fact engineers took a big sheet of metal from the Aygo’s roof and replaced it with a canvas one did nothing to hurt the overall sound-proofing. Of course, high speeds bring their fair share of noise, but passengers won’t be forced to scream at each other in order to have a reasonable conversation.

While we’re still talking about the canvas roof, I’d like to comment that the car doesn’t feel less rigid than the hardtop Aygo. A plus, since Toyota launched the car by advertising its fun-to-drive character under the ‘go fun yourself’ motto.

Speaking of driving, taking the Aygo X-Wave for a stroll in the city skyline will trigger some endorphins but the driver will have to put some effort into it. Why’s that, you might want to know? Well, you’ll have to handle the 1.0-liter VVT-i petrol engine (the only one available) with quite an iron fist at times in terms of revving to get the best out of its three cylinders.

Don’t expect the Aygo to slingshot when traffic lights turn green, because max torque only comes at over 4,000 rpm. You know, the naturally aspirated engine controversy, despite Toyota saying that 85 Nm (62 lb-ft) of the total 95 Nm (70 lb-ft) of torque is available from 2,000 rpm.

Despite that, the engine’s musical performance far exceeds its muscle most of the time and will make you forget about the glitch between gears. By the way, you’ll have to blame the X-shift single-clutch five-speed automated manual gearbox for that, because Toyota managed to give it a CVT-esque behavior.

Under normal circumstances, I’d prescribe the manual but there are ways to tame the automated transmission. For example, if you use the paddle shifters Toyota is lavishly accommodating, you can trick the gearbox and get rid of that snag I mentioned before.

However, this only works at speeds of over 60 km/h (37 mph) and requires a perfect harmony between the on/off kick on the accelerator and pulling the paddle shifter.

Otherwise, you can live with the automated gearbox on a daily basis as long as you feather the throttle rather than stepping on it. The accurate steering contributes heavily to the overall enthusiastic driving experience due to a quicker steering ratio.

In other words, the Aygo X-Wave will listen carefully to the driver, who can position the car wherever he or she wants. Slipping through narrow spaces in the urban jungle is easy as the steering returns enough feedback but once you go on the open road, it’s lighter than anticipated and could use a stiffness infusion.

The suspension system is doing the right thing by absorbing bumps in the road, but it won’t react well to challenging potholes, especially in terms of noise sent into the cabin. Other than that, you get a well-balanced amount of body control and grip, despite the fact that the narrow wheels can quickly go spinning if you’re trying to shoot from a standstill.

After the city hassle, our test car displayed an average fuel consumption value of 7,5 l/100 km (38 UK mpg or 31 US mpg). But if you’re into crunching all the engine’s performance, expect values in excess of 9 l/100 km (31 UK mpg or 26 US mpg).

Things start to look a bit better once you leave the city behind, as the 1.0-liter unit will only demand around 6 liter of fuel per 100 km (47 UK mpg or 39 US mpg). Again, you’ll have to thank the automated transmission for that. Furthermore, I have a hunch that the manual is a much more favorable solution for those who put fuel savings first.

As I mentioned before, the X-Wave is only available in the X-pression trim and comes with an array of standard equipment: LED daytime running lights, fog lights, 15-inch alloy wheels and a rear-view camera. Users can play with the infotainment system through the X-touch 7-inch tactile display, an option that is not very common in the segment.

Since I mentioned that again, I should also add that menu sections are pretty intuitive and easy to use. In addition, the graphics are not intrusive for the eyes but the most poignant asset here is probably the unique sat nav system developed for the Aygo.

I was pleased to see that Toyota got rid of that jerky map that kept freezing whenever the road configuration went a bit more complex than a straight line.

Customers who want an almost all-rounder city car with the advantage of experiencing hair-in-the-wind sensations might want to check out the Aygo X-Wave, but keep in mind the lack of storage space.

They could just as well go for the Citroen C1 or the Peugeot 108, but that’s a matter of design preferences since all three cars share the same platform and cushy traits. In case you have £12,500 (€17,191) at your disposal, the Fiat 500C could also be an attractive proposition.

Otherwise, the Aygo has matured and is not a teenager anymore, although improvements are always welcome especially in terms of material quality. It has the fun factor, but you’ll also have to take into consideration the average fuel consumption which is nowhere near what Toyota advertises.