Toyota Aygo X JBL review: plenty of appeal but it comes at a cost

Verdict

With so many manufacturers shying away from the city car market, the Toyota Aygo X is a refreshing option and one the Japanese brand is reassuringly investing in with the JBL special edition. It retains the simple, likeable approach of the regular car while adding a genuinely decent sound system - although, given the price, we’re not sure if it matches the ethos of a budget city car. 

If you wanted a big, shiny sound system in your car (from the factory, at least), you used to have to stump up the money for a car from an out-and-out premium brand like Mercedes or BMW, who have long partnered with the likes of Sennheiser and Harmon Kardon. Toyota is looking to prove these preconceptions wrong, however, because it’s launched the new Aygo X JBL special edition.

According to Toyota, this version of its entry-level car focuses on giving its owners a ‘concert-style sound’. That’s quite a bold claim when many of us know that even top-rung sound systems can struggle to replicate a live performance. 

It’s worth remembering that an affordable city car teaming up with an audio firm is a path that has been trodden before. Volkswagen offered the ‘Beats edition’ of the up!, and more recently, in other markets in 2022, there was a ‘La Prima by Bocelli’ special edition of the all-electric Fiat 500e. This also had a JBL sound system, but the Fiat’s was developed in partnership with iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. 

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Instead of the 320W system in the 500, the Aygo X’s set-up has a 300W power output and five speakers. There are two ‘full-range speakers’ in the front doors with 25mm tweeters in the front pillars. And under the boot floor you’ll find a 200mm subwoofer, which Toyota says generates a “powerful bass, dynamic speaker response and a clear sound”. The amplifier is mounted under the front passenger seat - with six channels that fine-tune the frequencies. 

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That’s a pretty impressive system for a car the size of the Aygo X. However, Toyota hasn’t just slapped it into its tiny city car and called it a day. It might not have input from Bocelli, but Toyota says “hundreds of hours of precision work and adjustments” went into the bespoke sound system for the Aygo X JBL. 

Start the Aygo X JBL special edition and you’ll hear the same 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine as in the standard car with 71bhp and 93Nm of torque. Unlike some similar units from VW Group and Stellantis models, the Toyota engine is naturally aspirated and because it’s coupled with a long-geared five-speed transmission, you have to rev it hard to make any significant progress. 

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On the other hand, the engine is actually one of our favourite bits of the standard Aygo X. The busy little unit is communicative and responds well to the throttle while the engaging gearshift balances precision with smoothness. The car is light too, with a kerbweight of under a tonne, so that engine feels pretty well matched to the job in hand. 

Although a thrummy three-cylinder engine in a lightweight city car doesn’t bode well for premium sound quality, the Aygo X JBL special edition is very good overall on that score. There’s a punchiness to the subwoofer in the back, a clear sound throughout the cabin (even with no speakers in the rear doors) and no matter what kind of music you’re listening to, it’s pretty immersive. On the move the engine does interfere with the ambience a tad, given its penchant for revs, but tyre roar isn’t too much of a problem because the Aygo X has narrow 175-section tyres. 

Instead, wind noise is more of a factor when it comes to the kind of refinement you need to properly enjoy a car’s sound system. At motorway speeds there’s a bit of wash over the windscreen, though there’s no extra sound deadening in the roof or doors - areas which we expect could have made a big difference to the overall sound quality. 

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While the focus was on the car’s audio experience, Toyota also says: “JBL engineers prioritised weight-saving to contribute to the car’s overall fuel efficiency and low tailpipe emissions”, so don’t expect the fancy new audio system to harm the Aygo X’s frugal economy figures. Weighing just five kilograms more than the regular Aygo X, the JBL special edition returns a 57.9mpg average - 0.9mpg worse than the Exclusive variant. 

Putting the subwoofer in the rear also has an impact on the special edition’s boot capacity. The standard car can accommodate 231 litres, but that figure is reduced to just 189 litres here. 

If you want to showcase the fact you’re a bit of an audiophile in buying the Aygo X JBL special edition, then you’ll be happy to note Toyota has added JBL branding on the seats, rear hatchback, tweeters and windows. It’s not quite as eye-catching as the old VW up! Beats edition, which got exterior decals too, but the Toyota also gets a two-tone black paint matched with a new ‘Jasmine Silver’ body. Plus there are relatively large 18-inch alloy wheels as standard on this little runabout. 

The JBL special edition sits at the top of the Aygo X range, costing £21,195 – £1,450 more than the Exclusive. Given that you’re really only getting a sound system and the odd badge for the extra outlay, it’s difficult to make a case for the JBL model in the Aygo X range, especially when the entry-level £16,845  Pure edition seems to best represent the little Toyota’s wallet-friendly attitude.