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.
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.
