We’re big fans of small automobiles here at automobile Express. They’re large enough for the majority of use cases, they’re normally a lot more economical and they’re typically among the least expensive new automobiles you can get onto your driveway. small wonder that makers call them “access points” to their broader ranges.
That’s not as true today as it was five years ago, mind. Ever-tightening emissions policies and the constant push for a lot more safety kit have priced lots of brands out of the city automobile market altogether. Vauxhall, Ford and Renault don’t sell automobiles smaller than superminis, for example; Citroen and Peugeot are about to go the same way.

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So it’s heartening to see Toyota trying something a bit different with its new Aygo X – not just by giving it a funky new look that makes it the first baby crossover of its type, but also through its decision to stick with conventional petrol power. 
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What’s really being played out here – some brands axing their city cars, and others sticking with the genre – is a game of cat and mouse on fleet CO2 emissions, and the potential penalties for missing targets. It’s no coincidence that companies with strong, well well established hybrid and/or pure-electric programmes are a lot more ready to “take a hit” on more affordable models, which are tougher to make clean while still making a profit.
Hyundai and Kia, both big EV players, can afford to sell city automobiles with regular power. Toyota, which has “self-charging” hybrids across much of its regular range, thinks it can do the same. how long that remains the case will probably be down to European Union policies on emissions, a lot more than it will the tastes of consumers. 
For thousands of buyers, city automobiles are the best, maybe even the only, way into a new car. So for as long as they can still be gotten for even a little less than superminis, we must celebrate the Aygo X and its rivals. and take pleasure in their shrink-wrapped mix of fun, style and petrol power.  
Check out the best city automobiles to get ideal now…