These two small hybrids promise ultra-low running costs: we tested them for a week to find out the reality

There’s been a bit of a small car renaissance of late, with tiny hatchbacks springing up left right and centre such as the Renault Twingo, Cupra Raval, and Kia EV2 – but they’re all electric. Petrol-powered city cars are much thinner on the ground, but for people who can’t charge up an EV at home and still want something that’s easy to drive, simple to park and cheap to run they’re a fantastic option.

The latest trick in the book for small cars is to fit them with a hybrid engine rather than just a simple petrol, and both cars we have here today are thus equipped. The Fiat Grande Panda is a super-stylish hatchback with a 1.2-litre hybrid engine and a low price tag, while the Toyota Aygo X gets the 1.5-litre hybrid engine from the Toyota Yaris making it incredibly efficient but quite a lot more expensive.

Both Italy and Japan have been responsible for some of the best small cars of all time, so which of their latest creations comes out on top?

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Fiat Grande Panda vs Toyota Aygo X: prices and deals

These two cars are a fair distance apart in pricing. The Fiat Granda Panda starts at less than £20,000, with the ‘Pop’ model coming in at £19,995 – though at the time of writing, Carwow savings mean you can pick one up from just £18,625. If you want a bit more equipment, the mid-spec ‘Icon’ costs an extra £1,000 and is well worth it with the amount of extra equipment you get.

The Aygo X starts from a hefty £21,645 for the ‘Icon’ grade, but the one you want – the ‘Design’ – costs from £23,745. At the time of writing there are no Carwow discounts either, so it’s quite a bit more expensive.

However, the difference isn’t quite so great when it comes to leasing one. The best offer for a Grande Panda is on the La Prima model, which will cost you £236 a month with a total cost over three years of just under £10,400. That’s almost identical to the offer for a Toyota Aygo X in Design trim, which comes in at £228.86 per month with a very similar total cost.

Neither of these lease deals are particularly great value, actually – you can get a much bigger and more versatile hybrid car for less money if you lease an MG3, a Suzuki Swift or even something much larger like a Geely Starray.

Fiat Grande Panda vs Toyota Aygo X: design and styling

Cars like the Mini and Fiat 500 proved a long time ago that when it comes to small cars, style is important. The good news is that both of these cars are pretty eye-catching in their own way.

The Aygo X wears a shrunken version of the Toyota family ‘face’ that you’ll find on the C-HR, Prius and bZ4X – the bonnet is high and flat, with a sharp edge where it meets the front grille and a styling line joining the headlights together. It’s sharp and aggressive, giving this tiny car some attitude. The rear is more curvaceous, but the glass tailgate, wheel-at-each-corner stance and two-tone (on all but the base trim) paintwork give it quite a funky look.

It can’t hold a candle to the Grande Panda, though. I hope whichever Fiat designer was responsible for this got a pay rise, cause it’s just spectacularly cool. The blocky proportions, pixelated daytime running lights and chunky wheel arches are superb on their own, but it’s the details – like the offset Fiat logo in the grille, evoking the spirit of the old Panda – that set it apart. I love the stamped ‘PANDA’ in the doors, and the upright taillights.

It successfully looks butch and adorable all at once, which is impressive when there’s such a small canvas to work with.

Fiat Grande Panda vs Toyota Aygo X: interior

The Grande Panda takes an early win once you step inside too, as its dashboard and interior ambiance is way nicer than the Toyota’s. Like the outside, it’s packed with cool features that don’t cost a lot to do but really make a difference. The translucent yellow surround for the infotainment screen or the textured Fiat logos on the doors are evidence of this, and if you go for a top-spec model you get some fancy bamboo material on the dash too.

Plus, Fiat’s default colour palette of dark blue and yellow is just a lot more interesting than the monochrome black and silver you find in most small cars.

Small cars like the Aygo X, in fact. There really isn’t much excitement going on in here, and the only colour is from the untrimmed parts of the door panels which are painted the same colour as the exterior. Otherwise, it’s a sea of hard, shiny black plastic.

You also miss out on a few comfort features in the Aygo X that you appreciate in the Grande Panda. There are no central air vents, for example, nor does any model have an armrest in the middle. The Aygo’s steering wheel doesn’t adjust for reach, so tall or short drivers might struggle to get comfy.

Not that the Panda is perfect – the plastic on the door cards marks really easily, and the light dashboard trim reflects in the windscreen. Even so, it’s definitely the better interior of the two cars.

Fiat Grande Panda vs Toyota Aygo X: practicality

The Fiat is quite a bit larger than the Aygo X and that pays dividends when it comes to interior spaciousness. It’s still a small car, so adults will be cramped in the back seats, but you could conceivably fit four six-foot adults in for a short journey. It even has a middle seat in the rear, which the Aygo X does not have.

No such luck in the Aygo X. Those in the rear will first have to negotiate truly tiny doors – it’s difficult to squeeze a person through there, let alone a bulky child seat – and once sat down you’ll find very little legroom, limited headroom, and a claustrophobic feel exacerbated by rear windows that don’t roll down.

At 412 litres in capacity, the boot in the Grande Panda is genuinely enormous, easily swallowing a weekly shop or a weekend getaway’s luggage.

The 231-litre boot in the Aygo X is nothing to write home about, and the glass tailgate means there’s a hefty load lip to hoick items over. The rear seats don’t fold very flat, either. This means the Grande Panda is the clear winner in terms of practicality.

Fiat Grande Panda vs Toyota Aygo X: performance and driving

So it’s first blood to the Grande Panda, but the Toyota begins to hit back once you get behind the wheel. The Aygo X uses the same 1.5-litre engine as the Toyota Yaris, but in such a small package it’s actually a bit of a rocketship. Thanks to the electrical assistance from the battery and motor, it gets from 0-62mph in just 9.2 seconds – really quick for a small car, and that makes merging from a short sliproad or overtaking on a country lane surprisingly easy.

The engine is as smooth and responsive as it is in every other Toyota, only really making itself known when you put your foot down.

It’s fantastic to drive around the city thanks to the responsive powertrain and tiny dimensions, while light steering and good all-round visibility make quick manoeuvres easy too. Out on the open road it’s surprisingly competent. While you definitely feel potholes more than you would in a larger car, you don’t ever feel outclassed by other traffic.

The Granda Panda isn’t quite as impressive. Its hybrid engine has less electrical assistance than the Toyota’s, barely running on pure electric alone and relying mostly on the 1.2-litre petrol. That’s fine, except the engine is quite rough, noisy and lets vibrations pass through the cabin.

The gearbox isn’t as slick either, and the Panda feels a little bit light and insubstantial – funny considering how much larger it is than the Toyota. It’s still a delight to chuck around the city, but on the open road it’s a bit less stable and reassuring. It’s slower, too, taking 11.2 seconds to get from 0-62mph – and you feel that on motorway sliproads.

Fiat Grande Panda vs Toyota Aygo: fuel economy and running costs

The Grande Panda’s half-hearted hybrid effort is easy to see at the pumps. Official fuel economy is 56.5mpg, but even driven very carefully you’ll only see around 50mpg, which isn’t too impressive for a car like this. I was getting over 60mpg from my Skoda Citigo more than a decade ago, after all.

This is where the Toyota absolutely shines. Its official fuel economy is an already-impressive 74.3mpg, but it’s likely you’ll beat this without even trying. On a long motorway run, we saw 76mpg, and the Aygo X only gets more efficient at low speeds and around town. Driving a 50-mile route home over country lanes and through towns, we saw an astounding 92mpg.

That’s the sort of fuel economy that makes you wonder if the trip computer’s broken. Driving the average UK mileage of around 7,000 miles per year, the Aygo X has the potential to save you over £350 in fuel costs compared to the Grande Panda – and if you’re a longer-distance driver, the savings go up.

That being said, if you buy a base model of each car, it’ll still take you more than eight years before the fuel savings pay for the price difference – so make sure you do your maths carefully first.

Fiat Grande Panda vs Toyota Aygo X: alternatives

Don’t fancy either of these cars? Check out the best alternatives…

Citroen C3

Closely related to the Grande Panda and with the same hybrid engine, but the e-C3 is a bit less funky. It’s extremely comfortable, though.

Kia Picanto

A city car in the more traditional sense, using a dinky 1.0-litre petrol engine and a manual gearbox. Great fun to sling around and well-priced, but not so good for longer trips.

MG3

This is larger than the Grande Panda or Aygo X but is actually cheaper than either, and it’s fantastic value considering the space and its powerful hybrid engine.

Fiat Grande Panda vs Toyota Aygo X: verdict

These two small cars are both excellent options if you want something that’s city-friendly and easy to drive but can’t or don’t want one of the latest electric cars. They’re both fab to pilot around town, look cool and have plenty of other strengths besides.

The Fiat Grande Panda is the more practical car for family buyers – it won’t manage a full week-long camping trip, but you can at least fit car seats in the rear and a pushchair in the boot. It’s also better value, costing a lot less to buy upfront.

The Aygo X makes a fantastic second car, or an only car if you’re uninterested in using the back seats too much. It’s superbly economical and great to drive, plus Toyota’s generous warranty is fantastic if you like to keep your cars for a long time.

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