IT'S the car with the X factor that has helped propel the Toyota Aygo to the top of the city car sales charts.

Already this year the Aygo has overtaken the Fiat 500 and the Hyundai i10 to put Toyota's offering at the top of the pile in the little car league.

Now there's a new Aygo about to be released and it is making the most of its X appeal.

Not only is there a more pronounced X design at the front but there's also a new-look rear with the LED tail lights wrapping round the hatchback and an angular look to the Aygo name badge.

On the inside there's a seven-inch display screen and a Pioneer smartphone integration system that gives voice control to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

And then there's the names of the six model line up which all start with an X and still start from less than £10,000 - £9,695 for the only three-door model in the range and £9,995 for a five door.

Move up the range and you get x-play models from £11,375, x-pres and x-plore from £12,630, x-cite from £12,975 and top grade x-clusiv trim from £13,895.

All are powered by Toyota's 1.0-litre VVT-I three cylinder petrol engine and with the exception of the base model can be had with a semi-automatic transmission for an extra £700.

The 998cc engine has been upgraded to meet the latest emission standards and also improved to make it quieter and more refined.

The result is more power at 71bhp - up from 68bhp - and more torque which makes Toyota's baby a little more usable with a 0 to 60 time now at 13.8 seconds.

Top speed remains at 99mph and the Aygo is utterly at home at motorway speeds as much as it is pottering around town.

What impresses about the Aygo is the ease with which good fuel economy can be obtained and we managed to average 59 to the gallon without having to try on a mixed run.

That's not far shy of the official fuel return of 68.9mpg with emissions of 93g/km from a five-speed manual Aygo. The autos are a fraction more thirsty at 67.3mpg which increases CO2 output to 95g/km.

Nevertheless, the Aygo is one of the cleanest cars around and it's a lively performer through the gears.

The car we tried came with air con, satellite navigation and Toyota's Funroof fully retractable canvas roof as well as a high definition reversing camera and an adjustable speed limiter.

Everything about the car is easy to use and the instrument cluster has a digital display at the centre for trip information.

The mid-life refresh for the second generation Aygo sees the cabin remain roomy and capable of seating four with ease - three adults in the back is a squeeze - while luggage space ranges from a rather cosy 168 litres to 812 with the rear seats folded.

There's also a couple of new colours - blue and magenta - to be had taking the number of colours available to eight.

All come with a starter button ignition system and although the steering wheel is adjustable for height only it's easy to find a good driving position.

The new Aygo is quieter than before and feels nicely robust - especially for a city car - and handling is easy.

Toyota's safety sense system which includes lane departure warning and frontal collision warning is available as an option on all but the entry level version and comes as standard on x-clusiv models.

Built at the Toyota factory in Kolin in the Czech Republic alongside the Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1, the Aygo notched up some 22,000 sales in the UK last year and Toyota is confident that with the new model it will match that this year.