Category: Toyota
Posted by Neil Winton on Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 11:55 AMSmart look-alike iQ shows Toyota can do cute
Toyota succeeded massively by building rock-solid cars at great prices. But the competition has now caught up with the reliability, leaving Toyota's vehicles looking rather dull and bland.
Toyota has vowed to put this right, and the new little iQ, on sale now in Europe, and coming shortly to the U.S. in 2010 as a Scion, is cute and trendy, and designed to show the company can make attractive cars.
At first glance the iQ appears to be a little Mercedes Smart city car lookalike. But when you get up close it is bigger and chunkier. Look inside and you will find the biggest difference â€" it has four seats, not two like the Smart.
The iQ, despite its size, (less than 10 feet long), has room for 4, as long as one is a child. The child's spot can double as luggage space, which is just as well because the trunk is tiny.
The iQ may be small but in theory it would protect its passengers well. It features nine airbags, including the world's first rear-window curtain shield airbag. The body is engineered to maximise strength. Various computerised aids to driving safety including ABS and Traction Control are standard.
Toyota said the iQ has introduced a breakthrough in the design of small cars by miniaturising key features which allow big-car qualities to be included in a tiny space. There were six key innovations â€"
*The engine is more compact, freeing up space.
*Steering gear has been redesigned to take up less room.
*The flattened fuel tank is under the floor, not the rear seats.
*Seats are slimmer allowing more leg room.
*Heater-air conditioner is 20 per cent smaller.
*Dashboard design opens up space in the cabin area.
Despite the car's small size, it is not just a city car; it will provide comfort and safety at highway speeds. Although acceleration was anaemic, once on a roll the iQ could easily sustain 80 mph. It felt solid and safe.
In Europe the iQ will be powered by a 1.0 litre, 3-cylinder gas engine, a small diesel, or a 1.3 litre gasoline motor. Toyota said the smaller gas engine could achieve economy of an average 54.7 miles per U.S. gallon. The version I drove had a 5-speed manual gearbox, and managed an average 40.6 mpg. Your version will have a 1.3 litre gas engine. Don't be surprised to see the Scion/iQ become Toyota's first battery car.
Small cars like the Smart have had limited success because only trend setters didn't mind paying a high price for cars with only limited utility. The iQ, with its four-"seats", extra practicality and big-car features, offers a bit more value for money.
Comments
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iq
how many people can fit this car? this looks too small for me. maybe i would still go for toyota yaris and its toyota body parts as we can fit four people comfortably in there. It also get almost the mileage of Volvo
F1
Seriously, you're an automotive writer from Detroit and hate F1. That's the problem with the US industry is that you don't recognize what the rest of the world loves. Just because BMW pulled out doesn't mean it's bad. They weren't successful and didn't want to continue to damage their brand as being a loser in the most competitive, high-tech automotive racing arena in the world.
Go and write for the Lifestyle section where noisy cars won't bother you.
How sad but you are what the world sees when they view Detroit as out of touch with the automotive world.
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