IQ Press Reviews

iQ, an Ingenious City Car

LAUNCHED recently In Milan and winging its way to a garage near you in the future is Toyota's intriguing city car, the iQ.

Although it looks little bigger than the Smart Fortwo, the iQ is actually a four-seater (although only small people or children will fit in the back) and is a really neat machine to drive.

It is also really well packaged and Toyota has gone to extensive lengths to provide amazing space levels in a car that is considerable shorter than Toyota's own Yaris, for example. It also has a turning circle of 3.9m, which is better than the Smart.

Things like a front mounted differential, a flat under-floor petrol tank and centre take-off steering gear, are features unique to the iQ and Toyota are confident that the will sell about 80,000 of them in Europe when it goes on sale early next year.

Toyota has obviously been thinking well ahead in offering a city car that is effective, ingenious and really good looking. Two engines will be offered - a one litre three-cylinder petrol unit and a 1.4 litre D-4D diesel -and the basic specification will include traction control and ABS. Toyota will also offer manual and CVT transmission options.

Toyota says the iQ is a car "which questions what a car can be" and while some observers maintain that the company is already well served in this market segment by the Aygo and the Yaris, the company maintains that the truly unique character of the iQ will stand it in good stead in buyers' eyes.

I have driven the car and was more that impressed by its on-road abilities. It is a sharp handler, helped by its wheel-at-each-corner design ethos and the layout, and design of the interior is both clever and practical.

No prices have been announced although it is predicted that the iQ will be offered in Ireland at somewhere around the €15,000 mark.

I thought this to be a really cute and innovative machine that will attract a wide variety of customers.

Irish Examiner