IQ Press Reviews
Thinking in the box
Toyota's iQ is tiny, thrilling and clever, says Philip Nolan
HOW is it possible to make a car that is just 28cm longer than the Smart ForTwo and give it four seats? Well, hats off to Toyota, because that's what they've done with the iQ, one of the most unexpectedly thrilling cars to be launched this year and one which will, if there is any justice, be an instant and huge success when it arrives here in January.
The engineers have not thought outside the box; instead, they presented themselves with the smallest box imaginable and asked how they could fit everything in. So they made a flat under-floor fuel tank, reduced the size of the air-conditioning unit without sacrificing performance, raised the gearing mechanism to squeeze the engine and differental into a smaller space, developed thinner seats and made the dashboard asymmetric, allowing more space for the front passenger to move forward and give the rear passenger extra legroom. How? Well, even the glovebox has been rethought and comes in the form of a bag attached to the dash by Velcro.
In truth, of course, Toyota is billing this as a 3+1 seater, which is fair; certainly, most adult drivers would use their seat in a position that would make it all but impossible for anyone bigger than a small child to slip into the seat behind them - and, if you wanted to carry even the weekly family groceries, that +1 seat would have to be folded flat, since there is no boot as such.
So why, with all these restrictions, is this still an utterly mesmerising little car? In short, because it looks and drives the part. The fish-mouth grille gives it enormous appeal and the wheels, set on the four corners, exaggerate the muscularity of the design. But the real pleasure comes in the drive. We tested it on the motorways of Lombardy this week before pitching into the very heart of Milan including that designer-label, triangular warren of the Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga and Via Sant'Andrea - and found out just why it is the perfect city car. At 3.9 metres the turning circle is little longer than its own length and in city traffic, when you need to change lanes and spot an impossibly small gap, you still can actually make it into the space.
The cabin is cheery, too, with a faintly purple, matt-effect flat dashboard and other finishes that look like they've come straight from a modern apartment. We're used to lots of things from Toyota, but not a lot of style; now, at last, they've managed that, too.
But the real clincher for the iQ is the fuel economy and low emissions. The 1.0-litre, three-cylinder 67bhp VVT-i petrol engine - the same as you'll find in the slightly bigger Aygo - will take you lOOkm in city driving on just under five litres of petrol. At current prices, on a commute of lOkm each way every working day, you would spend less than a fiver. On the open road, the car uses 3.9 litres per lOOkm - that's over 72 miles per gallon if you're still hung up on imperial measurements. Best of all, it pumps out just 99 grammes of C02 per kilometre, so you'll pay just €l06 a year road tax. The car will also be available with automatic transmission and in a 1.4litre diesel model. The only possible downside is the price, the only thing about the iQ that isn't small. At over €14,OOO, it may put some buyers off. But if you really want to be green and you want to do it in a head-turning way - and the Milanese were practically wolf-whistling when they saw the iQ - then this smart, stylish and genuinely sexy little car could well be the answer to your prayers.
Philip Nolan - Irish Mail on Sunday