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By Phil McNamara
02 September 2008 11:18
The new Toyota iQ is a landmark car: the world's soon-to-be-biggest car maker has gone and made the world's smallest four-seater. You see, the iQ packs two rows of pews into a tiny slip of a hatchback. It's not even three metres long. But the Toyota iQ has a twist; like Smart's Fortwo, the last car to rip up the packaging rule book, the iQ wears a distinctly premium price tag. Think of it like house prices. Although the iQ is tiny, at just 2985mm long, it is plonked slap bang in Mayfair, carrying an estimated £10,000 price tag when UK sales start in January 2009. So it had better be good...Ok, so the Toyota iQ is pricey, but is it good to drive?CAR drove some of the first pre-production prototypes on the roads around Toyota's European design centre in Nice, on the south coast of France. This posed a bit of a problem; the Provençal roads might be sun-kissed and blessed with heart-stopping views, but they're also rather steep. And the pair of 1.0-litre iQ models we drove felt out of their depth.Granted, the cheapest iQ models are designed to flit from Chiswick to Bond Street and back, not blast up the Col de Vence. But we were finger-tapping disappointed by the lack of oomph up the hilly Nicoise roads in the cars powered by the Aygo-sourced 1.0-litre triple.The 1.3-litre engine option might be better (we didn't have the opportunity to drive it) and there will also be a 1.4-litre diesel option, but the UK won't bring it here. Small diesels just don't sell in Blighty...And on the motorway?The 1.0-litre iQ is fine on a motorway run. It'll cruise at 85mph no trouble, but we did feel strangely vulnerable when passing HGVs towering overhead. The iQ is still leagues ahead of the first-gen Smart Fortwo, which bobbed and weaved and felt generally out of sorts at dual carriageway speeds.Click 'Next' to read the rest of CAR's review of the new Toyota iQ
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Toyota iQ 1.0 (2009) CAR review
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Titch says
RE: Toyota iQ 1.0 (2009) CAR review
I was loaned an iQ when I had my Toyota Prius serviced, and to be honest, I hated it. Donegal roads are amongst the worst, and this short wheelbase car pitched, bucked, and bounced around sometimes in an alarming manner - I certainly would not want to drive very fast in it! Sadly, its performance was also poor, quite gutless in fact. I have also driven the Opel Corsa with a 3-cylinder 1 litre engine, and that was quite fun to drive, amazingly flexible, and happy to rev to 6,000rpm. The iQ by comparison feels underpowered, and t-e-r-r-i-b-l-y s-l-o-w. I reset its trip computer and using it over the same routes as I use the Prius, I found its fuel consumption no better, indeed worse. I can fairly often get 4.7 litre/100Km on the Prius and easily achieve 4.8 - 5.0 litres/100Km in far greater comfort and with much better performance. Its interior is decidely "sparse", although it felt typically Toyota "solid" - indeed my 2-year old Prius felt somewhat loose by comparison. The gearchange was quite precise and even pleasant - not a comment one often applies to Toyota manual transmissions, especially my acquaintance with the Avensis gearchange. Its steering was twitchy, but the tuning circle quite amazingly small. Its rear seats are largely for show - one could not really get two adults in there, and of course there is no boot to speak of. You have to fold the rear seats down if you wish to put the shopping somewhere. Taking it altogether, it's too expensive; uncomfortable on anything but the best roads because of a pitchy ride; gutless and relatively thirsty; and has no real luggage space. For town commuting it's probably fine, especially with a short wheelbase and tight turning circle. I won't be trading my Prius in, not for this, much prefer the Fiat 500/500C.
30 June 2009 13:28
kevinhollingworth says
Dear Readers I have popped down to my local Toyota Dealer to test drive the IQ. The overall view is great, but for Toyota to advertise it on television making the option that you can get four adults into the IQ is incorrect. I have use over the past 9 year the first Yaris and it's great to commut to and from work and share car with four other persons. The IQ isn't :-( . The IQ can only be used for two adults and two babies. If two adults get into the rear of the IQ the Driver would be seatting in the engine part - Very tight space even for a thin person like me. Toyota needs to go back to the drawing board and design the car with a extra foot or two in length so then YES toyota can say you can get four adults into this car. SO FOR NOW I HAVE DECIDED NOT TO BUY THE TOYOTA IQ UNTIL THE DESIGNERS CAN PROVE THAT THAY CAN FIT FOUR ADULTS AND I WILL PROVE THE WRONG EVEN WITH MYSELF AND THREE OTHER AVERAGE WORK MATES WHOM I SHARE MY CAR WITH. The Aygo is the best smallest car for commutting to and from work and YES you can get four adults into the car. The Aygo is larger and cheaper then the IQ. I have always owned Toyota Cars since 1992 and they have been great, but I feel now that toyota is going in the worng direction.
Dear Readers
I have popped down to my local Toyota Dealer to test drive the IQ. The overall view is great, but for Toyota to advertise it on television making the option that you can get four adults into the IQ is incorrect. I have use over the past 9 year the first Yaris and it's great to commut to and from work and share car with four other persons. The IQ isn't :-( . The IQ can only be used for two adults and two babies. If two adults get into the rear of the IQ the Driver would be seatting in the engine part - Very tight space even for a thin person like me. Toyota needs to go back to the drawing board and design the car with a extra foot or two in length so then YES toyota can say you can get four adults into this car. SO FOR NOW I HAVE DECIDED NOT TO BUY THE TOYOTA IQ UNTIL THE DESIGNERS CAN PROVE THAT THAY CAN FIT FOUR ADULTS AND I WILL PROVE THE WRONG EVEN WITH MYSELF AND THREE OTHER AVERAGE WORK MATES WHOM I SHARE MY CAR WITH. The Aygo is the best smallest car for commutting to and from work and YES you can get four adults into the car. The Aygo is larger and cheaper then the IQ. I have always owned Toyota Cars since 1992 and they have been great, but I feel now that toyota is going in the worng direction.
14 May 2009 20:50
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