Toyota iQ 1.0 Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Toyota iQ 1.0
Prices: £10,158-£11,167 - on the road
Insurance Group: 2
Emissions: 99g/km
Performance: 0-60mph 14.7s / Max Speed 93mph
Fuel Consumption: (combined) 64.2mpg
Safety: Nine airbags, ABS, EBD
Dimensions: length/width/height 2985/1680/1500mm

WORKS SMARTER

Our Rating: 7.6 / 10

Most city cars are built down to a price. The Toyota iQ is different, catering to the more affluent buyer who wants a hi-tech small car but doesn’t want to skimp on quality. Jonathan Crouch reports on the 1.0-litre version

Less than three metres long but packed with intriguing design features, the Toyota iQ is an unashamedly upmarket city car that will appeal to those who find a Smart too twee. Designed to seat three adults and one child, the interior finish and exterior detailing are several notches above the city car norm. It’s in entry-level 1.0-litre form where it makes most sense.

Toyota isn’t the first company to build and market a city car specifically to a more upmarket clientele. It was exactly this business model that Smart profited so handsomely from and Toyota has followed suit with its Prius hybrid vehicle, not strictly a city car in the strictest definition, but most certainly a car targeted at wealthy urbanites. Given that the company already has the cheap and competent Aygo on its books, backed up with the bigger and plusher Yaris, a third tot would seem like overkill but the iQ is a very different proposition and will be purchased mainly in the 1.0-litre form we look at here. If it wore a Lexus badge, the proposition would be a whole lot clearer.

This is a market sector that looks set for big expansion given the rapidly increasing costs of using a car in many metropolitan areas. Many car buyers are looking to downsize without sacrificing comfort and style and it’s no secret that several premium manufacturers are looking to service exactly this demand. They could learn a thing or two from Toyota.

The most popular engine on offer is the well regarded 67bhp 1.0-litre 3-cylinder petrol unit used in the Aygo citycar. This powerplant is billed as the world’s lightest production engine. There’s also a 98bhp 1.33-litre engine available. Like the Aygo, the iQ is urban transport first and foremost, reflected in a sprint to 60mph that takes around 15 seconds in the 1.0-litre model. If going fast isn’t too much of a priority, there’s also the option of a CVT Multidrive automatic gearbox.

At lower speeds the steering’s electric assistance should make manoeuvring the car simplicity itself and the minimal front and rear overhangs will mean that it’s easy to edge into even the tiniest parking places. The tight 3.9m turning circle means that even if you spot a parking place on the other side of the road, you may be able to throw a quick U-turn to snaffle it.

In order to appeal to an image conscious clientele, the iQ had to look the part and with what Toyota dubs its foursquare ‘super stance’, it looks like something that’s just driven straight from a motor show stand. There’s a touch of the toy car about the way the big 16-inch alloy wheels sit at each corner of such a tiny vehicle. The wraparound rear glass, the smoked headlamp units and the door mirrors with inbuilt indicators all indicate that this is no budget city scoot but the real surprise and delight features come inside.

The innovative asymmetric dashboard was designed to open up the whole cabin area. It ensures ample leg room for the front passenger, even when the seat is in its furthest forward position. The sliding seat configuration allows an adult 190cm tall to sit comfortably in the rear seat behind a front passenger of the same height. Shoulder-to-shoulder distance between driver and front passenger is 50mm wider than in Toyota’s supposedly larger Yaris supermini and bears comparison with a Mondeo-sized vehicle. A flat under-floor fuel tank, a 20% smaller heater unit and repositioned steering gear all make this possible. The all-round space and seating layout means there is ample room for three adults plus either a child passenger or luggage behind the driver. The rear seats fold flat and there’s a storage tray that slides from below the rear seat.

The iQ is available in two grades in 1.0-litre form, iQ and iQ2, both of which feature no fewer than nine airbags including the world’s first rear window curtain shield airbag. All models come with the kind of standard specification that you’d expect in a much larger car. The entry-level iQ rides on 15-inch alloy wheels and projects a clean, contemporary appearance with colour-keyed door mirrors and bumpers and heated electrically adjustable door mirrors with integrated indicator lamps.

Air conditioning keeps things cool inside, while the six-speaker sound system provides a radio, CD player and MP3/WMA fi