The tiny car with big ambitions

Could Toyota’s stylish iQ really be as intelligent as its name suggests? Motoring editor Peter Carroll finds out.

Toyota may appear to possess a rather conservative approach to its cars but every now and again it likes to shock the motoring world with a radical piece of kit.

The Japanese firm’s Prius was at the forefront of ‘green’ hybrid engine technology, while its RAV4 pioneered the concept of the ’soft roader’ SUV.

Now it has gone and done it again with its stylish new city car, the iQ. It’s a tiny, boxy affair that looks like a cross between a Smart and a Mini. At around nine and a half feet long, it’s billed as the world’s smallest four-seater.

The entry level price tag of £9,495 is anything but small, however. That’s because Toyota is eyeing up a particular kind of customer for its new baby - relatively well-heeled ones who probably already have another, bigger vehicle.

They will be sort of buyer who is looking to downsize - but in a trendy, comfy and eco-friendly way. And the iQ fits the bill on all counts.

While US car manufacturers spent the early part of this decade making decent money from giant SUVs, Toyota turned its thoughts to the ever-increasing problems of city congestion - and decided that a small urban four-seater of under 3m would be needed.

The iQ boasts impressive green credentials: its emissions are lower than those of the Prius, so owners will pay zero annual vehicle tax. It also offers combined cycle fuel economy of 65mpg from its 1.0 litre petrol engine.

But the iQ’s chief achievement is how Toyota engineers managed to squeeze four seats into such a tiny car.

The design team limbered up by carrying out a series of exercises in ‘extreme packaging’ before coming up with the vehicle which fulfilled the terms of their brief.

The engineers certainly had to come up with some innovative approaches to problem-solving to achieve their aim.

The seats are ultra-slim yet surprisingly comfortable; the fuel tank was shrunk to a height of four and a half inches and sits under the floorpan; while the air conditioning unit was reduced in size by 20 per cent to allow extra space in the cabin.

What they were unable to come up with, however, is a proper boot -Êand the iQ probably works best as a car for three people with one seat folded down to create storage space.

Interestingly, Toyota does not believe the lack of a boot, or even a proper glovebox, will be an issue with its target market. Instead of a glove box there is a bag which fixes to the dashboard by poppers and velcro.

What could become an issue, however, is the way personal effects are on open view in the car, though Toyota says cars will be supplied with a tonneau cover.

The cabin is spacious, for the front two passengers at least, and tidily finished - but not quite as funky an environment as those offered by the iQ’s natural rivals, the Smart, MINI and Fiat 500.

On the road, the iQ drives nicely and very smoothly for such a small car. The steering feels natural and the turning circle is tiny. Yet despite its size it is also a capable motorway cruiser and notably refined at speed too.

The 1.0 litre engine is an eager, if not desperately quick, performer and suits the car well.

The auto gearbox makes sense around town but costs an extra £1,000 and makes the car slower than the manual.

There are just two trim levels and both feature a high level of equipment, making a large option list redundant.

Standard features on the entry-level car include air conditioning, ESP, 15-inch alloys, electric mirrors and a decent stereo. Nor has safety been compromised: the iQ has a rigid structure and no fewer than nine airbags.

While there are no immediate rivals, it’s worth pointing out that you can buy a nicely-specified updated Ford Ka or a funky Fiat 500 for the same price as a basic iQ -Êeach of which is bigger and swifter.

But with its funky looks, smooth road manners and green approach, the iQ is the right car at the right time -for the right customer.

By Peter Carroll

Toyota iQ fact file:

Model: 1.0 VVT-i three-door

Price: £9,495 on the road

Engine: 996cc, three-cylinder, petrol

Power: 67hp

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Performance: 0-62mph in 14.7 seconds

Top speed: 93mph

Economy: 65.7mpg on combined cycle

CO2 emissions: 99g/km

Length: 2,985mm

Weight: 880kg

Insurance group: 2

Servicing: 10,000 miles

Warranty: Three years/ 60,000 miles