iQ is smart choice for city driving

Dec 1 2008 Stewart Smith

TO drive through the centre of Milan in the evening rush hour is not to be recommended.

Mad Italian drivers, trams, scooters and crazy junctions are enough to put even the most experienced motorists on edge.

But, if you have to do it, Toyota's latest city car, the iQ, is the ideal vehicle.

At just nine feet long it is billed as the world's smallest four-seater car and is perfect for city driving - and not bad out of town either.

Available in the UK in January, the iQ is a cute little motor which is surprisingly spacious inside, offers great fuel consumption and is packed with standard equipment you would expect from a larger, more up-market car.

With a starting price of £9,495 it might be seen as expensive, but you do get a lot for your money and the 1.0-litre manual iQ is exempt from road tax because its CO2 emission is below the 100g/km level.

At launch, UK versions of iQ will be available with a 1.0-litre VVT-i petrol engine and later in the year will be joined by a new 1.3-litre petrol engine with stop and start technology.

It is also available with a slick five-speed automatic CVT transmission which makes it even more relaxing to use in city traffic.

Its design is eye-catching, with style-conscious Milan city dwellers taking a good look at the iQ as it was put through its paces on the press launch.

Toyota engineers have come up with some radical new design ideas to add interior space for driver and passengers, including moving the front differential forward in the engine compartment, fitting an ultra-slim fuel tank under the car instead of under the rear seats.

Other space-saving features include the slimness of the seatbacks and by locating the gearshift and parking brake almost side by side it gives rear seat passengers more room to extend their feet between the front seats.

There is adequate room for an adult behind the front passenger seat, but forget about trying the same behind the driver. Only a very small child would be comforable.

Boot space is poor with the rear seats in place, but folded flat the iQ offers reasonable storage space.

The engine available at UK launch is a three-cylinder 1.0-litre VVT-i petrol engine with an output of 67bhp. Fitted to the five-speed manual gearbox it returns impressive claimed fuel economy of 65.7mpg. Top speed is 93mph for the manual and automatic with 14.7 and 15.5 seconds for the 0-62mph time respectively.

As for the driving experience itself I was very impressed with the iQ. It feels much more spacious than similar small models such as the Smart or Fiat 500.

The seats are firm and supportive, all-round vision is good and the uncluttered dash adds to the feeling of space.

It has an amazingly good turning circle, making it ideal for parking and city driving, and on motorways the little 1.0-litre motor is anything but sluggish and at 70mph there is very little road, wind or engine noise. On rough surfaces at lower speeds there is a bit of road noise.

Safey gear is impressive too. The iQ is fitted with brake assist, traction control, steering assist, nine airbags including a world first rear window curtain airbag.

Other standard equipment includes 15in alloys, air conditioning, electric windows, remote central locking, deadlock, stereo CD with MP3 capability and steering wheel with audio controls.

iQ is available in two grades, iQ and iQ2, prices start at £9,495, with a £1,000 price premium for Multidrive transmission.

With guaranteed Toyota reliability, excellent fuel economy, a funky style and high specification it looks like Toyota has a real city slicker on its hands.