New Toyota iQ review

The compact, low CO2 emitting, fuel efficient Toyota iQ is no quick fix product to meet the demands of today’s congested, highly taxed and recessionary world of motoring. The mould-breaking iQ has taken five years to be brought to market but it arrived in the UK last month just at the right time.

The design is brilliant, it is compact at less than three metres in length so it is easy to park and drive in urban congestion. Yet because it is relatively wide at 1,680mm the iQ is just as stable as a larger ‘supermini’ on motorways or open roads. The iQ easily doubles up as a commuter car as well as one that can be realistically used for longer journeys and it can officially accommodate four people.

Powered by a three-cylinder, 996cc petrol engine, also used in the Toyota Aygo, the fuel economy is officially 65.7mpg in the combined cycle and with a CO2 output of 99g/km the iQ with a manual transmission is exempt from road tax.

Pricing

All good on the face of it but the new iQ is pricey starting at £9,295 for the standard model and £10,275 for the higher specification iQ2. The CVT automatic transmission option for both versions adds a further £980 to those prices and then, in true niche marketing tradition, there are accessory and option packs priced from an extra £245 to £930 for satellite navigation.

My test car, the iQ2 costs £10,275 plus the sat/nav option so we are talking about a small car with a big price tag of £11,205, well into ‘supermini’ sector prices. Its main competition is quite obviously the Smart ForTwo which costs, without too many options, around £8,987. But the latest Toyota Aygo starting from £7,040, the main selling version of the new Ford Ka at £9,295, the Mini One £12,345 and the class leading Hyundai i10 £8,075 are competitors and all but the Smart are roomier but less stylish.

So if it’s been smart to buy a Smart then new intelligence says the iQ is the better if more costly way to go. Toyota estimate they will build 100,000 of these iQ models a year with 80% going to the main European countries of the UK, Germany, France and Italy. Toyota in the UK had a plan to sell around 9,000 units this year but that will depend on how the market performs in the financial downturn. However things look good as 500 iQ models have been bought in just four weeks of sales.

Currently there is a 50/50 split between iQ and iQ2 versions and in the summer a 1.3-litre iQ with stop/start technology will be added to the line up. The iQ will have to compete for sales against other Toyota compact fuel efficient models such as the Aygo and Yaris and of course there will be some interest from Prius hybrid owners, all keen to adopt cars with green credentials.

Having lived with the iQ for a week it is the chic styling and compact size that attracted lots of interest, even from non motoring enthusiasts. The question most asked, more than the fuel economy, was the price. I think most people who enquired thought the car pricey but they definitely liked the size and styling.

Officially the iQ city car is a four-seater but the rear seats only offer the minimum legroom and no boot space unless they are folded down. But the clever bit is the front passenger seat layout in relation to the facia. There is lots of legroom and space forward of the front passenger so the seat can be moved forward to give the nearside rear seat passenger enough legroom – rather like a tandem layout.

Driving

The rear seat head restraints severely restrict rearward visibility for the driver so I found it better to remove them and fold the rear seat backs down. That gave enough room for two overnight bags. Because the rear seats are right up against the tailgate the iQ has a rear end airbag. Another issue about the iQ is that it is as wide as a conventional ‘supermini’ so unlike the Smart ForTwo you cannot nip in between congested traffic which is a pity because this car has an amazing London taxi type small turning circle so it could be very nimble.

Having said that with its ultra short body length it is an absolute joy to park. The wheel at each corner design is taken to new extremes with the iQ. The rear wheels are positioned so far back in the bodyshell that the rear wheelarches actually protrude outside the car’s overall length, distinctive styling but they will be prone to damage from other vehicles during parking.

But one of the benefits of its conventional width is that the iQ is much better to drive and more stable on motorways and fast open roads than the flawed Smart ForTwo. The ride is more controlled and because it is not as tall as the Smart it is far less prone to side wind gusting. In real life conditions the iQ is far less tiring to drive on long journeys than the ForTwo competitor.

Engines and running costs

The three-cylinder 996cc front transverse aluminium petrol engine is well known from its use in the Aygo and its other siblings, the Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1, all built by Toyota. Its gruff tone is very distinctive but it is a willing worker with 67bhp and 91Nm (67lb ft) of torque developed from 4,800rpm so the unit needs to be kept spinning at high speed to get the best from it.

Drive to the front wheels is through a five-speed manual gearbox but there is the option for a CVT five-speed automatic unit which pushes up the emissions to a £35 road tax band. The iQ, as does the Aygo, uses the latest incarnation of the three-cylinder engine which benefits from Toyota’s new Optimal Drive engine technology which is said to reduce emissions and increase fuel economy with no compromise on driving pleasure.

In real life this unit with the manual transmission emits just 99g/km of CO2 so the road tax is nothing. The official combined cycle fuel economy is 65.7mpg. In real life this depends on what roads, what speed and perhaps more importantly the weight in the car. All these factors are important to most cars but more so with smaller vehicles.

With just me in the car plus an overnight bag taking a 240 mile motorway trip and driven at realistic legal speeds the fuel consumption was 53.7mpg. With me and my lightweight wife in the car for A/B and town stop/start driving the consumption was reduced to 46.8mpg. Nowhere near the official figures but the all-important official paperwork says 65.7mpg with 99g/km of CO2 so that means no road tax.

The gearbox is precise and slick and it needs to be because the driver gets to use it a lot. The second to fifth forward gears are relatively high to obtain good mpg/low CO2 figure so I found I was generally driving one gear lower than normal.

The iQ has a shift light which advises on when a change down or a change up a gear is needed for optimum fuel economy. It is quite strange driving on a motorway at 70mph with the engine seemingly coping happily with a slight uphill gradient and then the light comes on asking for a down-change to fourth.

The high second gear ratio also means pulling away from low speeds, say after turning into a side street, is poor. It takes time for the engine to get back into its power band. Top speed is 93mph and 0-62mph takes 14.7 seconds.

Overall the handling is much better than I expected from a compact city car. The ride is comfortable, the road holding generally good although the short wheelbase and front wheel drive layout does mean understeer is more evident than on longer wheelbase cars.

Specifications

The iQ is well equipped as it should be for the price. In its standard form the city car includes 15-inch alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, air conditioning, electric windows and door mirrors, electric power steering, stability and traction control, front, side, curtain and rear airbags, trip computer, 50/50 split folding rear seat backs and a good specification sound system.

The iQ2 specification adds such items as 16-inch alloys, smart entry push button start, rain sensing wipers and dusk sensing headlights, automatic air conditioning, heated and folding door mirrors and Bi-halogen headlights.

The iQ is so different from any other car on the road today and that will be a selling point on its own. It really does look trendy and different. The concept and packaging is to be praised as is the driveability and low CO2 emission. Intelligent buyers should really consider their iQ carefully because it is a small car but with a big price.

Toyota iQ MILESTONES

Toyota iQ2 1.0 VVT-i

Price: £10,275 (£11,205 as tested)

Engine: 996cc, three-cylinder, petrol 67bhp, 91Nm (67lb ft) of torque from 4,800rpm

Performance: 93mph, 0-62mph 14.7 seconds, 65.7mpg ( 46.8 to 53.7mpg actual depending on load, traffic and road type), CO2 99g/km, VED nil, BIK10%

Dimensions: L 2,985mm, W 1,680mm, H 1,500mm, luggage space 32-242-litres

Insurance group: Low but tbc

For: Unique styling, clever space packaging, low CO2, compact length for parking, driving refinement, safety equipment

Against: Pricey, very small boot space, quite wide for town driving, mpg does not live up to claims.

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