Smart move with new iQ

Is the new Toyota iQ too small to be a real car? That"s the obvious question to ask when you see it. Yes, it"s different and it"s compact, but that"s the way it"s designed to be. Toyota is tackling the low emissions sector of the new car market with a two-pronged approach. First, we had the Prius hybrid car, now we have a new small to compete with the Mercedes-Benz Smart car brand. What the iQ does is more modern, more spacious and safer than anything else of its size on the road. And the further proof of this is the recent EuroNCAP five-star award for the iQ, confirming its safety credentials and expectations stack up. I"ve had a run over a few days in the Multidrive version of the new iQ. This is a form of automatic transmission that"s available for the entry model, which is fitted with a similar three-cylinder petrol engine to the one fitted to the Toyota Aygo. Toyota has put the emphasis on packaging with this new small car. The idea is to fit as many bigger car features as possible into a compact car that"s thrifty, comes with low emissions and is easy to drive. Toyota calls the iQ a four-seater car, but in truth, it"s really a two-seat machine. Try fitting a human into the rear for anything other than an experiment and they could be inflicted with permanent damage! This Toyota is a real city car, designed to be fast, functional and safe for city driving. The 68bhp petrol engine is lively and more powerful than the similar size engine fitted to the Smart. Toyota"s iQ also packs more torque, more pace and lower CO2 emissions levels, except the slightly more thirsty Multidrive version. Automatics always seem to use more fuel. In general, the fuel economy figures also look good. The iQ delivers an economy figure of 4.7 litres/100km (65mpg) in the combined cycle. That"s a shade less fuel efficient than the Smart ForTwo model, but it comes with a slightly lower CO2 emission level. Both cars are in the motor tax A band with an annual charge of just €104. The iQ is a pacey little car for city driving. You soon get into the swing of different, almost continental style of driving urgency, and it suits the car, whatever about the driver! The iQ has a bigger feel to it than the Smart models. I think that it"s the width of the car that makes it feel bigger. The front seats are well spaced, about what you would expect from a bigger car. This makes the car wide, even if its relatively short. Toyota claims that the iQ wheelbase is two metres and that combined with the fact that the wheels seem spaced at the four corners, gives the iQ a fairly solid stance. I expected the car to be shakey on major roads, with lots of wind effect, but I was wrong. Push up the pace and the iQ can hold its own on major roads and dual carriageways. That"s probably partly due to the low centre of gravity of the car, helped by the new design underfloor fuel tank that"s just 120mm in depth. The iQ comes packed with safety and stability features to add to its relatively solid stance. Toyota has included stability control, traction control, ABS brakes, electronic brake force distribution and brake assist to the iQ safety treasure chest. These features are standard and normally come on much bigger cars. The EuroNCAP testing team has applauded the iQ safety performance, saying that: 'Toyota with the iQ has demonstrated that car size does not stand in the way of all-round safety.' The iQ came away with a five-star rating, with the top 91 per cent rating for adult protection. You can"t get much better than that. The iQ controls took a little getting used to. The dash is sparse, the radio controls logical but a shade demanding. The interior finish is a mix of dark chocolate brown and metallic plastic look. I think the effect is good, along with some neat styling features to give the car a very modern image. Toyota is offering the iQ entry models with a two-seat format at €13,690. That"s seems a little expensive as the three-door Aygo models start at €10,660 with a similar engine. It"s also more expensive than the entry Smart ForTwo Coupe. When you go up the line to the Multi-Drive version that I had, the price jumps to €15,785, which is more than a €2,000 premium that"s difficult to justify. The iQ scores well on CO2 levels, is reasonably comfortable and its width gives spacious arm room, despite its size. Toyota has delivered a superb compact car from an engineering, safety and fun to drive point of view.