Toyota announces prices of iQ city car

Toyota has announced prices for the iQ city car, set to hit showrooms in January.

Available to order now, a base spec iQ will cost £9,495, though it comes complete with an equipment list long enough to put some far bigger and more expensive metal to shame.

Included as standard is a set of 15-inch alloy wheels, manual air conditioning, tinted windows, a six-speaker stereo, remote central locking and a leather gearstick top and steering wheel - which is flat-bottomed like a Golf GTI's. It also features the world's first rear window airbag.

A better-equipped iQ2 can be yours for an extra £1,000, adding polished alloys, climate control, keyless entry and engine start, front fog lights and automatic bi-halogen headlamps. Toyota has obviously been studying at the MINI school of marketing, too, because the iQ can be customised with a series of option packs - named iStyle, iSports and iUrban. Each is themed differently, with iUrban offering reversible, rubberised floor mats and parking sensors, iStyle adding 'styling elements' like chrome kick plates, and iSport featuring a full body kit for a more aggressive look.

Leather upholstery and satellite navigation are available as well, priced at £700 and £950 respectively, and an automatic Multidrive CVT gearbox can be yours for an extra £1,000 - though this will increase the CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption of the 67bhp 1.0-litre VVTi engine. The manual iQ's 65.7mpg figure will sink into the low 60s (there are no official figures yet) and CO₂ will jump to 110g/km from just 99g/km.

Standard safety features include anti-lock brakes with brake assist, traction control and vehicle stability control and no less than nine air bags are squeezed into the cabin.

The iQ will come in three metallic colours - black, white and purple - all of which can be specified for free until March next year.

Mark Nichol