Clever new city car from Toyota

Expert Rating:

What is it?

Toyota's iQ is the company's newest small car that competes in the city car class. The Japanese firm's goals with the iQ are to provide sub city car dimensions with supermini levels of performance and family hatchback levels of quality. That's a tall order, but Toyota has used some clever thinking in its attempt at achieving its ambitious goals.

The iQ is tiny, its sub three-metre length allowing it to exploit short parking spaces previously only available to Smart Fortwo drivers. The key difference between the Toyota and its Smart rival is that the iQ can offer two additional seats - Toyota calling its iQ the smallest genuine four-seater car you can buy.

Is it any good?

Toyota might claim that the iQ is a four-seater and there may be seats behind the driver and passenger, but space is so tight back there they are very much for 'occasional' use only. Toyota's clever packaging has allowed its 'four seat' status: the shrinking of key components and repositioning of others allow it to squeeze as much space into the iQ's tiny footprint. Certainly the iQ feels very spacious up front, with generous amounts of shoulder room thanks to its width. The boot is infinitesimal though, offering little more luggage space than a glovebox in a conventional car, though those rear seats do fold to offer better load space.

Where the iQ really impresses is in the way it drives. Unlike anything else close to it size-wise the iQ really can be used out of town. The small 1.0-litre delivers 68bhp, which is enough to allow the iQ to keep up with town traffic and to not feel out of depth at motorway speeds. It's best when combined with the five-speed manual rather than the Multidrive CVT automatic. It's not the quietest of engines, but its three-cylinder thrum isn't necessarily an unpleasant sounding unit and otherwise refinement is high - wind and road noise being impressively low. The suspension is soft for comfort, the iQ riding well though rolling a good bit in the bends as a result. The steering is light and precise, and the iQ's very tight turning circle and dimensions make it an absolute cinch to park and manoeuvre in even the very tightest of spaces.

Should I call the bank manager?

You might need to call your bank manager as the iQ's price isn't quite as tiny as its dimensions. In fairness the iQ does come very well specified, safety in particular being impressive with nine airbags as standard. The entry-level iQ costs £9,495, which Toyota will justify with adjusted for specification level tables against competitors; but even so the headline price point is high.

Opt for the Multidrive automatic and you'll need to add £1,000 to that, and go for the iQ2 with its climate control air conditioning, high-gloss alloy wheels and push button starter and you need to find a further £1,000. If you're prone to getting lost you can have Toyota's satnav at an eye-watering £950 - or around 10% of the overall cost of the car. Buy an aftermarket one instead. With emissions of 99g/km on the manual iQ it's road tax exempt, and 65.7mpg combined economy means you'll not be stopping for fuel too often either.

Summary

The iQ introduces Toyota Optimal Drive, a concept that will in time see the entire Toyota range reduce its emissions and fuel consumption while still offering good performance and interior space. The iQ is an extreme demonstration of Toyota's concept and there's no doubting it's an intelligent solution to motoring in the city - without many of the limited long-range capability issues that come with its rivals. The only real issue is its pricing, the iQ looking expensive against the competition despite its impressive standard specification levels. In these downsizing times it makes a great deal of sense, but its headline price might be a stumbling block among increasingly budget conscious buyers.

Kyle Fortune