Toyota iQ: Ultra-Compact Urban Car Motoring Channel Staff - 14/February/2008 | 
Toyota iQ
The iQ Concept from 2007 was
penned by Toyota's French studio
|
Tokyo, Japan — The shift toward smaller, more efficient cars is not a new trend. It's been happening for a few years now, but it still stands to reason that small cars equal big profits. It
should come as no surprise that Toyota's tiny iQ urban car has been
fast-tracked to production after it made it's debut at the '07
Frankfurt Motor Show late last year as a concept. If you thought the Yaris was small, wait until you see the iQ. The
Toyota Yaris measures 3.75 metres in length, but the new iQ is just 3.0
metres long. Parking will not be a problem with this new car. Toyota
has confirmed the new ultra-compact car will begin production at the
end of 2008 and will be on European streets shortly after. Though
it's not much bigger than the smart fortwo (one of the smallest cars on
the market), the new Toyota iQ will have a 2+1 seating arrangement
where two passengers sit up front with"enough area to accommodate a child or
luggage" in the rear, explains the Japanese company. As well as its efficient use of space and curly design, the iQ will be "environmentally
friendly transportation" explains Toyota. It also hopes to dispel the belief "that small cars are
basic and less safe". Toyota has labelled the iQ urban car a "break-through in compact
urban transportation". It
is a remarkably compact vehicle suited to congested city and urban
driving, but has decent interior space due to what the car maker calls "ingenious packaging, which was created by six space-saving but
inter-linked engineering innovations that represent a revolution in
Toyota's automotive vehicle development." What
these six space-saving engineering solutions are has not been divulged
by Toyota, but we're expecting compact suspension and gearbox
assemblies to be two of them. We'll
know the full details of these new space-saving innovations when the
2008 Geneva Motor Show commences, along with the cars engine (which
could be a hybrid) and we'll update this page to keep you informed.
Related articles:
- Toyota Venza (2008)
- Toyota A-BAT Concept (2008)
- Toyota Landcruiser (2008)
- TRD Aurion (Road Test)
- TRD Aurion (2007)
- Toyota Corolla (2007)
- Toyota Supra (2010)
- Toyota Tarago V6 (2010)
- Toyota
Camry (2006)
- Toyota
RAV4 (2006)
|
