The Toyota iQ and Paul Daniels go well together in the same sentence.
I say that not because this addition to the Toyota range and the mini magician are both pocket size but because they are both great at tricks of illusion, the effective use of sleight of hand.
My nephew used to tell me that if you recorded the Paul Daniels show and played it back slowly you could catch the exact moment where the trick was done using freeze frame. I never tried it because I quickly learned that the way paint transforms from wet to dry is far more entertaining and, freeze frame or not, you never see the point where liquid becomes solid.
The Toyota iQ, on the other hand, does not do subtle. You sit in it and it feels like a big car as you gaze through the windscreen. You glance in the mirror and you realise there’s nothing behind you. Step out the car and walk round the back to reach the other side and you realise it’s a very short walk indeed. This car has no back to speak of.
So is there any point in the Toyota iQ? If you are the type of person who regards the Smart car as brilliant and also hold a certain reverence for the BMW Mini (perhaps you aspire to grow up from Smart owner to Mini driver as you evolve) then the iQ has qualities that appeal.
If you are one of those who think both the Smart and the Mini pointless (Mini sales in the UK are plummeting at a time when sales of small cars are rocketing, which rather suggests buyers have seen through the very fat disguise) but you still hanker after a small city car that’s different then the iQ has qualities that will set you thinking. Maybe not buying, but definitely thinking.
So this car lives up to its name far more than others in the recent past. The Mitsubishi Carisma lacked far more than a letter “h” from its charisma, for instance. But the Toyota will get you being cerebral, getting the cells that define your iQ into action once more.
To me, part of the iQ’s appeal is that it feels like a big car from the driving seat. You sit in it whereas with a Smart you sit on it trying hopelessly to control and smoothly command what feels like a turbocharged marble. It looks like one too, with the fancy paint jobs you can have very reminiscent of the more classy marbles we used to pride as kids.
And that’s the point with these cars. Do adults (real adults, not just people who have passed the age of majority and so are able to vote) really want such a car?
If they do, then the Smart does not make a lot of sense. It can only carry one extra person at a time. The iQ’s secret is that it allows more passengers along for the ride. And, unlike most Smart derivatives, its low CO2 output means it avoids any road tax.
Everything about these cars is compared in small figures, from saving £35 on your tax disc downwards. The Toyota is 290 mm longer, 121 mm wider, but 42 mm lower than a Smart. It also has an extra 133 mm in the wheelbase. But these small numbers add up to a lot when it comes to space. Sticking the iQ’s engine in the front has allowed Toyota to put two seats in the back. The one behind the front passenger will carry an adult because a piece of clever thinking seen on the Mark 2 Morris Marina has brought the Toyota a curved fascia that allows the passenger seat to slide well forward and still allow decent space.
I suppose it’s feasible that if Paul Daniels was driving the iQ another adult could squeeze in behind but otherwise the right rear seat is OK for kids. Now the other trick Toyota needs to learn from Paul is how to make the £9,495 price of the base iQ look less than it is.
Fuel consumption from the one litre three cylinder engine was tolerable at 52 mpg but I have never found Smart cars overly meagre either. Small cars beg you to drive harder to have fun, and the cost comes at the pumps. That’s where your iQ needs to take over.
Maurice Hardy
When you have that great mental debate over what your next car should be, always assuming you would ever do such a thing, then the Toyota iQ has to rank high on your list of possibles for city cars.
Some writers have argued that the Toyota Aygo makes more sense as it costs far less and gives much more car but some people live in places where a bigger car just means bigger problems when it comes to parking, so for them the iQ adds up.
One of the things I Iike about the iQ is that it comes with a manual gearbox (there is an auto option we haven’t tried yet). The clutch and stick approach to gear changes makes them far smoother than the jerky shift of the automated system you get on a Smart. For that reason alone the iQ gets my vote even though I know that autos make city driving so much more pleasant.
While bouncy, the ride in the Toyota is also much better, offering smoother progress through our pot-holed, third world city streets. You also get the feeling that the iQ would be better at longer trips, although the lack of rear bodywork in this type of car always makes me feel vulnerable when a truck looms in the mirror.
And, of course, you can carry four people which makes the Toyota three times as sensible as a Smart. But it probably won’t achieve the Smart’s cult status, with owners’ club meets at country pubs and rallies unless it’s adopted by MENSA, so it will fall short on a major factor that makes people buy.
Annette Hardy
Car: Toyota iQ 2
Does it fit your ego?...
0-62 mph: 14.7 secs
Top speed: 93 mph
Bhp: 67 @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 67 lb ft @ 4800 rpm
...and your wallet?...
Price: £10,495
Urban: 57.7 mpg
Extra urban: 72.4 mpg
Combined: 65.7 mpg
CO2 emissions: 99 g/km
Insurance Group: 2
Best bits: acts little; thinks big; high iQ.
