Toyota iQ

Toyota is out to get Smart with a clever new microcar. Though designed for Europe and Japan, the iQ could come stateside to help us cope with soaring fuel prices and growing urban congestion.What We Know About the 2010 Toyota iQ

As if to answer critics of its big, thirsty, and environmentally hostile trucks, Toyota is launching a thrifty Earth-friendly microcar called iQ. The petite two-door hatchback bowed as a concept at the autumn 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany and was shown in production trim at the March 2008 Geneva Auto Salon in Switzerland. Billed as an “intelligent solution to urban transport,” the iQ was designed at Toyota’s ED2 studio in southern France, but will be built in Japan starting late this year. Toyota hopes to sell 100,000 in 2009. Europe and Japan are the intended markets, but the iQ is being whispered for U.S. sale as a 2010 model. If it comes here, it would be our market’s first direct alternative to the Smart ForTwo from Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG, a car generating much interest amid soaring fuel prices and a worsening economy.

Toyota says the iQ represents a “major milestone” in its vehicle development thinking, as engineers worked from the inside out to maximize room within this very small package. The company points to several space-saving innovations, starting with a smaller front differential that allows optimal powertrain positioning in concert with a new “center-point” steering gear. A compact flat fuel tank tucks safely beneath the rear floor. The heating/air conditioning components were also redesigned to be less intrusive without compromising function. That, in turn, allowed using a slim-line dashboard/center console that sweeps away so front occupants can sit further forward without being cramped. Doing so leaves room behind for an average adult on the passenger side and for the child-size “jump” seat on the driver’s side. Special slim-line front seatbacks and heavy use of electronic components also conserve space in the “3+1” cabin.

Toyota has yet to disclose full specifications, but says the iQ will initially offer a choice of two gasoline engines, likely a 3- and 4-cylinder, and a small diesel. A gas/electric option a la Toyota’s Prius hybrid is expected around 2010 or ’11. For the U.S., however, a 2010 Toyota iQ would likely use the 1.5-liter 4-cylinder gas engine that powers Toyota’s larger Yaris subcompact, if only because the two models have similar-size engine bays. Transmission? We’d look for a Smart-like 5-speed automated manual to maximize fuel economy and to please mostly shift-averse Americans.Standard and optional equipment are still unconfirmed too, but the 2010 Toyota iQ should also follow the Smart in having standard side airbags, ABS, traction control, and maybe even an antiskid system. Like Daimler, Toyota sees its urban car not as a spartan price-leader but as a sophisticated, well-equipped vehicle for socially conscious trend setters. The iQ concept suggested this by sporting upscale features such as an audio/navigation system with heads-up display and steering-wheel controls, plus a large glass sunroof. We see both items as candidates for the showroom. Ditto 16- and 17-inch wheels, as well as jazzy trim options