Possibly the strangest and most unique looking car on the roads, Toyota’s new iQ is certainly among the smallest. It measures less than 3 metres and can gets propelled up to 93mph from its 1.0 litre engine. Not bad considering its diminutive stature.
Now, though, Toyota have decided to give a bit more oomph with a 1.33-litre engine that’s currently found in the manufacturer’s Auris and Yaris. Kicking out just under 100bhp, the engine – which will see the car dubbed the iQ3 – will now shoot the car up to 105mph and to 60mph in just 11.8 seconds.
The new iQ will be available from £11,495 (quite a shocker that price tag for such a small car) and be set apart from the standard engine sizes thanks to some 16-inch alloy wheels and some fancy chrome door mirrors. The good news is that, despite it’s upped power, the low emissions of the iQ3 mean it will still qualify for the £35-a-year in road tax coist and it will feature the Stop & Start system that will cut the engine when the vehicle stops and restart it when a gear is selected.
While it certainly looks funky and cute enough, comes with a healthy list of extras, I’m still not sure I’d feel all that stable strapped into one of these diminutive little chaps on the motorway at the best of times, let alone if it can hurtle along on a 1.33-litre engine.
I just hope they don’t go down the route Ford did in the 70’s with the Mustang. The original was a small, perfectly styled and marketed car. Then, bit by bit they increased engine size and body size to match and never – no matter how good the new ones are – got back the car’s original charm. Let’s hope that Toyota manage to show some intelligence and keep their iQ small.
