Spy Shots of the 2009 Toyota iQ Microcar

Why no electric?

Because electric no as versatile yet.

I don't know why they don't disburse the Prius drivetrain throughout other models... and make the plug in option available, and the electric drivetrain more beefy.

It will come.

vsk

Prius drivetrain be complex and heavy. It might get better mileage just as a small, light car.

What is the point of small if it isn't efficient?

"What is the point of small if it isn't efficient? "

Why are you asking that? I'm pretty sure the iQ will be very efficient. They even talk of a 1.0 liter engine in the other post..

A small, very aerodynamic (about like the Insight), basic (read light) car with a 900cc engine and 3 wheels with 2 in the front and 1 (or 2 small seats) in the back seating would get better mileage than the Prius.

That same car though with a 600cc engine and an electric motor would get even better mileage and pollute less. It's more about pollution than mileage. A hybrid pollutes less than an equal-mpg regular car

Don't assume tiny = efficient. Look at the Smart Car they're selling here in the US. It's more of a fashion accessory than a fuel efficient, practical car. It should be getting >50mpg but it's more like 30. That thing is a serious fail. Maybe Toyota can do better.

Don't assume tiny = efficient. Look at the Smart Car they're selling here in the US. It's more of a fashion accessory than a fuel efficient, practical car. It should be getting >50mpg but it's more like 30. That thing is a serious fail. Maybe Toyota can do better.

How can a 1L engine NOT be efficient? Add a simple start-stop system and you'll push this car well over 40mpg in the city. Heck, smart driving and good maintenance has my xA around 35mpg in the city.

I Th!nk I've seen this design somewhere before ...

But it's good to see more tiny efficient cars made available.
I am sure that Electrics will be out next year after people see them working in Israel and Denmark.

I think the problem with a hybrid in a car this small is the weight and size of the batteries. It would be a much bigger thing to follow the suggestions of Amory Lovins and the RMI and use ultra-lightweight carbon composites to make the car do more with less engine. I'd bet a car like this could get 50-75% better mileage with that change alone and might even feel sporty with a "lowly" 1L engine.

"It would be a much bigger thing to follow the suggestions of Amory Lovins and the RMI and use ultra-lightweight carbon composites to make the car do more with less engine."

Right! Much lighter, much stronger, and more fuel efficient. Someone suggested Amory Lovins be appointed Energy Czar in the next administration. Another excellent idea.

Most families living in single-family homes own two or more automobiles. Most commutes in North America are over 20 miles. This car is an ideal commuter car.

That may be my next ElectroGeek mobile. I am hesitant to purchase such a small car due to safety concerns. If that car gets into an accident with an SUV it's all over. These little cars need to be light but very sturdy. Maybe borrowing some safety technology from NASCAR might help.

Small cars are important for a variety of reasons not including improved mileage. Smaller cars use fewer resources and embodied energy in their manufacture and maintenance, i.e. motor oil, antifreeze, hydraulic oil, rubber, and metals/composites. Smaller cars are a great way to advance the importance of consuming fewer resources in our lives. They should also get better mileage! :)

Drive small cars!

"It would be a much bigger thing to follow the suggestions of Amory Lovins and the RMI and use ultra-lightweight carbon composites to make the car do more with less engine."

The cost of aluminum isn't nearly that of carbon composites yet hasn't been implemented much in vehicle construction due to cost. Some manufacturers have even gone from aluminum back to steel for some body panels due to the rising cost of the lighter metal.

Efforts are being made to reduce the cost of manufacturing the carbon materials, , which are currently about ten times that of steel, but until that happens ultra-lightweight vehciles are about as likely as long-range BEV's.

Smart Car looks okay but I will stick with the Toyota Yaris I bought. Really small car with EXCELLENT highway mileage of 40 miles per gallon. Also, has more room.

This one's not bad looking, but a lot of these new little efficient cars aren't very good looking. I'd really like to get a Prius when my current lease finishes, but I really don't like how it looks. But, unless something else that can do 50 mpg comes out, I'll probably deal with a car I don't love the look of.

speaking of drivetrains, look up AFS Trinity. 150mpg and doesn't have to be in a tiny vehicle, this is where my money will be!! I really don't know why this drive train system is not all over the news,everyday. It almost makes me mad that it is not.

As many people know, 40 MPG is not so good - when you consider that there is a new generation of small, quality cars (built by all the major auto manufacturers) in the 60 mpg range that are common everywhere, except for the USA. The greedy auto dealers would have to sell three or four of the ~900 cc cars to get the profits that they suck from every American who buys a SUV. High mileage cars would also upset the incredibly greedy American oil executives. So our politicians (the best that money can buy) dilly dalley around talking about mpg below 40 mpg - as if the new 60+ mpg cars didn't even exist. Then, there's the question (and great documentary) - "Who killed the electric car?" www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com . The answer to all of the above is that greed based, corporate control of the USA has really screwed us up!

I think John has it right. However price is a major factor. I say let's start importing the Nano from India. If they can sell it for $3,000 there, we should be able to sell it for $6,000 here. Great for running around locally. May be coming out in a compressed air version also.

We need to exempt high mpg vehicles from some of the safety standards, like we do with some three wheel vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles. Lots of lights and a special plate to warn big vehicles to stay back would help.

The Third World has hundreds of vehicles that should be available in the USA.

Also lower the maximum speed limit to 55 again. People will still go 65 anyway.

How about the LOREMO. This article came out one time and nobody has spoken about it again. You want to talk about a car that will 150 mpg, keep the good looks and not have to worry about lithium-ion batteries and capacitors that are expensive to repair and troubleshoot? Look at that car. Sure these other cars are great and compact but 60 mpg is still not enought to start releasing us from the grip that the oil industry has. I agree 100% with getting execptions to start letting some of these smaller vehicles in the US. Also, one problem I see is we as Americans are too oil dependent. We need to research other types of fuel make alternate fuels less expensive and increase the use of public transportation. We as a society need to get together and make a change for the better, and not one that will just make a couple 100 people change but make millions change their way of thinking. There are examples of engines that can replace diesel fuel engines out there that will consume less expensive fuels and are out of the same usual internal combustion engines, which are over 100 years old. we need to spend more time and money in different technologies. That is all I am saying.

Safety is more of a concern to me that super gas mileage. I would not put my children in that car. We have a chevy hhr, and I don't see how this car would be a safer car for my family.
~Safety is not negotiable~

"~Safety is not negotiable~"

Of course it is!

Why don't you drive a tank? Or why do you drive at all? Because you found a balance that you like.

But it is all the huge SUVs on the roads that make them less safe, not safer. Are small european cars less safe? Or do they get in less accidents in the first place because they have shorter braking distances, are more nimble, don't block the view for people behind and blind those in front with high SUV headlights, etc.

Safety is more complex than bigger is better.

this cars been out for a long time in japan (Toyota Passo/ Daihatsu Boon) - it's had pretty good history there, to see it, check out this link:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/2006_Toyota_Passo_01.jpg/800px-2006_Toyota_Passo_01.jpg

the smart cars in the US are gas. The canadian ones are better... diesel, smaller and more feul efficient. ...the most feul efficien cars on the road.

boston, I don't think the Passo is the same car. Check the first pic here:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/toyota_iq_small_urban_car.php

I see there are no notes on the MPG. So far my old 97 Saturn is still kicking everything arount the block. It gets 45 MPG on the freeway. If I hypermile a bit I can get close the that around town.

This is not Toyota's first Microcar. In 1980 the company produced the Starlet which achieved 58 MPG on the highway while meeting California smog standards. It was a roomy little hatchback that put other fuel efficient cars to shame at the time. If the new IQ does not break at least 50 MPG then you are not getting the best Toyota can do. Given new lighter materials and stop/start technologies I would expect the IQ to exceed 65 MPG.

If people in small cars are statistically less safe, then it is only because of all the big cars and SUV's on the road. If two cars collide, the bigger car usually suffers less damage, but if two cars of the same type collide, the smaller they are the better. SO if I drive a bigger car than you, I am safer, but if we all drive big cars we all get less safe. Fallacy of composition from Economics 101 all over again.
So it is up to you: will you be part of the solution or part of the problem? As was mentioned, the fact that you drive at all means that, consciously or not, you have weighed safety vs. convenience and found a balance you like. But a different balance is better for everyone, including your kids and grandkids who will benefit not only from smaller cars on the road, but from minimizing the impact of global warming.

Also, I am not sure what the person who said a hybrid and non-hybrid car with the same mpg would pollute different amounts meant. Gallons of CO2 burned determines exactly the amount of CO2 released, and miles driven/mpg=gallons used. If you mean other pollutants besides CO2, well, I have never heard that the hybrid systems directly affect that.

Someone here said - "How can a 1L engine NOT be efficient? Add a simple start-stop system and you'll push this car well over 40mpg in the city. Heck, smart driving and good maintenance has my xA around 35mpg in the city."

I live in a hilly country, try daily commuting up a hill, and you'll see that revving a 998cc petrol engine's guts out to go up the hill wastes more fuel than idling up effortlessly in a 2000cc turbo diesel.

Just my two cents on the matter.

Justin - Malta

Justin, that's why it's sold as an urban car. If you live in a rural area full of hills and mountains, it's probably not for you.

Not all cars have to be all things to all people.

I don't care how many ways you can configure air bags in vehicles,or how seat belts have to be worn , the vehicles are not the problems. people and all of their distractions inside the vehicle are the problem with todays safety issues. No one is responsible for their own actions, it is always someone else"s fault for whatever happens.
I hate the "click it or ticket" B.S. If more time were put in to stop the sloppy, bad drivers then we would not have to worry about seat belt and air bags.
There is a guy out there right now who wants to sue the auto maker, because!!! when he flipped his vehicle, the roof wasn't strong enough to protect him.THE ROOF IS NOT THE PROBLEM!!!!!!!! Because of this guy we will end up paying extra on a vehicle with yet another bag full of air. Maybe the auto maker will have to put a sticker on vehicles now :DO NOT ROLL VEHICLE ONTO ROOF.duh

I'm sick of the millions of cowardly Americans who decide everything out of fear!
Those massive SUVs make everybody else less safe and their owners less capable drivers. In certain situations they are less safe to the driver while in some situations such as a side impact, the big SUV is actually no better than the rest.

Most the safety is engineered for an ideal 35mph and it gets less reliable from there. The faster the impact the worse it gets which is just another reason to lower speed limits back to 55. Just a few years back we had a big truck get hit in the SIDE by a car going 70 and driver in the truck died while the car driver lived (there no crumple zone on the sides.)

Oh, new cars must sensors for the purpose of informing you how far you should be behind the car in front of you.

I am seeing new TURNABOUTS in my state (the 1st ones ever) which saves electricity, TAX MONEY, fatal accidents, gas, and electricity at the expense of a larger intersection.

We NEED LIMITS on weight and size on new cars and trucks. Its not asking too much since we already have these limitations. Since weight wears the roadway more than anything else, the taxes should be based on weight and the level of usage (in which case a gas tax or tire tax...) Truckers don't deserve special treatment; we pay for them regardless- the higher prices will just reflect reality instead of the complex shell game we pay for now.

Smart is underpowered 70 hp 1900 lbs

iq will have 106 hp and a little heavier with better drive train getting about 45 mpg and quick with a 1/4 mile of 16 flat not bad for a 15k car made by toyota thats 100 % gas powered.

To be honest Sam Crutsinger, Toyota HAS done better. With the Prius on the open road. I'll give u a short comparison.
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Prius: 65/70 m.p.g. (average is 45);99 m.p.h.;5-passengers Smart:40 m.p.g.;90 m.p.h.;2-passenger

hello from Greece. these type of car is not for you. i came to u.s.a. this summer and u don't need these cars. only the people who works and live inside downtown ( i think noone). Things in Europe is much different with a huge parking problem and traffic.

It looks like the midget version of the Scion xA.
My heart hasn't been leaping for a 2 seater commuter, but if it's insanely efficient and easy on the wallet, I'd be down.

Still, all for electric!

The Maruti 800, manufactured in India, is smaller, more efficient, & can seat four passengers with ease. It can also go almost anywhere - one has to see it in use - by the numerous millions who have one.
Check it out on the net!
PKM

Sam Crutsinger: I have a smart car. I don't know where you are getting your info from that it only get 30 mpg. During the break in period I am getting 45 mpg and after the break in period the mpg's go up.