Adding another fuel miser to the soon-to-expand U.S. city car segment is Toyota with its Scion division's iQ Concept. The show car recently revealed at the New York auto show sports many of the production model's upcoming cues, or so we're told.
The smallest of Scion's models will try hard to lure young buyers away from the likes of the Fiat 500 (if the Chrysler partnership comes to fruition), smart fortwo, and Ford Fiesta hatchback with its expected sub-$15,000 price point. Largely distinguishing the car from its Toyota cousin is a new grille with Scion badging as well as sportier wheel/tire packages.
Although not finalized, just as with its European and Japanese variants, the Scion iQ will come replete with numerous standard features. Current Euro-iQ's have only two options -- leather and a Bluetooth and iPod-enabled navigation system -- so it's safe to assume the little Scion will too. If the iQ Concept is any indication, expect nothing less than a few accessory packages tacking on chrome sidesills, roof spoiler, exhaust tips, and various other tidbits to be offered come production time.
The Scion iQ Concept also boasts nine different airbags protecting curtain, front, side, and knee zones. Engineers even incorporated the world's first rear-window airbag for further protection during severe rear impacts. Of course, iterations of stability control, traction control, and ABS will no doubt come standard on the Scion as well.
Although a 1.3L inline-four (93-hp, 89 lb-ft of torque) is the engine of choice for the concept, a 106-hp, 103 lb-ft, 1.5L four-cylinder from the current Yaris lineup will almost certainly find its way under the production iQ's stubby hood. Mated to it will be a frugal five-speed manual or Multidrive CVT gearbox. For reference, when powering the 2295-lb Yaris Liftback, the 1.5L engine is rated at 29 mpg city, 36 mpg highway. That said, the smaller iQ should eke out a few more mpg. Look for Scion to spring its attack on the city car segment early next year.
Bottom Line: Does iQ have the smarts to be a true Fiesta-fighter?
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