Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2012 Scion iQ; Day 1

[DBrown]

Nice city car. Not crazy about the dopey name, though ("I drive an IQ?")

If every small car had to be rammed into a theoretical big SUV, we'd have nobody buying small cars. But that's not the standard most people use for making choices in life, in cars or other things.

And what happens if that SUV runs into a bus? Should we drive buses instead? And if that bus runs into a train? And...?

[tpl]

I agree with John in the general case of letting/helping/encouraging kids/grownups to try and do anything no matter that the wusses think it is dangerous.

[dkaz]

On the contrary, the iQ is expensive for what it is because they had to engineer it to be as safe as a vehicle twice its size. You're not skimping on safety by going with the iQ.

[DBrown]

Safety is just a feature like everything else in a vehicle, it costs money. You can buy as much or as little as you want...just like displacement and horsepower. It's reasonable to say that people who buy an iQ are buying less safety than they otherwise could.

Safety exists in a context, like everything else. Cars like these are designed for a purpose and they have their strengths and weaknesses. It's oversimplifying to say that people are buying 'less safety.' It's like saying that someone buying a two-seater sports car is choosing to buy 'less cargo space.' In a sense you're correct, but you're missing the point.

[dutch]

I will most likely be corrected, but i do not recall another subcompact review becoming obsessed by safety concerns.

So James - are you scared to drive it now surrounded by highway tractors and SUV's?

[dkaz]

Hey I didn't know the iQ had a flat bottomed steering wheel, that's pretty cool. Like the fabric as well, although I hope Release Series 1.0 has a 6 speed manual and plaid fabric seats. 

[johngenx]

The most effective safety device is the person behind the wheel.  I wouldn't buy my daughter an IQ, only because I won't ever buy her a car!  Cars are a luxury that people earn money to buy, not something that is given to them.  What I WILL pay for is good driver training, including emergency handling and some track time to explore what a car will really react when you push it to the limit.  What I will invest in is lots of supervised time behind the wheel to learn about looking ahead and anticipating problems and traffic flow.  What I will instill is the pride in being a good driver.

We have had a bunch of fatalities in Alberta recently, and many of them involved full-sized trucks and SUVs.  Why?  Poor driving.  Seven people were killed when someone passed in a double-solid line zone ascending a hill.  We are lucky that governments decided to mandate safety as priority in terms of vehicle equipment, but they missed the most important thing: the operator.  If you're concerned about your children and their safety, teach them to drive well.

[CanuckS2K]

The most effective safety device is the person behind the wheel.  I wouldn't buy my daughter an IQ, only because I won't ever buy her a car!  Cars are a luxury that people earn money to buy, not something that is given to them.  What I WILL pay for is good driver training, including emergency handling and some track time to explore what a car will really react when you push it to the limit.  What I will invest in is lots of supervised time behind the wheel to learn about looking ahead and anticipating problems and traffic flow.  What I will instill is the pride in being a good driver.

We have had a bunch of fatalities in Alberta recently, and many of them involved full-sized trucks and SUVs.  Why?  Poor driving.  Seven people were killed when someone passed in a double-solid line zone ascending a hill.  We are lucky that governments decided to mandate safety as priority in terms of vehicle equipment, but they missed the most important thing: the operator.  If you're concerned about your children and their safety, teach them to drive well.

Post of the day, well put John!! 

[dkaz]

Well put. I bought my own vehicle. I may match dollar for dollar what my children save up as an incentive to them.

[PJungnitsch]

Mini car safety has already been tested in the real world. Despite predictions of masses of deaths in Canada when the smart car came out in 2004, it took 8 years of sales and 20,000 plus cars on the road before one person finally died, a head on highway collision which killed the driver but only lightly injured the passenger.

Not worth the worry.

I'd guess the iQ is likely a safer design yet.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Mini car safety has already been tested in the real world. Despite predictions of masses of deaths in Canada when the smart car came out in 2004, it took 8 years of sales and 20,000 plus cars on the road before one person finally died, a head on highway collision which killed the driver but only lightly injured the passenger.

Not worth the worry.

I'd guess the iQ is likely a safer design yet.

Exactly.

[rrocket]

Safety is just a feature like everything else in a vehicle, it costs money. You can buy as much or as little as you want...just like displacement and horsepower. It's reasonable to say that people who buy an iQ are buying less safety than they otherwise could.

Disagree. These cars are just as safe.  And the IQ has more airbags than any car on the market.

[rrocket]

Safety is just a feature like everything else in a vehicle, it costs money. You can buy as much or as little as you want...just like displacement and horsepower. It's reasonable to say that people who buy an iQ are buying less safety than they otherwise could.

Disagree. These cars are just as safe.  And the IQ has more airbags than any car on the market.

For clarity, just as safe as what?

As many larger cars.  You're just being paranoid.  The Smart was another cars that was predicted to be unsafe, yet it score highly in euro crash tests.

The IQ scored overall a 4 star safety rating in NA and in Europe.

[rrocket]

I don't feel paranoid just skeptical. I did look up the airbag count though and it is 11 – impressive and the same as a few other cars. Scion claims it to be the most its class.

Plus the only rear airbag in the world IIRC.

I wouldn't want to be in a crash in ANY car....but just because a car is small doesn't automatically make it a deathtrap.

[HeliDriver]

Airbags can only do so much. I think that earlier "beach ball" comment pretty much sums it up.

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr041409.html

[rrocket]

Deathtrap is your word, I didn't even say the iQ is unsafe. I said you could buy more safety.

At the price point of the IQ?  For ~$16,000, not sure what you'll find that would be head and shoulders better.....or will have 11 airbags.

[HeliDriver]

^^ You can get a base Jetta for the same price.

I'd be willing to wager that the Jetta's extra 700 lbs of steel more than makes up for its lesser airbag count.

[DBrown]

Are we buying cars by the pound now? That would make for an interesting conversation at the dealership for sure

Also, it's hard to imagine the IQ buyer cross-shopping it with a Jetta, especially a 'plain jane' base model. The former has a distinct novelty appeal that the latter doesn't. That's why there's a Golf and a Beetle, to use VW as an example.

The Smart has been in North America for a while now. Are there stats to suggest that it's particularly dangerous?

[Mike]

Compared to today's cars, it is a toss up and hot debate.

But a 2001 F-150 vs a 2012 iQ in a head on collision, the F-150 driver is far more likely to die. Look up the crash test video.

It is not all about weight.

[HeliDriver]

The Smart has been in North America for a while now. Are there stats to suggest that it's particularly dangerous?

I don't know about stats, but there are certainly lab tests with interesting results.

Did you read the link I posted? The part where they crashed a Smart into a C-class? The result really wasn't very surprising, IMO.