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

[Autos_Editor]

The Scion iQ is the smallest four-seater on the market. But how useful is the tiny back seat?
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[Ex-airbalancer]

For a childless couple living in the large urban area, this would be great run about

[D70]

This is an appealing car, more so than the Smart with its not so friendly transmission. Compared to my daily driver it has 2 more seats, more luggage space, and a much better turning circle. It also has a seamless transmission and AC and goes further on a liter of fuel. Sold as a Toyota in most world markets and a Aston Martin Cygnet when dressed up.

I found it a very appealing car to drive and would be quite willing to drive it anywhere at anytime

Photo is of the more common Toyota version found overseas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/d70w7/6759985687/

[JohnnyMac]

It's actually the car I'll be recommending to friends with teenagers for their first car.  It's perfect because it's not really fast enough to really want to do drag race with anything.  It's small so should be easy to ace the parking part of license exam.  It's extremely fuel efficient, should be very reliable, and cheap to insure.  It has blue tooth which is a must for the youth today.  I'm sure you'll be able to pick one of these up used in 2-3 years at just over $10,000.

[5 Wheel Drive]

From the MX-5 to this.  I'm sorry....

[vasyapirh]

Lack of manual transmission ruined it for me 

[dutch]

Couldn't they at least find the Aston Martin version for you to try?

I suppose if all you did was drive down town, needed to park and not much more it is a great city car. Don't think i would want to go across Canada in one

[dragonfly]

Couldn't they at least find the Aston Martin version for you to try?

I suppose if all you did was drive down town, needed to park and not much more it is a great city car. Don't think i would want to go across Canada in one

I don't think I'd want to go  downtown in one, either...Life's too short to spend in a cheapo, ugly little car.  Nice hubcaps!....  And how bout a frontal collision with a Chevy Suburban?  No thanks...I can think of multo better ways to spend 17 grand. Like buying a real car..Thanks for a nice review.. Jack

[Fobroader]

$17K....ummm, a Miata, a 500 Abarth, Jeep wrangler.....I could think of a list so long of vehicles Id rather own if I had to drive into a busy downtown centre rather than this horrid.....thing. If you have no soul, taste, driving spirit or knowledge of cars, that still shouldnt be an excuse for pulling up with one these. I thought the Smart Car was an atrocious abomination, this has taken the cake, sash, crown and sceptre of that title by a country mile.

[canuckystan]

Don't recommend this for a teenager.  Teenagers have a much higher accident rate than mature drivers, your chance of death in this lightweight go-cart are many times higher than a mid-size sedan, simple physics.  You can get a 2007 Camry for under $10k for a teenager, much better choice.

It's actually the car I'll be recommending to friends with teenagers for their first car.  It's perfect because it's not really fast enough to really want to do drag race with anything.  It's small so should be easy to ace the parking part of license exam.  It's extremely fuel efficient, should be very reliable, and cheap to insure.  It has blue tooth which is a must for the youth today.  I'm sure you'll be able to pick one of these up used in 2-3 years at just over $10,000.

[dirtyjeffer]

From the MX-5 to this.  I'm sorry....

as discussed in the other thread, i'm sure this is a decent little car, but for $17k, get a nicely equipped Kia Rio5 (or Fiesta, Sonic, Fit, Yaris, etc)...more practical and when it comes time to sell, you aren't limiting your potential market of used car buyers, as this is a niche car that would likely appeal to very few people.

[JohnnyMac]

Don't recommend this for a teenager.  Teenagers have a much higher accident rate than mature drivers, your chance of death in this lightweight go-cart are many times higher than a mid-size sedan, simple physics.  You can get a 2007 Camry for under $10k for a teenager, much better choice.

It's actually the car I'll be recommending to friends with teenagers for their first car.  It's perfect because it's not really fast enough to really want to do drag race with anything.  It's small so should be easy to ace the parking part of license exam.  It's extremely fuel efficient, should be very reliable, and cheap to insure.  It has blue tooth which is a must for the youth today.  I'm sure you'll be able to pick one of these up used in 2-3 years at just over $10,000.

Mid size cars for teenagers have a higher rate of fender benders because teens pay less attention to their surroundings.  Just because something is small doesn't mean it's unsafe.  You seriously need to understand that bigger doesn't always mean better.  If you gave your kid a midsize vehicle they are more likely to go faster (more power), carry more people (distracting the driver), and give them more sense of security with a larger vehicle.  There's many reasons to buy a car like the IQ for a kid and only one for the midsize (safety).  I don't have kids but if I did I wouldn't hesitate to give them something like the IQ for their first car to learn the basics and build confidence.

[canuckystan]

I don't have the time or energy to get into it, but simply google "vehicle weight safety" and spend some time reading.

With everything being equal, mid-size cars have about half the fatality rate of smaller cars.  It comes down to physics - the occupant of the lighter car will suffer a tremendous g-force on the brain when he or she immediately gets stopped or pushed backward by a heavier vehicle, vs. the heavier vehicle rapidly decelerating.

The Camry is a mid-size car with a 4 banger - no danger of too much power there.  Kids will cram 4 people into this Scion as well, wonder which will be more distracting - 4 people seated comfortably, or 4 people crammed into the IQ?

Don't spread the mis-information that micro cars are as safe as mid-size cars, it is simply wrong.

Maybe once you have kids you'll pay more attention to such things.

Don't recommend this for a teenager.  Teenagers have a much higher accident rate than mature drivers, your chance of death in this lightweight go-cart are many times higher than a mid-size sedan, simple physics.  You can get a 2007 Camry for under $10k for a teenager, much better choice.

It's actually the car I'll be recommending to friends with teenagers for their first car.  It's perfect because it's not really fast enough to really want to do drag race with anything.  It's small so should be easy to ace the parking part of license exam.  It's extremely fuel efficient, should be very reliable, and cheap to insure.  It has blue tooth which is a must for the youth today.  I'm sure you'll be able to pick one of these up used in 2-3 years at just over $10,000.

Mid size cars for teenagers have a higher rate of fender benders because teens pay less attention to their surroundings.  Just because something is small doesn't mean it's unsafe.  You seriously need to understand that bigger doesn't always mean better.  If you gave your kid a midsize vehicle they are more likely to go faster (more power), carry more people (distracting the driver), and give them more sense of security with a larger vehicle.  There's many reasons to buy a car like the IQ for a kid and only one for the midsize (safety).  I don't have kids but if I did I wouldn't hesitate to give them something like the IQ for their first car to learn the basics and build confidence.

[jaari]

What do you call the people sitting in t he backseat of a IQ?
Organ donors.

[Woodyism]

Don't recommend this for a teenager.  Teenagers have a much higher accident rate than mature drivers, your chance of death in this lightweight go-cart are many times higher than a mid-size sedan, simple physics.  You can get a 2007 Camry for under $10k for a teenager, much better choice.

It's actually the car I'll be recommending to friends with teenagers for their first car.  It's perfect because it's not really fast enough to really want to do drag race with anything.  It's small so should be easy to ace the parking part of license exam.  It's extremely fuel efficient, should be very reliable, and cheap to insure.  It has blue tooth which is a must for the youth today.  I'm sure you'll be able to pick one of these up used in 2-3 years at just over $10,000.

Mid size cars for teenagers have a higher rate of fender benders because teens pay less attention to their surroundings.  Just because something is small doesn't mean it's unsafe.  You seriously need to understand that bigger doesn't always mean better.  If you gave your kid a midsize vehicle they are more likely to go faster (more power), carry more people (distracting the driver), and give them more sense of security with a larger vehicle.  There's many reasons to buy a car like the IQ for a kid and only one for the midsize (safety).  I don't have kids but if I did I wouldn't hesitate to give them something like the IQ for their first car to learn the basics and build confidence.

Its true, force = mass x velocity. It is the force that gets you every time.  These things are death traps just based on 90% of the rest of the cars on the road are much larger.  Speed driven by the driver has little to do with it, both cars would be driven at about the same speed most of the time given the same scenarios.  I highly doubt the driver of the iQ would drive slower than the Camry driver. Remember some of the safety ratings and crash test results are based on crashing into the exact same car, which is unlikely and misleading.  I imagine this car would turn into a flying beach ball if hit by a large SUV. Either that or the bumper would ride up the hood. Sorry not for my kids.

Car seems fine just for the european inner city market, tighter streets, smaller parking spaces, size reflective prices.  Not for NA, there is much better for the same or a little more.
Cheers
 

[canuckystan]

Thanks for the grins....flying beach ball....hilarious.

[hemusbull]

I'm absolutely agree about the physics of the impact between two vehicles. But don't forget one practical issue - the nature of the impact. In Europe trucks, cars, SUVs and all other fourwheelers are homogenized in terms the design of the level of their bumpers. It reduces the smashing force and at the same time increases the absorbtion. Of course, the unequal mass of the vehicles can't be compensated.

[dkaz]

I bought myself a tin can 85 Honda Civic in grade 12, I turned out ok. Being in a bigger car doesn't guarantee your survival in an accident, many people have died in a large vehicle. I don't think it even reduces it by a significant amount. If kids feel invincible in a mid size sedan, they may feel like they can go faster, negating any safety advantages being something with a higher mass could bring. Plus, often a smaller, lighter vehicle can navigate its way out of an accident better than a larger vehicle.

I'd still want one of these for my mobile business, as soon as it comes with a manual transmission. Scion's said numerous times that the limited Release Series iQs will be available with manual.

[johngenx]

Oh, here we go again with the "we all should drive 40,000kg armoured tanks" to be safe BS.  F-that.  Life's already too short to spend it lumbering around in some overweight bloat-mobile that scrapes its doorhandles through corners and squeals its tires at 3km/h in corners.  I get the physics of crashes, I just don't care.  the IQ is safer than any car was not that long ago, and if it's not THE SAFEST vehicle possible, well, I couldn't care about that, either. 

I love my daughter, but I want her to enjoy her life, and so...

Maybe once you have kids you'll pay more attention to such things.

  (guess I'm allowed to comment...)

I'm busy teaching her to ride a motorcycle.  The unsafest road-legal vehicle on the planet.

She spends a good chunk of her summers white-water kayaking, rock climbing, and mountaineering.  Amazing adventures that have given me great joy in my life and I'm thrilled to share.  Dangerous, yes.  Some of my friends are dead thanks to these activities.  But, life is for living, not for cowering in fear of.

Kids in our neighbourhood live in basements playing video games and watching TV.  People live in fear of life.  Everything seems to boil down to being "safe."  We'll buy massive SUVs.  We'll keep our kids inside.  We drive them to school (ironically, of course, more dangerous than them walking) and keep them inside if it rains or snows or is windy.  We buy giant houses so we can do everything inside, away from the dangerous big-bad world.

[Fobroader]

Oh, here we go again with the "we all should drive 40,000kg armoured tanks" to be safe BS.  F-that.  Life's already too short to spend it lumbering around in some overweight bloat-mobile that scrapes its doorhandles through corners and squeals its tires at 3km/h in corners.  I get the physics of crashes, I just don't care.  the IQ is safer than any car was not that long ago, and if it's not THE SAFEST vehicle possible, well, I couldn't care about that, either. 

I love my daughter, but I want her to enjoy her life, and so...

Maybe once you have kids you'll pay more attention to such things.

  (guess I'm allowed to comment...)

I'm busy teaching her to ride a motorcycle.  The unsafest road-legal vehicle on the planet.

She spends a good chunk of her summers white-water kayaking, rock climbing, and mountaineering.  Amazing adventures that have given me great joy in my life and I'm thrilled to share.  Dangerous, yes.  Some of my friends are dead thanks to these activities.  But, life is for living, not for cowering in fear of.

Kids in our neighbourhood live in basements playing video games and watching TV.  People live in fear of life.  Everything seems to boil down to being "safe."  We'll buy massive SUVs.  We'll keep our kids inside.  We drive them to school (ironically, of course, more dangerous than them walking) and keep them inside if it rains or snows or is windy.  We buy giant houses so we can do everything inside, away from the dangerous big-bad world.

Well put man!! My only argument about the IQ is thats its too ugly, too small, too underpowered, too automatic and too gimmicky for it to ever even park on my driveway