Toyota’s revolutionary ultra-compact iQ concept

The intelligent solution to urban transport

Designed within the Vibrant Clarity philosophy

Less than 3 metres in length

The iQ concept represents a paradigm shift in small car design, a concept car that challenges conventional thinking of automotive hierarchies: small yet spacious, premium yet small. Realized through the vision of an ultra compact, highly space efficient, environmentally friendly vehicle
that maximizes the urban lifestyle of Europe’s fashionable metropolitan dwellers.

The iQ concept was created at ED2, Toyota’s advanced European design studio in the south of France, working under the Toyota design philosophy of Vibrant Clarity – design that is forward looking, intelligent and energetic while retaining a clarity of purpose and function.

Managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation’s Design activities, Wahei Hirai, says:

"The iQ concept is designed to reflect and enhance the lifestyle of its owners. In an urban environment, people want to express themselves through dynamic and on-the-edge design, but at the same time rational factors such as size, functionality and CO2 emissions cannot be ignored. Bringing these contradictory aims together in synergy was critical to the iQ concept, and is a way of thinking we call the ‘J-factor’, a philosophy at the heart of all our activities.”

Just a palm shorter than three meters in length – at 2.98 meters precisely – the iQ concept is a radical new approach to vehicle packaging and design. It challenges the current limitations of ultra-compact urban transport by offering an interior capable of seating four adults or three adults and luggage space – a unique versatility within a minimal footprint.

The unveiling of the iQ concept also reinforces Toyota’s commitment to reducing vehicle emissions through vehicle concept innovation. With increasing traffic congestion in urban areas, and rising concerns about vehicle emissions, the iQ concept presents a change in vehicle packaging.

When the production version for the Toyota IQ was unveiled back in Geneva, it represented a very important new model in the Toyota portfolio carving out a new niche for the Japanese manufacturer. The new model shares few components with any other Toyota, resulting in extremely high development costs, therefore considering the automaker will be producing just 100,000 units in its first full year of production in 2009, it is hardly surprising to hear the IQ platform will spawn further models down the line.

Autocar sources have revealed a new larger SUV version will be developed which will compete directly with the Volkswagen Up range with pricing to fit in between the Fiat 500 and the Mini. There will be no Hybrid version of the IQ due to the heavy weight of the battery pack which would go against the laws of the IQ engineering: weight saving.

Toyota optimistically expects to sell 500,000 units of the baby SUV per year.

Outsmarting the Smart
By Peter Lyon, Contributor Email
Date posted: 08-27-2008

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Squeezing our 6-foot-3 frame behind the thick, sporty steering wheel of the 2009 Toyota iQ, we immediately notice just how spacious the cabin feels. Only when you're standing outside the Toyota iQ do you realize how short it is, less than 10 feet long from the tip of the front bumper to the end of the back bumper.

Due to be unveiled at the 2008 Paris Auto Show on October 2, the 2009 Toyota iQ is a kind of four-passenger Smart car. It's so innovative in its concept, packaging and design that it might just become the new yardstick for small cars.

When we drove this vision of the future here in Japan, we couldn't help but think that the massive influence of Toyota will tip the balance in favor of minimalist cars like the iQ and make them mainstream transportation instead of high-fashion indulgence. When it goes on sale in Japan in mid-October and then Europe a couple months later, the 2009 Toyota iQ could become Japan's answer to the Fiat 500, the Smart Fortwo and Volkswagen up!

The Smart Answer?
While we're looking at an array of iQs in every color, the car's chief engineer Hiroki Nakajima tells us, "Our aim was not to make a four-seater Smart. In order to ensure a sustainable future, there was a need for a radical change in vehicle packaging. We needed to create a breakthrough car, away from the traditional belief that small is basic."

Overlooked at its first appearance as a concept car at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, the Toyota iQ reflects Toyota's awareness of the way in which Europe is leading automotive trends these days. "All you ever hear these days in Europe is people talking about CO2. It's at the forefront of every discussion about motoring," says Nakajima.

The iQ is all about reducing the size of one's automotive carbon footprint. If you think the Toyota Yaris is small, wait until you get a load of this. Toyota says the all-new iQ microcar is the smallest four-passenger car in the world. That it may be, as long as the fourth passenger is knee high to a grasshopper. Thanks to some nifty packaging, the iQ will seat three adults comfortably, but the fourth space is basically reserved for one ankle-biter.

Shrink-Wrapped
The 2009 Toyota iQ is considerably smaller than a Yaris but marginally bigger than a Smart, measuring just 117.5 inches in length, 66.1 inches in width and 59 inches in height. It has the face of a disgruntled puppy, although it surprisingly boasts greater on-road presence than initial pictures suggest thanks to slightly flared wheel arches and blistered bumpers, which give the contours some substance. The wheelbase stretches an amazing 79 inches to maximize interior volume, although it creates arguably the world's shortest front and rear overhangs in the process.

When we asked Koichi Suga, the head of the iQ's design team, to tell us about the most difficult challenge of creating a car less than 10 feet long, he responded, "That's got to be R&D. Because the more you try to develop a car, improve its handling and its safety, the longer it gets." As he notes, such a small package seems to sacrifice not only seating space (and comfort) but also crushable impact protection.

But it was here where Toyota's engineers really shone. The men in white coats came up with six packaging tricks.

The first is a newly developed compact differential for this front-wheel-drive car, which by itself adds more than 4 inches to the length of the interior cabin in comparison to the Toyota Yaris. In addition, radically angled rear suspension dampers and a flat fuel tank fit under the rear seats to further improve interior space. The steering column comes out of the center of the car and the dash is asymmetrical, while the seatbacks are especially slim. Even the air-conditioning unit packaged within the dash is 20 percent smaller.

Toyota's new microcar boasts no fewer than nine airbags, including a driver's knee bag, a passenger seat under-thigh bag (to prevent submarining under the seatbelt in a frontal impact), and the first-ever rear curtain airbag. Despite its small size, the 2009 Toyota iQ is expected to receive a five-star safety rating in the European NCAP testing.

People Packaging
Though the iQ is just 9.8 feet long and 5.5 feet wide, the cabin of this preproduction car feels remarkably spacious, even for our Australian-size frame. The generous distance from your eye across the top of the dash to the steeply angled windshield adds to the feeling of interior spaciousness, so the iQ feels at least one class bigger and one class more luxurious than it actually is. Interior quality and trim level are high, especially the center console, which has been artfully modeled in the shape of a manta ray.

The seats are comfortable and available with either cloth upholstery or partial leather. The asymmetrical dashboard helps move the front passenger forward enough to accommodate an adult in the rear seat. Of course, the space behind the driver is so small that it is relegated to shopping bags or a small child.

This minimalist car doesn't have a telescoping steering wheel or even a height adjustment for the driver seat, so the limit of comfort is exceeded by any driver taller than 5-foot-10. And you would not want to be any taller than 5-foot-10 in the backseat either. That said, you can travel short distances in relative comfort.

Let's Motor, Japanese-Style
The 2009 Toyota iQ is really meant to enhance Toyota's presence in Europe, and this market will get the choice of an iQ with either a 1.0-liter inline-3 with a five-speed manual transmission or a turbocharged 1.4-liter inline-4 diesel with a six-speed manual. In mid-2009, a 1.3-liter inline-4 with variable valve timing will become available, and it'll feature either the six-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Meanwhile, Japan will get the 1.0-liter inline-3 matched with a CVT.

Details about these drivetrains are still being held back by the Toyota engineers, but we're told to expect "pretty much the same power and torque as now, while achieving better mileage and cleaner emissions." This means we can expect the 1.0-liter to produce around 70 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 69 pound-feet of torque at 3,600 rpm. The 1.4-liter turbodiesel will generate approximately 89 hp.

Given that the iQ's main market is Europe, you'd expect perky performance and firm handling. Although we only got access to a preproduction version of the 1.0-liter gasoline-powered car fitted with a CVT, it was obvious that Toyota had worked hard to give the iQ plenty of straight-line stability as well as precise cornering traits. While the 1.0-liter will win no sprint tests, as it takes more than 14 seconds to get anywhere near 60 mph, the engine is smooth and the CVT responsive, although a little noisy.

Surprisingly, you're not aware of the Toyota iQ's short-coupled wheelbase when you're traveling at speed, as the car stays poised and firmly planted on the ground. With MacPherson struts in front and a simple torsion beam axle doing suspension duty in the rear, the handling of this 1,962-pound car seems predictable with the expected understeer. It could stand more communication from the steering, and while the 175/65R15 Bridgestone Ecopedia tires might offer low rolling resistance to maximize fuel economy, we feel that most people would give up 2 mpg for better handling and grip, even though the car's top speed is only 95 mph. There's talk in the Japanese press that the Euro-spec iQ turbodiesel might combine more torque, a more aggressive suspension and better tires, so this might be the right model to drive.

The Sustainability Quotient
So is the 2009 Toyota iQ really ahead of the game? How fuel-efficient and squeaky clean is it compared to its competition in Europe?

According to one Toyota engineer, the 1.0-liter iQ should record 54.1 mpg on the European driving cycle while pumping out 99g/km of CO2. The 1.4 turbodiesel is expected to attain 52.3 mpg and generate about 106g/km of CO2.

But one look at the larger European-spec VW Polo Bluemotion 1.4 TDI and Seat Ibiza 1.4 TDI diesel variants, which Toyota says are its rivals, puts the tiny Toyota's achievements into perspective. The 80-hp Polo and Ibiza turbodiesels also deliver 99g/km of CO2 yet produce better fuel economy figures of more than 61 mpg. So it might be that the European reception for the 2009 Toyota iQ won't be very strong, especially if you remember that the Euro-spec Toyota Prius' 54.7 mpg and 104g/km were not impressive enough to generate the same kind of hybrid boom that we saw here in the U.S.

To conquer diesel dominance in Europe, Toyota will have to offer not only reliable, superbly packaged and well-conceived vehicles at the right price, but also will have to take a decisive lead in fuel economy and CO2 emissions. And though the iQ has given the tree a damn good shaking with its superb packaging, it remains to be seen whether it can dislodge the European compact diesels.

Will the expected $13,000 price of the 2009 Toyota iQ be cheap enough to steal buyers away from the segment leaders like the VW Polo? Only time will tell if the iQ will be the breakthrough in the European market that Toyota is hoping for.

'GRMN', 'G's' Concepts Debut at Tokyo Auto Salon 2012

'GRMN iQ Supercharger' to be Launched Summer 2012

Toyota City, Japan, January 13, 2012 - Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is displaying a total of 15 vehicles, including five concept vehicles from "GAZOO Racing tuned by MN" (GRMN) and "G Sports"1 (G's), plus production vehicles, at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2012 with NAPAC2. The Tokyo Auto Salon, the world's largest customized car exhibition, is being held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City from today through January 153.

TMC views the Tokyo Auto Salon as a place where peoples' dreams about automobiles convene, and as such has actively exhibited there. Building on last year's show, TMC hopes to spark an even wider range of people's interest in the joy of owning, driving and discussing automobiles developed through GAZOO Racing4 activities.

The main concept vehicle on display is the "GRMN iQ Supercharger" prototype, a second-generation GRMN supercharged ultra compact scheduled for a limited 100-unit launchs this summer. Based on the "iQ 130G MT "6, the GRMN iQ Supercharger features enhanced driving performance and seeks a feeling of integration between vehicle and driver. Also on display from the GRMN series are the "GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II" and the "GRMN Vitz Turbo Concept", as well as the G's series' "Mark X G Sports Concept II" and "Vellfire G Sports Concept" sports-conversion models.

Part of TMC's exhibition space is an area devoted to custom versions of the compact, rear-wheel-drive sports car "86" ("hachi-roku"), a vehicle extremely popular at the Tokyo Motor Show 2011. On display are two custom models and also the "GAZOO Racing Toyota FT-86" that competed in the 2011 Nürburgring endurance race. (TMC plans to compete again this year with an 86 from GAZOO Racing.) The display will also feature aerodynamic parts, wheels and other accessories to give consumers a clear idea of the 86's expansive customization possibilities.

During the exhibition, TMC is holding virtual events on GAZOO Metapolis7, a Japanese-language website featuring a virtual city (http://metapolis.toyota.co.jp). Also, the GAZOO website (in Japanese) has a special, exhibition-focused section (http://gazoo.com/racing/event/autosalon2012). Videos from the venue will be posted on Ustream and information will be available on web-based social-media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to enhance the dialogue between car enthusiasts both inside and outside the exhibition.

To further expand its GAZOO activities, TMC established a full-time GAZOO department this January to create more opportunities for people to easily experience the joy of automobiles. The department will continue to actively conduct various grass-roots motorsports events such as the GAZOO Racing "Waku Doki" circuit events8 and the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival (TGRF)9.

Key Specifications of GRMN iQ Supercharger (Prototype Model)

Base vehicle IQ 130G MT (arrow pronounced "go")

Length/width/height 3,140 mm/1,705 mm/1,470 mm

Wheelbase 2,000 mm

Weight 990 kg / 2,182 lb

Seating 4

Driveline Front-wheel drive

Engine 1NR-FE + supercharger

Displacement 1,329 cc

Maximum output 95 kW (130 PS)/5,200 rpm

Maximum torque 180 N-m (18.3 kgf-m)/4,400 rpm

Transmission Six-speed manual transmission (close ratio)

Tires 195/55R16

Main features Performance - Specially-tuned suspension

- Exclusive brake pads & rotors

- Specially-tuned mufflers (dual)

- Lower gear reduction ratio

Exterior - Blister fenders

- Exclusive bumpers (front & rear)

- Exclusive rear spoiler

- Aluminum wheels (by Enkei)

Interior - Exclusive sport seats

- Exclusive gauges (200 km/h scale)

Toyota's plans to release an all-electric minicar have been trashed, according to Reuters, which reported that the carmaker "misread the market" and overestimated the still-emerging battery technology.
The Japanese company originally announced plans in 2010 to roll out several thousand battery-powered eQ vehicles per year, but instead will provide an extremely limited release of 100 vehicles in the U.S. and Japan.
Dropping the new, pure-electric variant of Toyota's iQ minicar – expected to retail at $45,000, according to the Associated Press – was the company's way of casting doubt on an alternative to the combustion engine which, according to Reuters, has been applauded for its oil-saving potential and criticized for its heavy reliance on government subsidies.
"The current capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet society's needs, whether it may be the distance the cars can run, or the costs, or how it takes a long time to charge," Toyota's vice chairman and vehicle development engineer Takeshi Uchiyamada told Reuters.
Uchiyamada spearheaded the manufacturer's development of the Prius hybrid in the 1990s, the news organization said, and is playing a part in Toyota's attempt to add a hybrid variant to every vehicle is sells. The company is emphasizing that technology, announcing today that it expects to have 21 hybrid gas-electric models like the Prius by 2015.
Toyota's only all-electric choice comes in the RAV4 model, which the automaker expects to sell 2,600 of over the next three years, Reuters said. Comparatively, almost 37,000 Camry sedans hit U.S. roads in August alone, making up Toyota's largest market. Only 8,400 Prius plug-in hybrids were sold in Japan this year, not even close to the expected 35,000 to 40,000 goal.
Meanwhile, Nissan's Leaf pure EV has sold about 38,000 since the car launched in late 2010.

the carmaker "misread the market" and overestimated the still-emerging battery technology.