This is the future of cars.

OK so I broke down; bought a sub compact. This is totally the future of motoring I am fully convinced.

It does 95% of what you need a car to do, it holds 3 people. Cheap on gas, very recyclable in the long run, small and easy to park. No hybrid drive but with a small D motor I think it could do 65+mpg all day long.

2700$ off MSRP because it was a 2012. Drove it home 75+ on the freeway no problem what so ever. Small enough to park behind my wife's car.

Little gussied up with a wing, some nicer speaker's and carpets.

Good luck with the IQ----- you certainly won't have any problems finding places to park!

I wish it had a manual trans, but the CVT has to be better than the Smart Car transmission.

akamcfly wrote: I wish it had a manual trans, but the CVT has to be better than the Smart Car transmission.

If the smart car had a decent transmission I would be driving that. I just could not deal with it.

But its a Toyota so it should last pretty much forever.

Rented a nissan micra with 1.3TD in Italy 7 years ago, and it still sticks as one of the coolest 4 doors ever. 60-70mpg, and actually reasonably fun going up the dolomite rd. Anything would be fun going up that road, but the torque at corner exit every time was welcome, and the wife actually enjoyed it.

This was C&D's comment about the CVT:

"Here’s what’s wrong with the new Scion iQ: It’s stuck with a continuously variable transmission that drains the fun out of it. Every. Single. Drop."

If that car had had a manual transmission, it would be in the driveway instead of the FRS. I figured for the price I was going to pimp the thing with rubber and rims and turbo and have a howl until I killed it. CVT is like a lobotomy to a car; all fun receptors are shut down.

Except for doing U-turns...I actually giggled after doing about 10 quick revolutions in the parking lot.

The IQ does not feel much different than my wife's Nissan Versa; until you reach behind you and touch the back window. I also like the quirky styling, but then again, I have a Bugeye Sprite and think that's cool also, so what do I know!

Have fun.

jstein77 wrote: This was C&D's comment about the CVT: "Here’s what’s wrong with the new Scion iQ: It’s stuck with a continuously variable transmission that drains the fun out of it. Every. Single. Drop."

If you drop it into sport it actually is pretty quick. If you put it in B holds the revs pretty well.

Also new Toyota's=Appliance not fun.

For most people not us, it is almost perfect.

I wonder if its really any nicer.

Again I am crazy but if I could get a real cygnet I would. Someone somewhere has got to make a bodykit at some point.

If mini can have Rolls Royce make a submodel and it sells. Aston could sell a cygnet here in the US. 30K and they would fly off the lots.

I've also been watching the subcompact market very closely lately. I think I'll probably own one in the next year or so. I think a B-spec-ish car for a combo daily driver/weekend warrior sounds like a lot of fun on the cheap.

Bryce

It will be interesting to see what kind of mileage you really get out of that thing. I've been dissapointed by the mileage of B and sub B cars out there- especially real world.

If you can regularly get +50, let alone +60, that would be very good.

Have fun with it!

alfadriver wrote: It will be interesting to see what kind of mileage you really get out of that thing. I've been dissapointed by the mileage of B and sub B cars out there- especially real world. If you can regularly get +50, let alone +60, that would be very good. Have fun with it!

So "allegedly" jack the tires up to about 45psi and the mileage is supposed to soar.

I can really hyper mile when I need to so I will give it a shot.

That's not just a sub-compact, that's a sub-sub-compact A Mustang II is a sub-compact.

I like the name supermini, mostly because of the implication that it has a secret identity and fights crime.

Don't hypermile it. Drive the wheels off it and laugh when you get 45 mpg. It's like a classic Mini that way.

NOHOME, the upside is that if you really got deathly bored with it, you could go drive your wife's Versa and then the Scion will feel like the most fun car in the world :)

Well it is no longer the future car as it will not start.

The dealership forgot to disable the theft sensors so its a pretty box right now in my garage. They are sending out a mechanic so they don;t have to tow it back.

You sure that's not a smart car with the wrong badge?

I'd love a little "town" car that gets 60-70 mpg and was just big enough to go into town and get groceries. A big plus is if the interior were comfortable enough and the car stable enough to cruise all day at 70-75 so we could take some weekend trips.

The best part of owning one of those cars is they are easy to keep clean, just pop it in the dishwasher before bed and wake up to a nice shiny car.

I would be convinced they are the future of motoring, except this is America, where:

A) Having a small physical footprint doesn't have nearly the value it does elsewhere in the world. I know there are a few metro areas where it does, but probably 95% of the country could care less.

and

B) The cost is the same as a car with a larger footprint that is more comfortable/seats 4/gets similar mileage/etc. Build me a sub-sub compact I can buy new for $7k... now we're talking!

Note that I'm not knocking you for buying one at all. I think they are great. I hope it turns out to get excellent mileage. I hope other manufacturers offer something that will compete with the Smart and IQ. Preferably with a manual. Or a low cost hybrid option.

I'm still not sold on the styling of current cars, but at least that one's not the size of a house. Any idea what it weighs?

friedgreencorrado wrote: I'm still not sold on the styling of current cars, but at least that one's not the size of a house. Any idea what it weighs?

1896lb's.

wearymicrobe wrote:

friedgreencorrado wrote: I'm still not sold on the styling of current cars, but at least that one's not the size of a house. Any idea what it weighs?

1896lb's.

Not bad! Especially considering it's got to pass modern crash testing.

My B sub compact easily gets 40+ mpg and has shown 52 when I try. And it has an automatically shifted transmission. Plus it is fun to drive.

"car of the future"

With the new CAFE goals over the next 10 years or so you may be more right then any of us would like to think about.