Geneva 2008: Toyota iQ

The finished version of Toyota’s new iQ city car has just been launched here at the Geneva motor show. And it's barely changed from the clever, cute concept that we were introduced to in Frankfurt last year.

The iQ is the ‘world’s smallest four-seater car’, boasts its maker, measuring just 2985mm in length. To achieve such tight packaging, Toyota’s engineers have come up with a clever cabin system that allows three adults and one child to sit in comfort, despite the iQ’s diminutive, almost Smart car dimensions.

They’ve also miniaturised components like the air conditioning; developed a flat under floor fuel tank; come up with a new differential that allows the iQ to have short front overhangs, and slimmed down the dashboard and seats. You can read in more detail about the iQ’s packaging on Hilton Holloway’s Geneva blog.

Introducing the assembled global media to the iQ, Andrea Formica, Vice-President of Toyota Europe said it was the most “major milestone” in Toyota’s vehicle development since the Prius. He added that the iQ would have a “large effect on the market, but a small effect on the environment.”