Toyota has unveiled a less-is-more pricing strategy for the new iQ, announcing a £9,495 starting price for the pint-sized city car.
That pitches the iQ some way above the starting outlay for its most obvious rival, the
Smart ForTwo, though the Japanese newcomer has a few tricks up its sleeve.
It will carry one more passenger than its German rival for a start, and even in base spec it features a list of standard equipment that would put some premium cars to shame.
Powered by a 67bhp 1.0-litre VVTi engine - the only unit available - the iQ comes as standard with 15-inch rims, air conditioning, electric door mirrors, tinted glass, a six-speaker stereo and a rather cool flat-bottomed leather steering wheel.
Spend £1,000 to upgrade to 'iQ
2' spec and you'll get polished alloys, climate control, an engine starter button, front fog lights and automatic bi-halogen headlights with smoked covers.
Further options include satnav with Bluetooth (£950), leather seats (£700), and you can take your pick from three accessory packs, aptly named iStyle, iSports and iUrban. The first adds 'styling elements' (though Toyota isn't saying what they are), the second includes a sporty body kit, and the third bags a set of fancy mats and those oh-so-important rear parking sensors.
A Multidrive CVT auto 'box is available for a further £1,000, though it increases CO
2 emissions to 110g/km from 99g/km, and the manual's 65.7mpg fuel consumption will take a hit too.
And for such a small car, it's not short on safety acronyms, featuring ABS, brake assist (BA), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), vehicle stability control (VSC+) and traction control (TRC). Phew. It's also got the world's first rear window airbag, though we don't think Toyota is marketing it as the WFRWA...
Available to order now in three metallic paint hues - white, red and purple - the iQ will hit showrooms in January next year.
Mark Nichol - 13 Oct 2008