| Motorshow Preview | 2008 Geneva Motor Show | Toyota Display |
Big is the new small for Toyota at the
Geneva motorshow in March as the Japanese firm will show off its three-seater iQ city car for the first time ever in production-ready form. Keeping the iQ company will be the Urban Cruiser, which is a mini-SUV that will be on sale in the UK this year.
The iQ has exterior dimensions much the same as a
Smart Fortwo, but Toyota has managed to fit in three seats plus room for luggage. To achieve this, Toyota brought together several engineering innovations and says the iQ is a 'radical shift away from the belief that small cars are inherently basic and less safe.'
The Urban Cruiser is larger than the iQ, but still no bigger than most superminis. It has been designed for city driving and Toyota promises it will deliver low emissions and fuel consumption.
As well as these two cars, which are all set to go on sale, Toyota will have three other small cars on its Geneva stand. These include the Plug-in Hybrid prototype and two concepts, the first called the 1/X Plug-in Hybrid that uses flex-fuel technology and second is the i-Real personal mobility vehicle.
Alisdair Suttie - 13 Feb 2008