2012 Scion iQ

[A.J.]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else was impatiently awaiting the Scion iQ and was disappointed like me when the tech specs came out.

I mean the CVT (and the lack of a manual), the 36/37 mpg (only!) rating... This thing has a lot of potential to be a very frugal machine for eco-minded city dwellers like me, but I feel like it's technologically underwhelming...

[ProDarwin]

At 2100lbs, it looked like it could be a fun toy, but it is underwhelming from several perspectives:

No manual transmission
Crappy suspension (strut front, torsion beam rear)
Sub-par mileage figures
And most importantly: $16K MSRP !?!?

Car and Driver did not have good things to say about the CVT, either:

jam a brick on the accelerator, and the iQ’s little engine runs to about four grand and sticks there as the car slowly engineers forward progress with a drone.

Every time the iQ is about to do something entertaining, the CVT intrudes and spoils it. Dive into a corner, the tires bite and…the transmission induces its drone of defeat and the car practically falls on its nose. Scion says the iQ will run from 0 to 60 mph in 11.8 seconds, but a better estimate might be a week.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t-drive-review

Not sporty, not efficient.

[Daox]

Those same reviewers probably also just got out of a 300hp BMW or Lexus. They almost always give small cars bad reviews. Who the heck needs to go 0-60 in under 10 seconds in a 'city' car anyways?

That suspension setup has been used on almost all smaller Toyota vehicles for decades. There really isn't anything wrong with it.

The highway efficiency side of it is a bit of a let down, but if you took at look at the competitor (smart) you probably would have known that the mileage wouldn't be too great. Its a tall short car, this isn't conducive to good aero and a high highway rating. On the other hand, the city rating is very good and beats all non-hybrid vehicles currently sold!

The price is about the only thing I can't defend. $16k is kind of rediculous.

[ProDarwin]

Originally Posted by Daox

Those same reviewers probably also just got out of a 300hp BMW or Lexus. They almost always give small cars bad reviews. Who the heck needs to go 0-60 in under 10 seconds in a 'city' car anyways?

That suspension setup has been used on almost all smaller Toyota vehicles for decades. There really isn't anything wrong with it.

The highway efficiency side of it is a bit of a let down, but if you took at look at the competitor (smart) you probably would have known that the mileage wouldn't be too great. Its a tall short car, this isn't conducive to good aero and a high highway rating. On the other hand, the city rating is very good and beats all non-hybrid vehicles currently sold!

The price is about the only thing I can't defend. $16k is kind of rediculous.

My point wasn't that the performance is so abysmal. The performance is crappy and the economy isn't great and the price is high. I would expect it to impress in at least one of those areas.

[NeilBlanchard]

We have a couple of other threads on the iQ:

Scion iQ Set to Hit Dealers in March

Scion iQ hybrid to be for sale in 2011

The economy is my biggest disappointment: they bumped it up to a 1.3L 4 cylinder from a 1L 3 cylinder, and the CVT may be better than a typical automatic, but I think the manual is a 6 speed? The Japanese and European model is rated at ~55MPG, which would be great.

I also was emailed back in September and I just checked on Friday -- they have no iQ's yet at my local Scion dealer.

[A.J.]

Originally Posted by Daox

On the other hand, the city rating is very good and beats all non-hybrid vehicles currently sold!

LOL I don't agree that 36 mpg city is "very good"! It's merely ok, considering the Yaris (5-speed manual) gets 30 mpg city and weighs just 168 pounds more...
Plus the manual Yaris is more "hypermile-able" than the CVT-iQ...

[some_other_dave]

You don't think that 20% better than a car that has what I consider good MPG figures is "very good"? I think I do.

Too bad about the lack of a manual trans. And the highway MPG. And the price.

-soD

[ProDarwin]

2012 Scion iQ Road Test - Review - Car and Driver

31mpg from Car and Driver. I'm not impressed.

[Daox]

Most car reviewers (C&D especially) seem to think that everyone drives their car 'like they stole it', and I find they nag at a lot of issues like handling in corners at extreme speeds. Who drives like that on a daily basis? They never come close to getting EPA mileage on their reviews. These are just a few reasons I don't bother reading their articles. It just doesn't apply at all to how I drive or what I want in a vehicle.

[cfg83]

Daox -

Originally Posted by Daox

Most car reviewers (C&D especially) seem to think that everyone drives their car 'like they stole it', and I find they nag at a lot of issues like handling in corners at extreme speeds. Who drives like that on a daily basis? They never come close to getting EPA mileage on their reviews. These are just a few reasons I don't bother reading their articles. It just doesn't apply at all to how I drive or what I want in a vehicle.

Yeah, I wish they would have different drivers specialize in different driving techniques. Then you could have an MPG breakdown of performance/normal/frugal.

CarloSW2