2012 Scion iQ
 

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...

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:

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

Not sporty, not efficient. :(

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.

We have a couple of other threads on the iQ:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...rch-14271.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...1-a-11816.html

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.

36 mpg. that's it???
 

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...

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

2012 Scion iQ Road Test - Review - Car and Driver

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

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.

Daox -

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

I had hopes for the IQ until I learned it wouldn't have a manual transmission. The reviews are terribly disappointing.

2012 Scion iQ: Grassroots Motorsports New Car Reviews

GRM was unable to get good mileage as well.

Ran across this while looking at some hypermodding tips and thought I'd drag it out of the graveyard and give my $.02.

The car isn't too bad overall. Great build quality, very reliable, and functional even at highway speeds (I can maintain 80mph up a pretty steep central PA mountain grade with no problem). There are problems however, the tiny 78" wheelbase makes for some bumps that feel like all four wheels them at the same time and definitely upset the suspension when doing so, also I agree MPG could be better. My wife drive it to work over the mountain in good weather daily and gets between 38mpg and 41mpg with tires inflated to 38psi warm and on 87 octane (car actually has 11.5:1 compression), however when I drive it, I'm more of a "foot to the floor" kind of driver as I drive an average of less than 5 miles weekly so when I get in a car I do it for enjoyment. So far with that persona of driving I'm getting anywhere form 30mpg to 33mpg, but that's foot on the floor around the mountain roads in Central PA. The other item I mention is the lack of 4th person seating. I'm 6'4" tall and 240lbs. and I can easily sit behind myself on the passenger side, however my niece who's 5 years old can barely fit behind me on the drivers side in her booster. Also if she, myself, my wife and our other niece where to get into the car together there is VERY little room for cargo. Mostly laps, center blank area between front seats, and area under passenger legs/seat (no tray installed). So, next to nothing. As far as fun to drive characteristics it's not as bad as all the reviews say. It pulls odd on a skidpad for whatever reason and similar in my experience in my one SCCA event with Volk TE37 205/50/15 Advan Neo (specs say .84g left and .77 right), but with good tires it seemed pretty responsive albeit slow. I've never taken it to a drag strip, but according to motorweek, it runs 17.4 @ 80mph, not too shabby for 89tq and 94hp, partially it's because the CVT has an alternating final gear up to 5.40. In any case, it's become my play toy since you can get them for $5k to $9k with low mileage. Europe has had them on their list of most reliable cars for the last few years, bouncing between 1st and 3rd. Anyway, like I said, just my $.02.

Odd the IQs hold their prices despite being orphans.

Ahh, I wondered why I keep seeing what looked like a smart car but with a Scion badge. Now I know...

BTW, whoever it is is suicidal...merged right in to a 5-ton van...if the van driver hadn't slammed on his brakes, there'd be nothing left of that little thing.