I must admit it's cute and being from Toyota it's probably gonna sell like hotcakes in the US. . .
My biggest complaint is the size (or lack of) a cargo area. In the smart I can fit lots of stuff in the cargo area. In the IQ anything of any size will have to go into the rear seats.......
It also looks like it's much lower to the ground meaning more scrunching up to get into the seats; that's why I passed on a Mini and a new Beetle.
I would not sit in the back of that car - nor would I put anyone I care about in the rear seats neither.
Once people see it I think it will become obvious how impractical and useless the back seat is.
Everyone in my family is 5'10 or taller; look closely at the video and look how little room there is for legs in the back seat - you can see this when they show the other front seat cranked forward to the point no one could sit in it.
Inside it is beyond ugly; outside IMO is not much better.
This I say not because I own a smart; but because it is what I think.
I think the Citreon C1, C2, C3 and Pluriel, Renault Twingo, Fiat 500 and the Ford Ka are better looking cars and the rear seats are probably more viable.... though you will probably ever see any of these in the US.
For some reason or other the manufacturers feel we won't buy any of those cars I guess, although I hear we may get to see the new Ka soon, and definately the Fiesta. Hopefully a Micra one day too. I wish Peugeot would make a comeback too...I wouldn't mind one of these in diesel please...
How many times Do I need to hear "Because it can carry 4 people its smarter than a smart"
We have a smart becasue it is designed to carry no more than 2 people. I Don't want to compromise with a car that "can" carry 4 people but will sacrifice cargo space for that one in 100 drives where I might need to carry more than 1 or 2 people.
We are a two driver family with two cars. One for the family, and one for the driver who isn't with the family that day. Each one is desiged to meet those needs exatcly. The Versa carrys the family of 4 and enough stuff for a week. The smart will carry a parent to and from work, 1 person going to the grocery store, and a parent and a kid when we need to go different directions.
If I want a car to carry 4, I buy one to carry 4 and stuff, becasue you can never take the kids without stuff.
I wouldn't buy a micro car just because it seats four people - that's ridiculous. I only need a two passenger microcar. There are compromises just for Toyoto to claim that as a marketing tool against the smart. It carries less luggage, is longer, slower, less roomy for anyone, seats less comfortable, and more. Also, is there any documentation about crash testing on that car yet - for all four passengers?
Toyota has other cars that are not much larger but far more comfortable and practical. Why did they do this?
It has been tested... better than smart in front and side impacts. The idea isn't to one-up the smart with the four-seat thing. with the seats folded and the vehicle used as a city-car like most smarts, it has more cargo capacity, is hartly bigger, gets better mpg, has "normal" transmissions, ipod and sat/nav, air curtains (including for the rear) etc. In other words, this is a car anyone can get into and feel like they're driving a normal car. Having sat in one (and owning a fortwo) I can tell you it's definitely impressive. Hey, the more micro cars, the better!
It has been tested... better than smart in front and side impacts. The idea isn't to one-up the smart with the four-seat thing. with the seats folded and the vehicle used as a city-car like most smarts, it has more cargo capacity, is hartly bigger, gets better mpg, has "normal" transmissions, ipod and sat/nav, air curtains (including for the rear) etc. In other words, this is a car anyone can get into and feel like they're driving a normal car. Having sat in one (and owning a fortwo) I can tell you it's definitely impressive. Hey, the more micro cars, the better!
Sorry, but the crash tests weren't with a smart equipped the same as the one we have here. Let's wait for the crash tests with a US smart vs a US iQ - which we still haven't seen yet.
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2009 Smart Passion Cabrio
1 - LT N FLFY
2 - Forests ride
3 - Little Blue
4 - Big Red
Today
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