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Originally Posted by vwW12
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Seems like minimal requirements to meet U.S. specs. Stronger bumpers and different airbags seems like an easy fix, but everyone is right safety will make or break a small car like this. I tend to think Toyota knows what they are doing, because overall...all their U.S. small cars got a Good for both side and front crash tests for 2009 model year. And they know who they are competing with so it'd be a loss of sales for them not to get a perfect score. Wonder what midterm means, does that mean a Scion iQ by middle of the 2009 year?
I may wait for the GM Genius, the Honda Brainiac, Ford Ka-lever, Chrysler Know-It-All to upgrade my Brabus.
So the Smart has 45.4 cu ft of interior volume, yet I can't seem to find the interior volume of the iQ anywhere. It's not as tall as the Smart (Smart is 60.7" tall versus iQ is 59.1" tall). The iQ is longer and wider, yet absolutely no article that I can find and even Toyota's website doesn't specify the interior volume.
I found one site that said the seats can be folded flat to create 242 litres of space, which converts to 8.5 cu ft. I suspect the 8.5 cubic feet is up to the "beltline" rather than up to the roof for safety reasons. Smart's website is very specific, it states 7.8 cubic feet up to the beltline and 12 cu. feet up to the roof.
0-60 in the Smart if faster, top speed is the same governed speed, Smart is lighter, it seems to all comes down to those extra seats and appearance. Gas mileage is the same. If the interior was bigger, then maybe but I suspect the interior of the iQ is less than the Smart which is why Toyota isn't boasting about interior volume and focusing on the extra seats, which will be interesting to see if the U.S. safety specs approve it or not. They may have more problems than just bumpers and airbags with that rear seat.
But what surprises me most is that Toyota (of all companies) didn't produce a car with better gas mileage than the Smart. Rather shocked.
Overall, I'm not impressed. If they had come out with a car with better gas mileage or a bigger interior, the only advantage other than personal preference of looks, manufacturer, etc. that I can see is that third seat...without that feature the car the car doesn't hold a huge advantage over the Smart.