NEW YORK – Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.’s Scion brand unveils the iQ concept here, but the youth-oriented nameplate’s top executive says it would take at least a year to turn it into a production entry for the emerging micro-subcompact-car segment.
“This could drive off the stage,” Jack Hollis, vice-president-Scion, says of the concept model. “We are still looking at it from a concept standpoint. But we’d love to see Scion expand from the current three products, and this might be the way to go,” he tells Ward’s after the iQ concept’s introduction at the auto show here.
Scion iQ would represent a long-discussed fourth vehicle for the brand’s lineup, which now consists of the xD subcompact, boxy xB cross/utility vehicle and tC sport coupe. Toyota confirmed to Ward’s earlier this year the New York concept would be a new model and not replace an existing one.
While the Toyota iQ has been sold in Japan since November and in Europe since December, it would take the auto maker at least a year to homologate its emissions and crashworthiness to stricter U.S. standards.
“We’d have to do some extra engineering, but I would say we’ve a got a good starting point, Hollis says. “In Japan and Europe, (the iQ) is at five stars (crashworthiness).”
Toyota also must figure out how the iQ would fit into a segment that currently has just one other entry, Smart USA’s Fortwo. “With this concept, we think we’ve put some things in it that this segment is looking for,” Hollis says.
Scion iQ exterior design characterized by short overhangs, wheels-to-corners.
The 10-ft. (3-m) long iQ concept also experiments with a rear-seating area accommodating one adult and one child, or a pet or small package. The rear seats fold flat, and the rear-seat cushion includes a small storage space underneath.
Uniquely designed air-conditioning unit increases front-passenger roominess.
Hollis says a newly engineered, compact air-conditioning unit behind the center front console opens up front-passenger legroom. And instead of a glove box, the concept includes a detachable “glove bag.”
The iQ concept rides on a 79-in. (200-cm) wheelbase and measures 71.4 ins. (181.4 cm) wide. A set of 18-in. wheels barely squeeze into the wheel wells and are pushed to the very corners of the car for a surefooted look. The iQ concept also features nine airbags, including a first-ever rear-window curtain airbag.
Hollis expects a production-version of the iQ concept would achieve between 35-45 mpg (6.7-5.2 L/100 km), saying a closer approximation requires more research into possible powertrains Toyota might use. In Japan and Europe, the production iQ uses both 1.0L and 1.1L gasoline engines, as well as a diesel mill.
© Source: wardsauto
We need your comments below >>
“This could drive off the stage,” Jack Hollis, vice-president-Scion, says of the concept model. “We are still looking at it from a concept standpoint. But we’d love to see Scion expand from the current three products, and this might be the way to go,” he tells Ward’s after the iQ concept’s introduction at the auto show here.
