Co-worker bought a 2012 Scion IQ.

[jigen]

He went to the dealership looking for a truck, left with one of these:

Amazing what happens when you go to a dealership.

This thing is... odd. I took it for a drive I noticed a few things.

- The interior is actually nice and well put together for a car in this class. Lots of plastics but everything felt solid and no creaks or rattles that I noticed.

- Since the engine is basically under the dash there isn't any storage spots. Not even a glove box. They have little pull-out storage spots under the seat. Seems to be efficient.

- You get looks when driving it. The thing is definitely funny looking, kinda like the helmet of a stormtrooper.

- No back cargo space without the back seats going down. You cant even fit a shoebox in there. Once the backseats go down you have some room, but very little. I wouldn't want to be rear ended sitting in the back, 10 airbags or not.

- Back seats are so cramped that I found them to be pretty useless. I would probably opt for a two seater IQ with more storage space if that was available.

- Good stereo. Above average stereo for a car like this, but I hear most newer Scions have good stereos.

- Expensive. Pretty sure this cost him about 15k. Seems like a lot for this kind of car.

- 94hp/89tq, 2100lbs. 0-60 in 11.6 seconds. You would think that sounds unbearable but I had no issues with power with this thing. It's pretty slow, sure, but it's meant to be.

- The CVT was terrible. I always felt like the transmission was all over the place. It felt and sounded terrible and just took back a lot of the experience driving it. I don't have much experience with CVT's but I drove a few Nissans with them and had 0 complaints compared to this thing. After reading some reviews, many others say the same.

- 36mpg city 37mpg hwy

Anyone else have any experience with these things?

 

[spasm3]

I'm suprised the fuel economy is that poor for its size. 94 hp 2100lbs and a cvt i would have expected 45 for hwy mileage. I'd have gotten something bigger for the same fuel economy.

 

[ARB1977]

Disappointing gas mileage for how little it is. At least get the tc and have a little fun.

 

[REDDOG]

I like the looks of it. I like the idea of it. As stated though, I'm shocked its only rated for 37 highway, being so small and light and having a CVT. My "old school" 4 speed Yaris is rated for 35 hwy, which I can easily get in mixed driving in the depth of winter. And the Yaris has real back seats + cargo space.

 

[REDDOG]

Come to think of it, maybe Toyota has "sabotaged" the straight up gas models so they don't steal any hybrid thunder. I know most anyone could easlily beat 37 in that thing, but come on, it should be rated for 45+!

 

[MBS500]

I sat in one of those. Back seats are useless. In my Fiat you can actually give a ride to someone in city and should be fine for kids. They fold down and you get big trunk, but I didn't have a need for that yet, all groceries/oil boxes fit just fine.
Manual gearbox and little turbo will make IQ a fun zipper.

 

[jigen]

I don't know....

http://www.fuelly.com/car/scion/iq/2012

 

[friendly_jacek]

Folks, this is city car, not hwy car. The city MPG is good for a non-hybrid. Who cares about hwy MPG?

I would only buy it if it helped me with parking in small spaces. Perfect for European cities.

 

[Tboss]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Folks, this is city car, not hwy car. The city MPG is good for a non-hybrid. Who cares about hwy MPG?

I would only buy it if it helped me with parking in small spaces. Perfect for European cities.

lol

 

[hisilver]

How's that Beetle supposed to get out?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: jigen
He went to the dealership looking for a truck, left with one of these:

Some people are just weak.

 

[Brandon Gatz]

For the same money I woulda gotten an 18 month old fully loaded Kia Soul.

 

[Spazdog]

I don't know how you walk past a Yaris and buy this.

At least the Yaris has a useable cargo area behind the rear seats and rear seats that can be used by people with....you know, legs.

Most Yaris drivers report 35mpg or so

Or a Spark

Or spend an extra 5000 on a CR-Z

 

[mechanicx]

I find this funny, the car and the thread. It kind of reminds me of the Seinfeld episode at the car dealership where George is still bitter about getting suckered into buying a Le Car in the past.

Maybe if the car got over 45 mpg or was battery powered I could see it, but it's not for me.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The car is so small with less than 100HP engine and only get 37 MPG on highway, while the Camry and Accord are much bigger with about twice the power and get 35-36 MPG.

 

[david_ES2]

Older civic base model hatchbacks with the same or less power got better gas mileage, and you still had a bunch of space

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The car is so small with less than 100HP engine and only get 37 MPG on highway, while the Camry and Accord are much bigger with about twice the power and get 35-36 MPG.


Yeah that. I remember when cars looked like this

and had decent interior room and got 38 MPG. This era corolla navigated cities quite well. Back then for Japanese sales you had to fit your car inside one of several "box sizes" so a corolla pretty much equalled a 323, civic, or sentra.

As for the rear seats they're probably there to make the thing cheaper to insure. I'd hate to try and put a rear facing baby seat back there.

A 2012, is it used? Did someone get sick of it?

 

[sciphi]

Looks like a fair runabout. For urban duty where public transit is non-existent or doesn't go where you need, it's a good choice.

Some of you folks complaining it doesn't get good highway fuel economy don't get it. It's a CITY car meant for being easy to park in the urban jungle, not a HIGHWAY car meant to gobble up the wide-open miles.

 

[VicVinegar]

I'm always disappointed by the fuel economy on these really small cars. This, the Smart car, and even the Fiat 500 should be doing better, or at least you would think they could.

Heck, $15k could possibly get a leftover '12 Civic. A heck of a lot more car. I suppose it is a moot point if you really want a city car for its size, but most people probably don't.

 

[KrisZ]

Seriously, how do you walk into a dealership floor with intent to buy a truck and end up owning this little penalty box? It's obvious that the truck was not needed in this case, but still a Yaris would've been a much better choice. Are people that malleable?