2012 Scion iQ

Smarter "Not so 'Smart' after all?" The older gentleman in the grocery store parking lot asked as I wheeled my loaded cart to the back of the 2012 Scion iQ. On the contrary, sir. After he finished chuckling and drove away, I successfully loaded $150 worth of groceries into the iQ's cargo area, including a pallet of 24 water bottles. And upon returning to my loft, I effortlessly backed the little Scion underneath the awning that covers the entrance to my building, keeping myself out of the rain while unloading my goods. Seems pretty smart to me. But that's not the only reason why I like the iQ. Once you get past the novelty of its you-can-park-me-anywhere size, you aren't left with a completely miserable little machine. The Scion's list of good virtues doesn't consist of a single, solitary bullet point, and during my week with the tiniest Toyota, I was determined to see if the iQ was more than just a smarter Smart. There's a smattering of excellent subcompact offerings available to Americans these days. To say we could all do without the ForTwo is a no-brainer. The iQ, however, certainly has potential. Let's back up for a moment and talk about the fact that the older gentleman mistook the iQ for its arch nemesis, the Smart ForTwo. He wasn't the only one who did that during my week with the Scion, one of my neighbors stating that she "hates the Smart car." It's understandable why people still aren't recognizing the iQ for what it is. Scion chose to roll out its microcar in a similar fashion to how the brand's first two offerings – the xA and xB – were launched in the early 2000s. Sales started on the west coast, moved to key markets on the east coast and are now slowly starting to proliferate throughout the rest of the country – I have yet to see another one on the roads around Detroit. Scion is already outselling the Smart – 4,382 to 3,670 despite not being on sale in all markets for all months. Even with this slow and steady introduction to the United States, the iQ is doing fairly well for itself. Through the first five months of this year, the Scion is already outselling the Smart – 4,382 to 3,670 despite not being on sale in all markets for all months. Let's talk about the Scion's sheer smallness, however. At 120.1 inches long (that's just a tick over ten feet), the little scamp can fit horizontally into some larger parking spaces, though this technically isn't legal. Compared to the ForTwo, the iQ is 14 inches longer, 4.7 inches wider (66.1 total) and 1.6 inches shorter in height (59.1). Scion offers the iQ with standard 16-inch wheels that are comically large compared to its diminutive size, and the Hot Lava test car you see here was even fitted with TRD lowering springs, making those alloys seem like the largest possible rollers you could fit inside …
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