iQ Sales Launch with 1.0L Gasoline and 1.4L Diesel; New 1.33L Gasoline Engine with Stop/Start Due in 2009
12 October 2008
Toyota’s new iQ city car (earlier post) is now on sale in Europe in two trim levels (iQ and iQ2), with first deliveries in January. At launch, the iQ range offers two engines: a 1.0-liter VVT-i gasoline engine and a 1.4-liter D4-D diesel. A new 1.33-liter dual VVT-i gasoline engine with stop-and-start technology will be available later in 2009.
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| The Toyota iQ. Click to enlarge. |
At launch there is a choice of three types of transmission, including a newly developed Multidrive transmission. All launch models conform to Euro IV regulations.
The entry-level gasoline iQ with 5-speed manual transmission offers combined cycle (NEDC) fuel consumption of 4.3 L/100km (55 mpg US) and 99 gCO2/km. The model with Multidrive carries a 4.7 L/100km (50 mpg US) and 110 g/km rating.
The iQ gasoline engine delivers maximum power of 50 kW (67 hp) @ 6,000 rpm and maximum torque of 91 Nm (67 lb-ft) @ 4,800 rpm.
The 1.4L D4-D turbodiesel will deliver 66 kW (89 hp) of power @ 3,400 rpm and 190 Nm (140 lb-ft of torque @ 2,000 rpm. Fitted with a six-speed manual transmission, the diesel iQ’s fuel consumption is 4.1 L/100km (57 mpg US) with CO2 emissions of 103 g/km.
The Multidrive transmission is Toyota’s latest continuously variable transmission technology. It continuously monitors and selects the most appropriate gear ratio and shifting speed, automatically eliminating ‘shift shock’ or jumping while changing gear. It maximizes available engine torque without unnecessary acceleration, as well as smoothing gear ratio changes.
A Gear Shift Indicator fitted on manual transmission models indicates to the driver when to shift up or down for optimal environmental performance. The system takes into account the driving conditions, including the level that the accelerator pedal is pressed and the vehicle speed. This indicator may result in a 0.5% to 3% fuel consumption reduction compared to normal gear shifting, depending on driver’s personal driving habits.
Multidrive models have an ECO driving indicator lamp on the multi-information display that encourages drivers to drive more economically by signalling when fuel and therefore CO2 are being saved. Current and average fuel consumption is also continuously shown.
Toyota expects yearly iQ sales to be around 80,000 units in Europe.
under 100g CO2 in the gasoline variant...impressive.
unfortunately i doubt these cars would be very good for american roads given the amount of highway driving that is requred...
Posted by: lensovet | 12 October 2008 at 12:58 PM
the diesel numbers are only .3L better wtf? it should be way better than that...
hm the diesel 6spd or the stop start... lol which one would a hypermiler buy if he likes to coast with the engine off :D
Posted by: philmcneal | 12 October 2008 at 01:33 PM
Usually diesel offers significantly better fuel economy than gazoline engine for a given car, however I already noticed before that this was less true for small cars than for medium size or bigger cars. The reason for this is unclear to me. The second thing is that gazoline engine are slowly catching up in efficiency, dowsizing, VVT, less cylinder for reduced friction and thermal losses start to pay off. The CVT transmission probably aslo help more in the case of the gazoline engine to stay to the max efficiency point when the diesel with is wider efficiency curve benefit less of the CVT. And there is more to come : direct injection and variable compression design, atkinson cycle, zero radial force design will reduce even further the friction and allow more downsizing.
Posted by: Treehugger | 12 October 2008 at 03:12 PM
Considering the size of this car, I would have expected something better than 3 litres per 100 km for the diesel version, i.e. better than the VW Lupo 3L and the Audi A2 1.2 diesel.
Posted by: Jorge | 12 October 2008 at 03:29 PM
The Ford Ka looks better and gets better fuel economy. Not terribly impressed.
Posted by: Dan A | 12 October 2008 at 04:39 PM
I forgot somtehing,
It is also true that Japanese diesel are still not as good as diesel designed in europe. Peugeot, fiat, VW, BMW and Mercedes are well ahead of Toyata, Nissan amd Honda in that field
Posted by: Trehugger | 12 October 2008 at 04:47 PM
Well, seeing this has more utility than the comparable not-so-Smart ForTwo that seems to be selling well in the United States, I say, "bring it to America, Toyota!"
I considered a Smart until I did a cost-value analysis and discovered I was better off buying a Toyota Yaris sedan. The Yaris sedan offers equal fuel economy to the gasser ForTwo, more room for passengers, a real trunk, better performance + highway manners, and it costs less to boot!
However, if I were in the market for a small only-for-the-city car, the Toyota iQ would get my vote over the smaller and less useful not-so-Smart ForTwo.
Posted by: DieselHybrid | 12 October 2008 at 05:51 PM
I often wonder why car companies do not design a smart car that can do all the hypermiling on its own. Imagine a car that can "feel" when it's going down the road at more than 1 or 2 degrees of inclination and shift to neutral while a relatively low power electric motor can "gently" push the car with enough force to maintain a constant velocity. How about having this same electric motor assist the gas engine while climbing a hill so that the engine is kept as close to the optimum efficiency point as possible? How about getting rid of the heavy underutilized lead battery and replacing it with a lighter lithium ion battery with similar volume so that the AC can be run for a few minutes while the engine is off? I believe computarized hypermiling will allow future cars to cut fuel consumption 10 to 20%. Microprocessing power is extremely high while price, weight, and power consumption is low.
Posted by: Freddy | 13 October 2008 at 04:30 AM
lensovent
I just got back from a two hour highway drive in my Daihatsu Microcar--660 CC and $12,000. Even with two adults and luggage, we cruised along nicely at 90 km/h, keeping up with highway trucks and bigger cars. At 180 cm--6 ft tall--I have no problems being comfortable for the entire journey. Why would a small car be a problem in the US? My Daithatsu drives infinitely better in ALL aspects than my 65 Beetle did and VW sold over 20 million of those. Once Americans get over the fact that gas is never coming down in price and that personal mobility is a luxury...a micro car, be it Daihatsu, Toyota or Ford, will be embraced by million. Then again, with Peak Oil just arriving now, let's hope that it's not too late....
Stuck In Shizuoka
Posted by: stuck in shizuoka | 13 October 2008 at 05:11 AM
@Stuck in Shizuoka-
While I tend to agree in general, 90 km/h is really not highway speed in many parts of the US. I live in Atlanta, and drove to the suburbs this weekend to do some specialty shopping. The flow of traffic was pushing 140 km/h (85 mph) at one point. Even the heavy trucks are going 120 km/h, despite legal weights of 40 tons. Come to think of it there are streets near me, complete with traffic lights (red lights) with speed limits of 55 mph (90 km/h).
That said, we made the weekend trip in a relatively small car- a Mini Cooper- and the only problem was not driving TOO fast. Certainly there is room for the US to move toward smaller cars, and less powerful cars. Even as fast as we do tend to drive, our cars typically could go much, much faster.
Posted by: Wes | 13 October 2008 at 06:05 AM
Posted by: Reality Czech | 13 October 2008 at 07:41 AM
Illegal in most states to leave the transmission in Neutral while coasting down hill. This is a basic driver rule on the licensing test...
While an individual is likely to never get caught in neutral (unless they willfully admit to it when questioned), a manufacturer could easily be held liable by the state for a fine on every vehicle produced that automatically switches into neutral gear.
Posted by: | 13 October 2008 at 10:01 AM
for the quote above that's because that law is based on old school cars that had crappy braking systems in the first place and required the engine braking to stop the car.
Now braking technology had advanced so fast they do 100% of the stopping for us, if you can time it so you can slap the transmission in D again it should be no problem.
You might as well ban manual transmission cars if you want to obey that law 100%.
IMO retarded laws that need to be updated.
Posted by: philmcneal | 13 October 2008 at 11:24 AM
I wonder if the car comes with an option of a snow shovel or you must stay behind a truck.
Posted by: Devarity | 13 October 2008 at 12:44 PM
If you don't like the law you work to have it changed. You don't just blatantly disregard it because you feel it is a "crappy law". There are plenty of people who feel quite a few laws are "crappy" but it doesn't change the fact that it is still a law until changed.
By the way, philmcneal, if you have a few minutes why don't you look through news archives for the last month on number of vehicles that plowed into a building, pedestrians, or other vehicles when the driver claimed "the car just went by itself/I couldn't control it" and then you still want to encourage this type of driver to cruise in neutral? They can't even remember to put their foot on the middle/left pedal - I woudln't want them to have to struggle to remember if they left their car in neutral as they plow through the next building/pedestrian.
Posted by: | 13 October 2008 at 02:54 PM
sounds like where you live, they need to pass an IQ test before even permitting to get their driver license! My local news article has such rarity of occurrence around my area.
Posted by: philmcneal | 14 October 2008 at 01:39 AM
Back to the topic:
The IQ sounds like a revolution in car design and I highly commend Toyota for doing what no other car company has dared attempt (the ForTwo as someone mentioned is flawed because it seats only 2 and isn't that efficient).
The reason why the diesel is only slightly more frugal is that it has TWICE the torque of the petrol engine and it is simply wasted as I doubt the engine is ever stressed. 140lb ft of torque is quite ridiculous for a car of this size, i'm sure you could pull away in 5th gear and tootle around town at 30mph in 6th at 1000rpm.
Toyota doesn't make a smaller diesel unit so they had to use this engine to give a diesel option. Given that this 90bhp diesel powers the Auris/Corolla quite effortlessly shows that they would do well to bring out a new sub 1 litre D4D unit.
Also, VW/Audi/PSA range of 1.4 diesels still only have 75hp so I'm not quite sure that the european manufacturers do have the edge over the Japanese. That and the fact that this 1.4 D4D unit is 6 years old now and it's still one of the most efficient units available today.
Posted by: nik | 14 October 2008 at 10:07 AM
I've read that Toyota may show the iQ as early as the Los Angeles Auto Show late November 2008 to be sold in the USA as a Scion model (it'll be called Scion iQ). The US model will likely be powered by the 1.3-liter gasoline engine with the CVT automatic or five-speed manual. (By the way, selling the iQ in the USA isn't so far-fetched. Look at the bumper design of the iQ--it looks like it's been designed with meeting NHTSA regulations for front and rear bumpers.)
Posted by: Raymond | 15 October 2008 at 09:02 AM