The 2012 Scion iQ – Quite Possibly My Next Car
My next car will probably be new (my first two were used), and will be replacing my trusty-but-aging 1998 Honda Civic DX hatchback. This may sound strange, but lately I’ve been sitting in the little thing (I named her the Black Pearl) and wondering “do I really need a car this big?” Only problem is, very few cars sold in America are smaller than the one I’ve already got. On paper, the Scion iQ offers everything I want in a car, which is, in short (no pun intended), no more and no less car than I need.
I’ll reserve final judgement till I actually get behind the wheel of one on the road, but from spending some time in one in Tokyo and everything I’ve read, it matches what I’m looking for in a car more than anything else out there. And the choice in the subcompact segment have never been wider: Hyundai Veloster and Accent, Kia Rio, Chevy Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit and CR-Z, Toyota Yaris, Scion xD, Mazda2, Fiat 500, Smart ForTwo, and a few I may have left out. The following are ten criteria, ranked by importance, by which I shall measue the iQ.
1. Packaging. This is where the little Toyota really has the edge over everyone, even the Smart. While only a little longer than that overpriced penalty-box, it manages to fit a rear seat for one in a pinch and two in an emergency. No, it’s not the most spacious or comfortable backseat, but I very rarely need the backseat I have (an advantage of all your family and friends owning capacious wagons of one sort or another). Thus, the iQ’s slight backseat will usually be the storage compartment. The iQ’s diminutiveness (it’s more than three feet shorter than the Pearl) isn’t just a novelty; I live in Philly. In center city and Roxborough alike, parking space is at a premium. The iQ will allow me to park places and make u-turns where I wasn’t able to before, even in the wee Pearl. That’s huge for me, because I hate looking for parking spaces.
2. Fuel Economy. My Civic has a 4-speed automatic (I’ve yet to learn stick), and it rarely tops 25-26 mpg in combined driving. The Scion promises 36 city 37 highway, thanks to low weight and an efficiency-minded Continuously-Variable Transmission. Even if my aggressive driving style nets me 32-34, that’s still considerable improvement. Better fuel economy means more money in my pocket.
3. Price. Scion, like Saturn (RIP) before it, has a policy of no-haggle pricing. While that can mean no big discounts, it also means no dealer markups and no negotiations. Which is good, because while I don’t suck at negotiating, it isn’t my strong suit. The iQ starts at $15,995. My ceiling is about $18-$19K, so we’re good. No, it’s not a lot of car for the money, but it is a lot of what I want in a car for the money, which is a key distinction.
4. Quality/Reliability. Scion is the youthful offshoot brand of Toyota. Toyota’s had some rough spots lately, but Camrys and Corollas still dominate streets and parking lots, and not just because of their rep, but because they last. My brother and sister-in-law both own Camrys, and as far as I know, they haven’t had any big problems with them. As I’ve said, I’ve been in an iQ, and it has a nice solid, well-build feel to it. Which is good: it’s shaped like a brick; it may as well be solid as one.
5. Comfort/Safety. The back seat may be a torture device, but I found the front seat more spacious than the Pearl‘s, with an airier feeling to it, and a more upright position. Visibility is on par with my car, and the beauty of being so short is that checking the blind spots is easy. The Pearl has no ABS, no stability control, and two old airbags. The iQ has all of that, and eight additional airbags, including the only rear-window curtain airbag. Some say size means safe, but I disagree. The iQ is a smaller target, and easy to see out of and to maneuver to avoid trouble. It’s definitely safer than my fifteen-year-old Honda.
6. Performance. My Pearl won’t win many drag races, and even when new was less about muscle (it has none) and more about the impression of quickness. She’s a “zippy” car, but takes a long time to get up to highway speed, and even at 70, you can tell she’s out of gears and struggling. By 80 or 90, the whole car shakes; as if she knows she’s out of the city, which she doesn’t like. As a modern car, the iQ will be far more disciplined, though with only 90 horsepower (still more than what’s likely left of the Pearls), it won’t win many drag races either. I’m fine with ‘fast enough’, and will endeavor to maximize fuel economy without hypermiling or semi-drafting.
7. Toys. The Pearl has none. No cruise control, no sunroof, no cassette or CD or MP3 player, just an AM/FM Radio and some simple HVAC controls. I actually prefer this austerity, but I do want more media options, and the iQ will offer them. I don’t need nav, but I would like a CD/MP3 player, or at least a jack I can plug an iPod into. Not sure if it has a sunroof, but with the size of this thing, I’d say it doesn’t. That’s okay though.
8. Handling. The Pearl probably handles better, or at least more spiritedly, than the iQ, owing to its longer wheelbase and race-bred suspension. The iQ is more Camry than Civic, though its tiny wheelbase means greater manueverability and a much tighter turning radius than the Pearl. It’s a car that’s more of a big bulky suit than a coddling coccoon. I don’t want the latter when I’m on the road. I want to see where I’m going and what’s around me, and dart about accordingly.
9. Ride. Again, the short wheelbase will result in a bumpier ride on uneven pavement than longer cars, but considering the positive parts of the compromise I’ve discussed above, it’s not a huge sacrifice. My Honda’s ride has only ever been tolerable, anyway. Neither of these cars will be confused for Town Cars or Cadillacs.
10. Looks. Don’t get me started on the looks. This thing looks ridiculous. It can be compared to a dishwasher as much as a cozy coupe, depending on the color. Me, I’m sticking with as close to black as I can come. Black gives even this car quiet dignity and a touch of class. I would have preferred if they hadn’t bothered trying to design what amounts to a cube at all. Square windows, round lights, no nonsense. You are starting to see that I’m not the average car buyer.
Nor is the iQ meant for the average person, because it doesn’t offer everything they want, and it’s a bizarrely compact, even off-putting package. But I’m not off-put. This is the car I’ve been waiting for, and Toyota of all brands was kind enough to build it for me. The iQ is quite simply everything I want in a car: it doesn’t take up much space, it doesn’t use much fuel, and it doesn’t cost much money. For those and all the reasons above, there’s a very good chance an iQ will succeed by beloved Black Pearl. But I’ll have to test-drive one to be sure.
