Toyota iQ review

Toyota’s assertion that this is a grown-up car miniaturised does stack up when you take the iQ out onto proper open roads. It has an unprecedented level of refinement for this class of car, and although the ride is firm and that wheelbase precariously short, the iQ remains composed on all but the worst surfaces.

Most will opt for the 998cc three-cylinder engine, putting 67bhp through the front wheels. This will see off 60mph in 14.7 seconds and give up 7mph short of the ton. So the big-car pretensions have died a bit of a death here – at least in performance terms.

The driving characteristics, in fact, are a bit lost. It’s neither convincingly grown up nor is it the hoot that little hatches can so often be. The gearchange is a bit woolly and the lack of grunt all too apparent when overtaking. But as a city car the iQ shines, with its sub-three metre length creating a tiny turning circle.