2012 Toyota/Scion iQ ELECTRIC - 65 mile range

[MugenRep]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

Ha, awesome. At 6' 4", you're nearly as long as the car itself. I could Google it, but I'm assuming the iQ is shorter than any gen Yaris, right?

Correct. The iQ is 120.1" long or just an inch over 10 feet and yet it's still about a foot longer than the Smart. It has a TINY 78.7" wheelbase, making bumps feel odd. It does have a issues, but it is quite fun and economical (avg 35-38mpg) to drive on a daily basis despite the lack of horsepower.

Originally Posted by justanotherdrunk

now that you mentioned it i remember clearer

the problem was the idiot designers put the seats way too high in the vehicle

like only midgets would drive it

if they had been mounted lower (and there was plenty of room inside) the fit wouldve been ok

remember being disgusted about that

seems you found the solution

Yea, not quite sure what they were thinking by only offering the standard seat height in the US iQ and an adjustable seat height in the EU and Japan. You'd think the fact average US citizens height has went up would have convinced them otherwise. I actually also have an OLD ancient Recaro bucket but it mounts too low even for somebody of my height.

Originally Posted by kimona

The car looks great! Very nice wheels. I like the Japanese licence plate. I'd do rising sun mirror covers.

Good job installing those Recaro seats. The shifter looks so tall.

Thank you!! I've had these wheels for over a decade now. First on my Honda Ep3 and now on the iQ. I just can't part with them and I love the fact the Toyo T1R tires and Volk TE37 combo only comes in at 25 lbs wheel/tire combo (16 lb tires and 9 lb rims).

The plate came from a friend that was stationed in Saitama prefecture for the Air Force and brought it back for me.

Thank you on the seats too. It wasn't as easy as I had thought it was going to be, but it went in without a hitch once I put some elbow grease in. I love the seats, but still with they had a little more side bolstering. If I had the money or could do it over again, the MKIV R32 Konig seats are the best adjustable seats I've ever sat in, albeit that they weigh a ton and cost a ton used.

The shifter is M8 x 1.25 and I hate auto or manual shifters that aren't easily reached, so I added a 3" shifter extension and a Razo Formula shift knob to the set up.

Originally Posted by Kalispel

I like smaller cars, but I think the Yaris or perhaps something the size/build of the Aygo would be as small as I would go. I would definitely consider purchasing a Toyota-made hybrid if all the ones in the U.S. weren't so damn ugly and stupid looking (Every U.S. Prius ever released falls into that category). I would consider purchasing a low-mileage 2017 Lexus CT2000h in 2020-2021 (the last model year for the CT200h is 2017) - and it is on my short list, along with another Yaris SE or the iM. It will be a tough call when the time finally rolls around. Shame that Toyota doesn't have the Yaris hybrid here in the U.S. instead of that homely, misshapen Prius-C.

It is quite small. I enjoy light weight and small cars more than heavier more torque oriented cars. I think of torque as a bandaid to lots of chassis weight. I'd prefer a momentum car any day of the week. I'd love a CT200h, but to me they lack a "soul" or any sort of quirks as do most other Lexus models IMO. I did look at the Prius C, but it was impractically slower than the iQ. There were no SE Yari near me either when I was looking, so that ruled that out as well. If I were to jump on hybrid/EV cars these days, I'd hands down jump on a used BMW i3 as they're $20k and below with a Range Extender now. :D