Priced: 2012 Scion iQ Starts at $15,995

I'm fine with the size. Price seems too high.

Californians still buy SmartForTwo... great for any parking spot, it looks even silly... that's only upside I see though.

Better deal by far than the ForTwo, but a ripoff compared to the 500 and Mazda2. At least it will probably be about a quarter the cost of the lame rebadge job Aston Martin.

What does your $16k get you? It does seem high when the same money gets you a reasonably equipped Versa hatch with the slushbox.

isnt MB having trouble moving Smart cars right about now? What makes Scion thinks this will sell at this price?

The Fiat 500 will give this car a hard time.

don't forget the XD cheaper. Yaris is cheaper too.

When Yaris is $13,915 and Corolla is advertised for between $15 to $16K on sale then Scion iQ is priced too high.

IF, and this is a big IF, the IQ gets 50 mpg then I might consider it. But knowing Toyota I would have to guess that this thing with the CVT might get 37 or 38, in which case forget about it. There are just too many better choices to be had for similar money. I mean, the difference in size between this and a Fiat or Mazda 2 isn't soooooo huge where driving an IQ would provide some magical benefit to parking versus parking a Fiat 500. For all intents and purposes they're the same size. That extra foot off the back end isn't going to make any difference, except for when you want to bring home more than 1 bag of groceries.

The Ford Fiesta looks better and better.

On the issue of the 500 vs the iQ, I do recall the Top Gear episode where the iQ was matched against the Alfa MiTo and another which I can't even remember. After a long, exhaustive test the conclusion was basically "oh, we forgot about the 500, and that is actually the perfect subcompact". So there you go.

Looks kinda like a 500, only worse. Wow, there's a whole new spectrum of ugly in the car world lately. Put the Smart, the IQ and the 500 next to each other and you'd have to wonder if there weren't some cross-eyed, alcoholic car designers somehow worming their way into top design spots in the automotive world.

....or maybe there really are aliens among us and they're designing cars....

....or the mole people have infiltrated the auto industry....

....or the first people to lose their jobs in a recession are the auto stylists....

Don't get me wrong, there is room for ugly cars too - I've owned a few because they had other redeeming traits, but this is getting ridiculous.

mileage on non hybrid Toyota cars is usually below the class leaders. I wouldnt expect miracles with the mileage. Even if its great the car is too small to be practical for most people. Americans want mileage, but they dont want minicars which is why the Smart doesnt sell and the Prius is hugely popular.

The styling is fine.

Back in the '70s some guy (in a Caddy) came up to me (in an Accord), and could not understand why anyone would buy a (tiny) Honda when you could buy a (huge) Chevy for about the same money. A different time and place for sure, but "buying a car by the pound" thinking hasn't changed.

Something about being able to park in the bed of a truck just seems enjoyable to me.
I do agree that it's priced about $2,000 too high.

Its not that people are buying by the pound, its that they would rather have a somewhat practical car with very good mileage (prius) over a tiny car with very, very good mileage like this. People have stuff, they have kids and they want to feel safe when on the highway. A car this small just isnt practical or desirable to the overwhelming majority of folks.

^ Maybe some people buy for practical reasons (okay, most people...), but not everyone. Reasons sports cars and/or fun cars exist have very little to do with practicality.

Take me for example: an empty-nester who likes cars and wants to be green; so a Prius, Fit, you-name-it-econobox; or something like the iQ? I might go with the iQ.

I have a cousin in her 60s. She and her husband have a Smart—and love it. Yeah, it's got a miserable tranny, but they don't care. The car is cute, fun to drive (they think so), economical and reliable. They're happy. The iQ would probably work for them as well.

^ Plus they live in Michigan—the heart of "buy-domestic" and practical thinking.

im sure smart car owners will consider this car, problem is they arent selling many smart cars.

The price may seem high, but Scions are usually pre loaded with tons of features. Combined with the exceptional fuel economy one might expect, this will seem like a bargain if it stays in the 15K range.

Bob, shipping a brand new car halfway around the world for Japan on a massive cargo ship isn't green in my book. But I guess greenies also think packing a ton of nickel in a brand new car and shipping it halfway around the world on a massive cargo ship is even more green still. I take a more realistic approach to conservation and environmental friendliness.

45 mpg estimate iQ when converting from imperial to US from the UK Toyota website for iQ 1.3L automatic.
Not bad, not great for the size, especially when a much, much larger Passat TDI delivers 43 mpg highway and a larger Prius out mpg's the iQ.

iQ would only seem like a bargain if size is the number one purchase consideration and the alternative is the not so Smart.

Stov, "green" is only one consideration. Cute, neat, fun different, etc. are all part of the equation.

It's easy to find arguments against this or any car car. Fact is people buy them regardless. Why do people buy coupes instead of sedans? A sedan is far more practical than any coupe, yet coupes still sell.

stovt001, but even Top Gear fans will tell you that Top Gear is purely entertainment and none of their opinions should ever be referenced. Oh wait, that's only when they're caught lying. Otherwise, refer to them all the time.

moparbad: "45 mpg estimate iQ when converting from imperial to US from the UK Toyota website for iQ 1.3L automatic."

If that's on the UK cycle, expect to be extremely disappointed as to how it does on the EPA cycle.

there is no evidence that people want this type of car in serious numbers. None. The fact that normal cars like elantra are so efficient basically reduces any demand for a specialty super compact that is only 10% more efficient than a much larger, faster and safer compact car. Scion doesnt sell many cars with the lineup it has and this is def a niche vehicle that wont drive any big sales increases. This will just cannibalize other cheap Toyota/Scion products. looks ridiculous, just like the Smart car.