New car news

13 October 2008 - 11:00

Form an orderly iQ…

Toyota has announced prices on its revolutionary little iQ, the two-and-a-bit-seater city car that still looks curiously like a cross between an Imperial Storm Trooper and a Polo mint.

And, well, it's not cheap.

Prices will start at £9,495 for the 1.0-litre iQ with the manual gearbox, rising to £11,495 if you fancy the higher-spec version with Toyota's 'Multidrive' CVT gearbox.

That's a lot of cash for something smaller than a Fiat 500, but you should start to recoup your money pretty quickly: the manual iQ emits just 99g/km of CO2 and will return almost 67mpg - impressive, but still less than the Polo Bluemotion.

You do get a good bit of kit, though. All iQs come with alloys, leather trim, aircon and a massive nine airbags, including the world's first in the rear window. Well, not actually in. That'd get in the way of the see-throughness.

Start ticking the options boxes and the iQ becomes very pricey very quickly: spec satnav and bit of extra leather and you're right into Polo Bluemotion territory.

Despite all that, we're guessing the iQs will shift like, er, Priuses when they reach the UK early next year. Expect to see that cutesy, pinched little face poking out of every driveway in the fashionable eco-conscious suburbs by this time next year...