2011 Scion iQ

2011 Scion iQ

The 2010 New York Auto Show is buzzing with all sorts of car news from large to small vehicles, concepts to production cars and some of the first U.S. reveals of the season. Today’s minicar of choice is the official debut of the Scion iQ. In the market for something other than a MINI Cooper? Than the Scion iQ might have your name written all over it.
2011 Scion iQ

2011 Scion iQ

Now that we have your imaginations flowing let’s get to some of the details of this diminutive little Scion. Of course, some of you are going to do a double take—yes, it is very similar to the Aston Martin Cygnet. However, the U.S. version will be powered by Toyota’s 90-horsepower 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine that has a projected EPA city fuel economy in the upper 30s. The power will be transferred to the front wheels by a continuously variable transmission (CVT), something that strikes us as slightly new territory for Toyota and Scion. In our opinion, Nissan is one of the few automakers that has gotten this technology right, but they to have had to up their warranty period due to additional maintenance costs of the CVT.

The Scion iQ is expected to rollout to American consumers early in 2011 and will be considered one of the smallest cars on the roads here in the U.S. Since it can seat four people and is only 120 inches overall length, it could give both the MINI Cooper and Smart ForTwo a run for their money. We haven’t seen a entry price point, but we will bet it is going to be very competitive.