Introducing Our Iq Grmn

[niwabc]

We took delivery of the lil' guy in January. Have 2600 kms on it right now.

We have always wanted a lower, sportier iQ, and the boss of the household was (mostly her car) quite excited when they announced releasing this model in Japan.

Normal iQs here are rolling penalty boxes because they are only available with a godforsaken CVT tranny and loads of dialed-in understeer.

This thing was supposedly tuned on the Nurburgring and comes with more aggressive engine tuning, 6MT, rear disc brakes, suspension, etc to make it fun.

Think of it like an Fiat 500 Abarth competitor, but not as Italian.

Only 100 made, so we hopped on the list late in August and the car came last week.

Overall it is an absolute blast to drive around town (where we mostly drive anyway) but its short legs become quite noticable on the highway.

Price:

Crazy expensive. 20k and you don't get a radio, auto A/C, push button start and other features on lower-end models. But only 100 made so I guess we bought exclusivity.

Overall value-for-money argument is tough. Maybe these things will appreciate in value. Maybe not. For now we will drive it and have fun.

Design:

Totally awesome. I'm 6'5" and am plenty comfortable. Rear seat is for basketballs.

Practicality:

So far we have shuttled around a friend and 3 westerners fit fine. When 3 westerners are in the car the front passenger increases the blindspot a ton but still doable. All short trips though. Plenty of room for our usual grocery run. Still have the WRX for bigger stuff.

Comfort:

Ride is stiff....more so than my Subaru and this is accentuated by the tiny wheelbase. Seats feel fine. Plenty of with 2 people in the car, acceptable for short trips with 3, going to be impossible with 4 I think. Super quiet, has an acoustic windshield(!)

Performance:

Handles like a go-kart around town. No body roll and very quick steering (Electric rack). 1st, 2nd, 3rd gear acceleration is adequate but on the highway it needs help. 4th, 5th and 6th geared way too long and you need to downshift to 3rd in order to pass cars. This cue ball of a car is geared to go 160 mph but it isn't going anywhere near that without the delicate finesse of a rocket engine.

High-speed handling is interesting. Feels like a go-kart for the driver but a pinball for the passenger. Stable though, with minor buffeting in a crosswind. It has VSC and all the other crap to keep it going in a straight line.

Definitely at home tearing up the city streets.

Maybe we can supercharge it and at a 911 GT3 RS-esque exhaust in the future to correct its lack of acceleration.

Gymkhana:

Entered in totally stock form at a local gymkhana to get a baseline of what it can do.

Suspension, brakes and steering are very good. The iQ would exhibit roll but still hang on for dear life.

Zero understeer. Amazing!

It wasn't until I was going around with a passenger that I learned the VSC system is undefeatable by conventional means of pressing and holding the TRC OFF button, and will engage if it detects a certain amount of lateral movement.

Complete killjoy. I interpreted this divine intervention as the car telling me that it doesn't belong on a track.

To totally disable VSC, it seems that one either has to pull a fuse (thereby also disabling ABS and EBD) or disconnect an ABS sensor (maintaining EBD).

Why put such a badass suspension on a car that won't let you enjoy it? Confused.

Economy:

24 MPG in 6th gear at 140km/h @ full throttle. Overall about twice as efficient as the Subaru.

City + highway still waiting on...should get about 40 mpg. (gas is $8/gallon here)

Start + Stop system is cool. Seems like it's working well. People think that you are an incredibly cheap basterd but then again, we could be driving a Prius.

The fuel gauge does the same thing that you guys in the UK experience, where it goes beserk after the 1/2way mark.

QDR:

OK. 1st-2nd shift feels weird though..almost if the syncros have trouble keeping up. Start and stop system uses a massively complex flywheel that has a one-way clutch in it to work with a constantly engaged starter so those who wish to bang gears (like a riced-out integra) will be dissapointed.

Overall shift feel was pretty crap when we first got the car but has improved since putting some miles on it.

Also comes with TWO tachometers. Not even in high school did I stoop to this level of absurdness but apparently the Nurburgring demands the driver know his engine speed....twice.

We had the same suspension clunk problem that some of you guys have reported as well. Loose front suspension upper support nuts. 1500 kms after the fix it is still quiet and feels fine.

here it is at IKEA tokyo

and at yasukuni shrine

[jlstrange]

Thanks for the write up and commentary. Was this a 1.0l or 1.33 or was it modified as well? Looking forward to getting these in the US, US production model rumored to be shown at the NY show the first of April.

[niwabc]

Thanks for the write up and commentary. Was this a 1.0l or 1.33 or was it modified as well? Looking forward to getting these in the US, US production model rumored to be shown at the NY show the first of April.

1.33

[rturner]

iQ & WRX....perfect combination B) I don't know about you, but i get as much pleasure from driving the iQ as I do the Subaru. Just in a slightly different way.

[Doubleti]

Thanks for your expérience ! and for the pictures.

[bokkie]

So you need two tachs?

Why then, do you need two satnavs? Same reason?

[eco9rat]

So you need two tachs?

Why then, do you need two satnavs? Same reason?

2 RPM gauges would be much more useful. I would like a second one. The basic one is not visable (in the line of sight) when pushing the car really hard. I dont like taking my eyes off the road to watch the rev gauge when going hard. Its those couple of seconds in 2nd or 3rd at the top end of the rev range when you want maximum but dont want to hit the limiter and you want to time it right. For 99% of the time in normal driving you dont need 2 though...

I love those alloys though! Shame you didnt climate control and those others things with a 20k car but im sure its the last thing on your mind when going round the corners! Luv it.

[justin7]

that looks like the iq1? dont know

[IQ-VietNam]

Hi, can you tell me the spec of a Gazoo MN IQ's tires please ? It seems 195/60/16 ?

Thanks