Comments on: Japan votes Toyota iQ as COTY

By: bryn

bryn — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:39:06 +0000

I’m going to have to agree with Pious. As someone who has travelled around japan on several occasions, I can tell you that driving over there involves a completely different skill set that is required here. As much as I would love to own a GTR or HSV commodore, owning these type of cars in Japan would be an ordeal. Roads are narrow and there is minimal parking. What makes a brilliant car for some markets does not always make it so for others. COTY in japan is nearly always going to go to a small car.

By: pious

pious — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:16:30 +0000

I think the reason that these micros are so popular in Japan is that in the cities they have nowhere to park cars, and largely the streets are so narrow. in the older areas, they dont really have footpaths except on main streets, so in the residential areas of Tokyo/Kyoto, you walk straight out of your front door onto the street (usually not much more than 1 lane), and cars end up being parked all over the place at night, sometimes with bits sticking into the street. If I was to hire a car in Japan, it’d definately be something tiny like this.

By: upshift

upshift — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:06:41 +0000

Looks good and would be the pick of the micros, but the Toymota iQ beats the Nissan GT-R for Jap. COTY – how did that happen?

GM is making a competitor for the iQ out of old packing crates as they are bankrupt. Maybe it will make US COTY.

By: tw

tw — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:43:53 +0000

Ever heard of the Ka greenroom

By: Duck

Duck — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:54:29 +0000

I heard after 100,000km is on a car in Japan, it needs to be sold straight away overseas.

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:46:02 +0000

Personally, i’d vote the ZR1, but hey, this is a close second lol

By: anthonii

anthonii — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:47:03 +0000

Grammar Nazi Says: “We need this car here. Soon.”

No we don’t, thats why its not here.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:57:08 +0000

Greenroom, this is certainly not the $5000 car. In the UK, the starting price is about 1500 pounds more than a Yaris, as if the Yaris wasn’t overpriced already. The only spec I am certain of is that it uses a 1.0 3 cylinder petrol engine, but I think a 1.3 (probably a 4 cylinder) is on the way. Alan, to be fair, at least the European cars for COTY usually deserve it.

By: Greenroom

Greenroom — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:50:26 +0000

Well I’m amazed. No wonder Ford and GM are dying. If ever there was a time to have mini commuters then Tojo are on the mark.

I wonder whether this is the $5000 car CA wrote about earlier this week, although I somehow doubt it. I’d certainly drive it to commute in Sydney peak hour traffic.

Good work Tojo. Any pics specs available?

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:13:57 +0000

I never take these awards seriously, Japan COTY nearly always award it to a japanese car, European COTY nearly always give it to a european car. They are about as biased as it gets.

By: Fourwheelbikie

Fourwheelbikie — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:02:00 +0000

Japanese COTY-Who cares?

By: Realcars

Realcars — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:48:32 +0000

Something wrong with the way these stars are awarded!

By: Realcars

Realcars — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:47:09 +0000

Was going to ask if anything other than Japanese has won this award?

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:31:14 +0000

Pious, it gets a 5 star crash rating. I don’t like this car, not at all, I think its ugly, but it is cute.
I would take a Smart over this any day and of course, it may be the smallest four seater in the world but it’s not as if the Fiat 500 is big or a whole host of other superminis that can comfortably take four people and pull off a 5 star NCAP rating.
I think this is a bit biased towards Japan, simply because it got more than double the points of the next best car. I’m not saying that it’s a bad car, but Top Gear (UK) reviewed it in the November issue and said that it’s too heavy for the engine and the interior, although good looking, is very cheap feeling. It’s expensive too – in the UK, it starts at 9,495 pounds (the Aygo with the same engine and similar size starts at 7000) and its another thousand for the vital CVT. You can get a well specced, good quality, cool Fiat 500 for that price.

By: Realcars

Realcars — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:31:05 +0000

Looks like they copied NIssan.

Japs copying Japs well that is a first.LOL.

By: Realcars

Realcars — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:29:20 +0000

Four seater for contortionists.lOL

Next they will claim a five star ncap rating.LOL

By: Grammar Nazi

Grammar Nazi — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:24:22 +0000

We need this car here. Soon.

By: alec

alec — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:37:56 +0000

Japan’s Smart Car

By: VW Freak

VW Freak — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:24:50 +0000

Just quietly, a Toyota insider has informed me that TMCA are looking at bringing the iQ to Australia in 2010.

By: Milar

Milar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:11:14 +0000

That’s a 4 seater! I guess it is in Japan.