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.