A Ride in the Scion iQ in Manhattan Beach

Last week I was invited to the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, CA to check out the new Scion iQ car that will be releasing in the West Coast beginning in October 2011. The Southeast and Gulf States will get them in January 2012 followed by New York and the rest of the East Coast in February 2012. My Japanese and European readers may already know about this car since it has been in your markets for about 2 years already. Since I don’t have a license to drive (I know, I’ll be getting it soon!) I’m reporting as a passenger.

At first look, the car is super cute, almost toy-like but my initial thought was is it safe? The answer is yes, there are 11 airbags in this micro car, more than the industry standard. After knowing about that, I felt safe riding in it. Don’t let the car fool you, the inside is very roomy. Although there are 4 seats, it actually fits 3 people comfortably because the driver’s seat will most likely be pulled all the way back. I’m usually the passenger so I car a lot about the room on that side. There’s lots of room in the passenger side because the air conditioner unit was moved to middle dashboard. That way it creates more room for passenger and back seat passenger, and it’s an asymmetrical passenger seat design so it doesn’t take up visibility of the driver. Scion is all about the sound, the system is tuned to the genre of the music and you can also add a sub woofer.

Scion knows that time is money especially in the youth culture. So the only choice you have to make when purchasing the iQ is the color. No need to try to talk down the price or anything, it’s $15,599 and they sell at pure price (price is set at dealer). Price will increase as you add accessories, there are 25+ accessories available for the iQ. The price is kinda perfect for many first time buyers.

The iQ micro car is actually perfect for the city, especially in NYC because parking spaces are scarce and this car can easily fit into a tight spot since it’s only 10 feet long. I’m not going to go into all the details, if you’re interested in learning more about the Scion iQ check the site here.