Scion iQ Hybrid to Come in 5-Door Hatch, Sedan Body Styles
It's no great secret that Toyota is planning to the unveil a hybrid version of its iQ minicar next week in Detroit. Now Inside Line has learned that the eventual production iQ Hybrid (this may not be its final name) will be branded as a Scion and will be offered in five-door hatchback and sedan body styles. The 5-door goes on sale first, arriving here in late 2011.
Sources close to the project tells us the hybrid iQ uses a front-mounted 1.5-liter gasoline engine in combination with a front-drive electric motor, developing an estimated 100-120 horsepower.
This hybrid system is rumored to return more than 60 mpg. And apparently, it's cheap enough to produce that Toyota will still be able to price the car around $15,000.
Even so, the Scion iQ family will include non-hybrid models as well. The line is expected to include both a 3-door hatchback and a convertible referred to internally as the iQ Sports. The convertible has a retractable top, as on the similarly sized Smart ForTwo. It would be offered with a 93-hp 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine.
A Toyota-badged iQ 3-door hatch is of course already on sale in Japan and Europe. A version of that car was shown as a Scion concept at the 2009 New York Auto Show. Last summer, a 3-door hatch was spotted during hot-weather testing in Death Valley.
Scion's future hinges on the success of the iQ family. If this doesn't get twentysomethings buying again, Toyota could pull the plug on its youth marketing experiment.
Mak Tokuyama, reporting from Japan
Source: Scion iQ Hybrid to Come in 5-Door Hatch, Sedan Body Styles
This hybrid system is rumored to return more than 60 mpg. And apparently, it's cheap enough to produce that Toyota will still be able to price the car around $15,000.
Even so, the Scion iQ family will include non-hybrid models as well. The line is expected to include both a 3-door hatchback and a convertible referred to internally as the iQ Sports. The convertible has a retractable top, as on the similarly sized Smart ForTwo. It would be offered with a 93-hp 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine.
A Toyota-badged iQ 3-door hatch is of course already on sale in Japan and Europe. A version of that car was shown as a Scion concept at the 2009 New York Auto Show. Last summer, a 3-door hatch was spotted during hot-weather testing in Death Valley.
Scion's future hinges on the success of the iQ family. If this doesn't get twentysomethings buying again, Toyota could pull the plug on its youth marketing experiment.
Mak Tokuyama, reporting from Japan
Source: Scion iQ Hybrid to Come in 5-Door Hatch, Sedan Body Styles
