Toyota’s i-Road Electric Two-Seater Hits the Streets
By Relaxnews
Toyota is set to start consumer trials of its latest futuristic two-seater electric car.
Expect huge queues of willing participants to start forming on the streets of Tokyo on Monday as testing gets under way, but those hoping for a test drive will be disappointed. The company is limiting the initial trial to 20 participants and 10 vehicles. Until June, anyway.
The i-Road is by no means the only ultra-compact futuristic electric car in development, but what makes it so much fun is that it has three, rather than four, wheels and combines the best elements of a car with the best features of a motorbike.
Like a bike, it’s small and very maneuverable—four of them can fit into a standard car-parking space—and it even tilts into corners. Yet it has doors, windows, and a roof and is as stable and as comfortable as a car.
Capable of hitting a top speed of 28-37 mph (45-60 km/h) and of traveling 31 miles (50 km) on a single charge, the i-Road is so small—less than a meter wide and less than 2.5 meters in length—that it should never get held up in traffic and, as early reviewers have noted, it drives like nothing else currently on the road. It’s charming and compelling in equal measure.
Toyota hopes that the consumer testing will provide valuable feedback regarding ease of use, satisfaction, and suitability in urban environments. As well as “typical” consumers, the company has selected “trend” and industry experts as initial testers in its trial.
