(Fri 19 Jun 09)

As previewed at last year's Geneva Show, Toyota has launched a more powerful version of the iQ city car. It's called the iQ3 (pronounced "iQ cubed") and unlike the iQ and iQ2, which use a 67bhp one-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, this one has the 1.33-litre four-cylinder unit also found in the Yaris, Auris and Urban Cruiser.

It's therefore quite a lot quicker than its stablemates, with a top speed of 106mph and a 0-62mph time of 11.8 seconds. It also uses more fuel, but since this is a very light car, and one which uses a Stop & Start system for cutting out the engine when it's not needed, the combined economy figure is still reasonable at 58.9mpg. CO2 emissions rated at 113g/km.

Those figures assume that the car has the standard six-speed manual gearbox. A CVT transmission called Multidrive is also available, and it makes the iQ3 0.2 seconds quicker to 62mph. CO2 emissions are 120g/km with Multidrive, but that has no effect on the VED situation (the car is still in Band B, so you'll pay £35 a year in tax).

As far as equipment is concerned, the iQ3 is similar to the iQ2 except that it also has chrome-finish door mirror housings and 16" dual five-spoke alloy wheels, and its choice of six colours includes one - Decuma Grey metallic (pictured) - which is not available on any other iQ.

In manual form the iQ3 costs £11,495, making it £1000 more expensive than the iQ, and Multidrive adds a further £1000 to the price. There are four accessory packs called iStyle, iUrban, iSports and iConnect (ask your dealer about those), plus optional leather seat upholstery for £690 and satellite navigation with Bluetooth and iPod integration for £930.

Toyota Gallery
Toyota Road Tests

Previous: Skoda Fabia Scout                             Next: Mercedes-Benz CLS Grand Edition