We review the Toyota i-Road from price to economy and all its features

TOYOTA i-Road – remember the name because I think it could be the city car of
the future.

It’s a futuristic three-wheeler with two seats — the motoring equivalent of
the iPad.

The electric i-Road drives like a motorbike, leaning spectacularly into
corners. But it has the comfort of a car.

It is the cutest thing on wheels and, as one of the first journalists in the
world to drive it, I can tell you it works brilliantly.

It is simplicity itself to drive, once you get used to it leaning into bends
to such a degree that you’re convinced it’s going to tip over. But it
doesn’t.

A brilliant system called Active Lean Mechanism gives the i-Road its unique
ability to corner like a motorbike.

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Controls are minimal, with an automatic gearbox and just three buttons to
press for drive, reverse and neutral.

Then you steer by the traditional wheel and enjoy the silent ride — and you
will enjoy the ride because it turns city streets into an adults’
playground.

I can’t remember the last time I had as much fun driving in the city.

The i-Road feels so different, more like flying through the air than actually
driving.

A top speed of around 30mph may seem slow but how much faster can you drive in
today‘s traffic clogged roads?

And the surreal sensations you get from the car’s leaning body prove you don’t
need to drive fast to have fun.

Only motorbike and scooter riders will immediately relate to the i-Road but it
will appeal to thousands of motorists who would feel vulnerable on a bike or
scooter.

You get the same benefits of being able to nip in and out of city traffic that
is impossible in a normal car. Parking also becomes a dream, because you can
park four of the 7ft 8in long i-Roads in a parking space.

The vehicle has plastic doors and no windows but making it totally enclosed to
cope with foul weather is something Toyota engineers are already working on.

You get a range of around 31 miles from the two 2kw electric motors that are
fitted to each of the two front wheels and it can be fully charged in three
hours.

At the moment, the i-Road is still a vision but if anyone has the technical
expertise and financial muscle to make it happen, it is Toyota.

It is not only the world’s biggest car firm, but the company that gave us the
pioneering Prius — the car that changed modern motoring by turning hybrid
motoring into a mainstream success story.

Cynics said the Prius would never work, that it was ugly and unaffordable for
ordinary motorists.

But Toyota have now sold five million and last year sold 626,000 making it one
of the best selling cars.

So if the i-Road looks like motoring make-believe, don’t dismiss it.

Already the vision is starting to turn into a reality.

The i-Road is about to hit the road as part of city trials in Japan and
France, aimed at becoming the commuter car of tomorrow’s world.

In the trials, motorists will be able to book an i-Road on their phone app and
pick it up at special mobility bus and railway stations for the final leg of
their commute to work.

Commuters will be able to check on traffic congestion before they set off, and
switch from their own car to public transport and then the i-Road when they
get to the city centre.

The cost is £1.30 for the first ten minutes and then 13p a minute after that.

Toyota estimate the cost of the average five-mile commute would be just £4
using the i-Road.

At the end of a day’s driving, I think Toyota could be on the road to
something special with the amazing little i-Road.

TOYOTA is not satisfied with being the world’s biggest car firm.

I have just been given an exclusive glimpse of its plans to provide a total
eco-friendly transportation package. I drove everything from a single-seat
commuter car to a “leaning” three-wheeler, a hydrogen powered fuel cell car
– on sale in 2015 – and was even a passenger in a car that drove itself.

Toyota aims to develop a system connecting ultra-safe cars with other vehicles
and public transport to create a low-carbon “smart mobility society”
optimising energy use everywhere from the home to the car and at work. The
firm is so powerful in Japan that it has its own Toyota City, with a
population of 422,787 – the majority of whom work for Toyota or its
component suppliers.

It is still early days for the scheme being run in Toyota City but the firm
plans to extend it across Japan and to Grenoble in France next year. Later
cities could include London.

The system provides commuters with daily traffic forecasts on their smartphone
or computer to provide the best route to work.

Motorists who take the most eco-friendly route are given reward points that
can be exchanged for products at the shops or to reduce home energy bills.

A thousand motorists are taking part in the scheme, which has 21 charging
stations for a fleet of 100 vehicles in Toyota City. It costs around £4 for
an average five-mile commute. You pay via credit card.

I also drove a Prius with the new Intelligent Driver Support system, which
detects objects – and pedestrians – in the road.

It alerts the driver with a warning and then, if the driver fails to respond,
can take control of the steering wheel to avoid an impact.

I was also a passenger in a Toyota fitted with a lane control system and
adaptive cruise control, letting the driver take his hands off the wheel in
heavy traffic as the car steered itself – including going around bends,
where it automatically braked to a safe speed.

BMW veture to Coupe 'em coming

TOYOTA’S top European boss says the firm are looking to build on the
success of its GT86 Coupe.

Chief executive Didier Leroy told me the firm is studying a feasibility report
on building a new sports car in a joint venture with BMW.

Leroy says the firm will bring out further models which, like the GT86, will
add “more emotion” to the Toyota brand. He also revealed the company is
looking at a small crossover to rival the Vauxhall Mokka and Peugeot 2008.

He said: “We don’t want to miss out on the opportunity of the growing
crossover market – but when we launch, we will bring something different.”

He also heaped praise on his UK workforce, which has earned a big investment
in its UK plants.

The firm’s Burnaston factory was chosen ahead of Toyota factories in Europe to
build the firm’s crucial new Auris model. It also became the first plant
outside Japan to build a hybrid model of the Auris. And Toyota’s Deeside
engine plant has also enjoyed new investment.

Leroy said: “We trust in the UK and our workforce and we have invested a huge
amount of money.

“There have been big improvements in our UK operations in recent years and a
lot of effort has been made by our workers to improve quality and
efficiency.”

Toyota has invested more than £2.2billion in its UK operation, including
£100million in the last 12 months gearing up the Burnaston plant to build
the entire range of new Auris models.

The firm now employs 3,200 workers at Burnaston – where a car rolls off the
lines every 66 seconds – and a further 600 at Deeside, where they will build
179,000 cars and 235,000 engines this year.