amadcow2

I was attracted to the iQ for the gas mileage at the onset, but quickly grew to admire the little car. My previous primary vehicle (and now relegated to occasional use) was a 2006 Honda Odyssey, something great to lug teenagers around. I wanted a fuel efficient commuter car. My top five were;

Scion iQ
Smart For Two
Toyota Prius C
Honda Fit
Volkswagen Golf TDI

The Golf was too expensive. The Honda was inefficient. The Smart was okay but a little cramped and drove 'small'. My final two were the Prius C and the iQ. Both cars drove surprisingly well. The Prius C was about $4K more than the iQ, but it was all within the ballpark. The final decision was made when my wife asked my children; 'What car do you see your dad driving?' The answer made my choice clear; 'The iQ'

So I'm now driving a nice purple iQ with the following at time of purchase:
TRD Lowering Springs
TRD Anti Sway Bar
Fog lights
Spoiler

I put in the following aftermarket:
Pioneer AVIC Z140BH

I plan on putting the following in the very near future (2 weeks):
16" Alloy Wheels from Scion
Injen Cold Air Intake
Tow-Hook Mounted Front License Plate Mount (from PTTuning)

I love my little iQ. It's peppy and handles very very well. I'm mostly happy with the gas mileage, knowing that it will get better as I break in the engine.

How are you people liking your iQs?

Fmtc2008

iTrader: (2)

Congrats and its nice that u feel happy
Post pics plz

amadcow2

She's half dressed. When she get's her wheels I'll post pics

ra1n

did PTTuning come out with the mount yet?

and welcome! gotta love these iQs


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amadcow2

I'm going in to PTTuning on the 4th of Sept to have the tow hook mount evaluated and fabricated. Those guys seem great. They are also installing an Injen Cold Air Intake.

ra1n

thanks for stepping up for the fitment! i really want one and hopefully they'll sell some for the iQ soon. keep us updated please? thanks


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amadcow2

You bet. I'll post pics all along the process.

amadcow2

Here are some pics with my new wheels:

Camurano2

How do you like the Pioneer Head Unit ? Did you install it yourself? Does the USB/Aux jack work?? I've been considering the same unit.

amadcow2

I had the head unit, Pioneer AVIC Z140BH, put in by a local car audio specialty store. They were unable to get the USB/Aux jack to work. However I do love the head unit. I'm getting used to the NAV function, since I was used to a Garmin interface. I like a lot of things about the Pioneer AVIC Z140BH and would recommend it. There is a thread in these forums about how to get the USB/Aux jack to work, but my install guys didn't want to mess with it.

surfcitylocal

Looking great. Thanks for posting the pics.

journeyforce

Welcome fellow OM'er(Class of 1995). So nice to see a fellow Columbia person on the forums.

Nice car you have there. I like the color
I have to say the iQ is growing on me, It rides like a much bigger car. I got to spend the day with one as a loaner car while Darcars of Silver Spring did warranty work on my XB. I think it has perhaps the most cargo room(when the rear seats are down) then any two seater I have every driven

Do you use it to commute on the Beltway(495)? If so how does it ride on that decrepit piece of crap road? I find that my XB has a choppy ride on it.

amadcow2

Well, mine has the lowering springs and the sway bar, so the ride is much better than without.. but.. you still feel more bumps than normal.

My commute is from Columbia, down 95 to Riverdale (near UMD) and I find the ride to be a lot of fun. I may feel more bumps, but I find the handling to be excellent. I also had an Injen Cold Air Intake installed:



That, combined with the rest of the enhancements, makes the iQ VERY nice to handle. The intake ALMOST makes up for the sluggishness of the CVT and is totally worth the investment.

journeyforce

I used to commute from Columbia to Riverdale when I worked at USDA(the building near the College Park Metro off of paint branch) but I drove a 1987 Cutlass Supreme(the Gutless Cutlass) which drove like a couch and soaked up all the bumps.

Now I drive further down 495 for work (near Andrews) and that stretch of the road sucks, especially the lane one lane from the left lane(aka fast lane) which is nothing but pot holes and with the XB you can feel every bump or imperfection.

How does the iQ do on gas? I have read the Govt specs on it but wanted to know real world mpgs from a owner.

I am also curious about two things

1. Did you look at the XB or XD or was the iQ the only Scion product you looked at?

2. Have you been harassed by Maryland police because you don't have your front plate on?(I had a 98 Trans Am which came from the factory with a cover that had a Screaming Chicken(the bird on Trans Ams) that you removed if you were in a state with a front license plate of left on if you were in a state with no front plate. The car looked better with the cover on but I used to get harassed by the Howard County police all the time for having my plate in the window)

Again nice car. Darcars Toyota at Silver Spring had a nice looking white one and next to it was a red Fiat 500 that the dealership just got as a used car trade in and the dimensions of the iQ and Fiat seem close

amadcow2

LOL, yep, that's where I work.. have worked there since we were in Hyattsville. I've been with Veterinary Services for ... ugh... 24 years now.


Same with the iQ, but it is fun to drive.


Well, I'm still breaking in the engine, so I am getting about 35 mpg. I expect better mileage starting around my first oil change. Also the cold air intake did seem to give me about a 5 mpg boost.


I only really looked at the iQ, although I did check out the xB and xD in the show room. Their look kinda grows on you and I do hope Scion keeps true with unique, quirky designs.


Not yet, but the day is still young. I hope to have the front plate issue fixed fairly soon and find it ridiculous that the iQ is designed to not have a reasonable plate solution.


LOL, I'm from Pontiac, MI originally and remember the Screaming Chicken well.


I tend to like the look of the iQ better than the 500. Thanks for the compliment They had a nice 'Hot Lava' iQ at Russel in Caitonsville if you want to take a look. (I recommend that dealership over the others in the area, especially Antweerpen)

journeyforce

Ah what a coincidence!! I worked at PPQ from 2005-2007 until I left for another position elswwhere. I liked the building and location and the cafeteria had good food(the owner of the cafe at that time(and still owner I think) lived in Owen Brown.)

It is a shame about the license plate mounting place as that iQ plate would look slick if you cut out the iQ letters and left only the outline of the letters and stuck an LED strip behind it to light up when the headlights/parking lights were on.


I agree on the giving Antwerpen Toyota in Clarksville a wide berth. Dealing with them was the first and only time I ever called a car maker to complain. I bought the XB used at Win Kelly Chevy Buick GMC right next door and they showed more knowledge of the car then the "Jack Says Yes" folks

I do recommend that when Toyota finally offers all weather rubber floor mats, you think about picking up a set as the cloth mats look to wear out quickly.

hbfitt

wow, your iQ looks amazing!

Jessercka

Hi guys I'm new here,
I just picked up my iQ on black friday!
I found ScionLife during a google search!
I couldn't find an intro thread, so I figured I would just start here.

I don't know if you all already know but the slush mats are available now, that being said don't waste your 50 bucks, they're nothing special. You don't get any more coverage than with the carpet mats.
I got them because I hoped they would cover the dead pedal, I'm super short and no matter what I do my foot hits it. They do not!

I also wanted to say, that I couldn't believe you all live in Maryland! I live up by the Pa line! We can't figure out if there are any other iQ's in Westminster! But I was seriously excited to see other Marylanders with iQ's.

amadcow2

Welcome! I hope you are enjoying your iQ. If you haven't already, I would strongly request the following:

- TRD Lowering Springs
- TRD Sway Bar
- Cold Air Intake (I got an Injen, but there are others out there)

The springs and sway bar make the handeling superier to the factory configuration and the Cold Air Intake will save you about an additional 5 MPG and give you a much better performance (especially since the CVT sucks the performance out of the vehicle, the intake essentially brings it back to a level playing field).

Enjoy!! Let us know how it breaks in.

Jessercka

Can't figure out how to quote on my iPad.

I would definitely consider all that stuff except I'm actually leasing it, so I don't know if it's a good idea to modify anything. Thanks for the info though, if I decide to buy it out I will deff give those things a thought.

I am loving it already though! I've made it a personal competition to get my gas milage to keep going up!