The subcompact Scion iQ is only about 10 feet long and 51/2 feet wide.
Staff Photo by Mark KennedyFAST FACTSModel: Scion iQ (3-door liftback)Exterior color: Hot LavaInterior: blackEngine: 1.3 liter four-cylinderHorsepower: 94Transmission: Continuously variableFuel economy: 36 city/37 highwayDealer: Scion of ClevelandPrice (as tested): $17,364
Five minutes into my Interstate 75 test drive of the new iQ from Scion of Cleveland, the driver of an equally diminutive Fiat 500 with Atlanta license plates closed to within inches of my back bumper.
The sensation was as if Aunt Martha was moving in for the kill on the bumper-car ride at Lake Winnepesaukah.
But rather than swap paint with me, the Fiat driver simply whipped around into the left lane beside me — Bluetooth earpiece in place — and gave me a double thumbs up.
“Hands back on the steering wheel, dude,” I thought. “That Fiat won’t drive itself.”