Toyota i-Road has the ability of a motorcycle, comfort of a car in one tiny package

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First shown in concept form at the 2013 Geneva motor show Toyota’s personal mobility vehicle (PMV) the i-Road has been transformed into a road-legal version – capable of circumventing city congestion and creating enhanced mobility. 

PMVs are a new, more flexible type of transport for urban driving that is significantly more comfortable, weatherproof, stable and safe than scooters and motorcycles.

Personal mobility

While they share the zero-emissions and low running cost virtues of electric vehicles, their dimensions – in particular, their width – are similar to a conventional two-wheeler, giving them the essential manoeuvrability needed for negotiating city traffic and easy parking.

For the first time, the i-Road vehicle has touched down on African soil – as part of a personal mobility demonstration at Toyota’s State of the Motor Industry (SOMI) address held in Midrand, Gauteng.

Toyota has refined the design of the original i-Road concept to improve visibility, weatherproofing, manoeuvrability and general user-friendliness.

The doors have gained manually operated windows, making i-Road completely weatherproof and giving it a considerable advantage over conventional two-wheelers in that it can be driven without a helmet or protective clothing in all weather conditions.

The rear has been redesigned with a reduced overhang, restyled and repositioned combination lamps and a small rear window. There is a choice of five bright colours for the bodywork.

Active Lean technology and rear-wheel steering

The revised Toyota i-Road measures 2 345m long, 1 455mm high and 870mm wide, and has a 1 695mm wheelbase. This makes it 5mm shorter than the concept, 10mm higher and 20mm wider – dimensions that remain ultra-compact.

This means it can be driven smoothly along roadsides and down narrow alleys. Up to four i-Road can be parked in a single standard parking bay.

With brisk acceleration and near-silent running, i-Road has a driving range of around 50km (target distance at a fixed 30km/h). A full recharge from a conventional household power supply takes just three hours