Convince Me To Buy An Iq

[eranu]

Hello,

My old car has failed its mot.

Its a mk3 golf (1992 vintage)1800cc road tax in july will be £190 i think

It will probably cost about £250 to fix

I'm a low mileage person and have only done about 3500 miles this year but i do have the occasional longer trip of up to 200 miles each way which would include motorways

I like the idea of the IQ for drivers like me but am worried about a 3 cylinder 1 litre engine !

It doesnt seem much.

How does it perform especially on long runs/motorways/uphill?

Is it a strain

ta

[bokkie]

The 1300 engine is more than enough. If you want to tear from one light to another buy something else. The iQ is not designed for F1 aspirants but with that in mind, it's a really nice car to drive. I'd say go for the 1300 over the 1000 engine. We've driven both and it's a big difference. Notice too, that the iQ3 (not sure about t'others) has a 6-speed box. In some cars a 6-speed box gives you a better experience on long drives. On the iQ you need to flit up and down 4-5-6 when going up some hills. After a couple of weeks owning an iQ3 I'm convinced it'll do quite ok on long drives and it's actually very stable on the freeways. We took it on the M25 and passing big trucks was interesting. It was perfectly stable and unaffected by wind blast as you pass the trucks but you sort of feel small but your confidence grows. Servicing costs are good and like most cars of its ilk, services are about £150 or so. The 1000 is VED-exempt and the 1300 is £35. Then again, it's poor economy to say, I'm buying a car for £13,000 but I'll save £35 a year on tax! Go figure.

It's a better car than we thought it would be. YMMV.

[Devil-ish]

Its a funky ickle car! OK so its not gonna be a racer but then neither am I!! I find it very comfy to drive and dont feel small at all, in fact I find it feels much bigger than my Aygo and I now have no problems with the wind blowing it about as I did with the Aygo. We have done several long motorway journeys and find it tootles along happily at 70 ( he he) and also it has plenty of room for 3 adults and even has had 4 in it! With the back seats down (as it is most of the time) I have plenty of room for my shopping. The only downside I would say is that you cant hide the shopping if you have a lot but there is plenty of hidden storage space scattered around the car for the odd items. Go for a test drive, see what you prefer! Mine is an IQ2 and the engine seems very adequate

[DellaRed]

Hi,

We have recently bought a 1.0 litre IQ and have to say that its a lovely little car to drive. My other half bought it to commute to work each day (our other car is a voyager). We are both six footers and feel there is more than enough leg room, Im sure people look at us and wonder how we fit into the car haha. I do find however that it seems easy to speed in though, which is strange, when Im meant to be doing 30mph I am often doing nearer 40, so I have to watch this. Before the IQ we had an Aygo (which we were pleased with at the time, but the IQ is much more of a solid little car and once inside you feel that you could be driving a bigger car. Im not sure its as economical as the Aygo though (maybe because of the heavier bodywork), having said that, there is an indicator which tells you when to change gear in order to get the best mpg out of the car, which I stick to as much as possible.

I sometimes take the car on the school run and really would have to say that although it is a four seater, it sits three comfortably (if you are of average/tall height).

Personally if I were you I would go along to your local dealer and get a test drive, I think you might be impressed with what you experience, it will definately sway you one way or the other.

Happy car hunting =]

[geo13647]

Definitely go for a test drive, you will be pleasantly surprised.

try & get a drive in an iQ2 and an iQ3, there is a considerable difference.

poke around in the showroom, feel the shut of the doors, peek under the carpets etc.

it is of considerably better quality than the Aygo & most comparable competitors cars.

the Aston Martin Cygnet being the notable (£50k) exception.

talk to your dealer, there are good deals to be had.

enjoy,

Geo...

[bokkie]

Geo, you made a valid point with the reference to the Aygo. The day we did our test drives we drove a number of cars, iQ3 (twice), Aygo, Fiat 500, VW Polo (twice). After the iQ3 my wife drove the Aygo, and to be honest after one minute we were taking it back to the showroom. The Aygo has a place for sure but it's perceived quality was way below the iQ3. It was difficult separating the iQ3 and Polo as we thought they were both solid cars and everything seemed to work tickety-boo. In the end we bought one of each thus solving the dilemma. :-)