Automakers increasingly are turning to electric vehicles to offer buyers zero-emissions mobility, but four-wheeled EVs can be heavy and expensive, and they can’t slice through urban centers any better than regular cars. Toyota thinks it has a solution, and it’s called the i-ROAD. The small, three-wheeled electric-powered concept is something of a cross between a car, a motorcycle, and a fancy golf cart, and Toyota refers to it as a personal mobility vehicle. READ MORE ››
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According to Toyota, the “i-ROAD takes the company closer to its goal of creating the ultimate range of eco cars.” As you’re surely aware, that range of eco cars includes the enormously successful Prius family, but this new machine is nothing like the hybrid hatchback. And it’s not even a car – Toyota calls the i-ROAD a Personal Mobility Vehicle.
Toyota’s i-ROAD Concept, which debuts at this week’s Geneva Motor Show, is adorned with just three wheels, meaning it’s just as much a motorcycle as it is a car, and the driver and passenger sit in tandem style instead of side-by-side. This arrangement allows for a very thin 850mm width, which is about the same as a large motorcycle. Because the cockpit is enclosed, the occupants don’t need helmets, nor are they open to the elements outside.
Also like a traditional two-wheeler, the i-ROAD tilts through the turns and when driving on uneven surfaces. Toyota says its computer-controlled Active Lean technology automatically balances the vehicle with no input from the driver.
Despite the automaker’s expertise in hybrid drivetrains, the i-ROAD is a pure electric vehicle, and Toyota says it “believes in the feasibility of EVs to serve as a main mode of transport for short urban journeys.” There’s a two-kilowatt motor in each front wheel, meaning the i-ROAD offers up just over five horsepower, which isn’t a lot but should be enough to get moving up to city traffic speeds (no performance specs are available).
An on-board lithium ion battery allows for a range of around 30 miles, after which the vehicle can be recharged in three hours using “a conventional domestic power supply.” We’re a little unsure of what Toyota means by that – using a 110-volt outlet or a 220-volt outlet, or perhaps a unique charger? – but you’re welcome to see the press release yourself below, along with a video showing the leaning three-wheeler in action.
Continue reading Toyota i-ROAD leans its way into the city [w/video]
Toyota i-ROAD leans its way into the city [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
Toyota has a pair of concepts prepped for the upcoming Geneva auto show, one that has us scratching our heads and another that has us panting with anticipation: the i-ROAD and the FT-86 Open, which you might as well begin referring to as the Scion FR-S roadster.
Toyota says that it’s assessing the engineering behind converting the GT 86 to a convertible, while simultaneously gauging customer reaction. We previewed the inevitable FR-S roadster last year and suspect this concept has Mazda Miata marketers looking over their shoulders. Unlike the Miata, however, we think it’s likely the open-top FR-S will have rear seats if the sketch above is anything to go off of. If customer reaction is as positive as we think it will be, it’s possible a production-spec FR-S roadster could be debuted later this year or early in 2014.
As for the head scratcher, the i-ROAD, it’s a small, lightweight “personal-mobility concept” that is emissions-free and meant for urban environments. There’s room for two sitting in a tandem formation. With just a top-view drawing and no further information available, we’ll have to wait to get to Geneva to see what the i-ROAD really looks like. In the meantime, we’ll just think of it as a 21st-century version of Harry Miller’s 1917 Golden Submarine.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver
![Toyota i-ROAD Concept: A Strangely Cool Front-Drive, Electric Three-Wheeler [2013 Geneva Auto Show]](http://bd.summit.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/140841-thumb-320x200.jpg)
![Official: Toyota i-ROAD leans its way into the city [w/video]](http://bd.summit.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/140606-thumb-320x200.jpg)