Toyota i-Road – a three-wheel EV for Geneva 2013

The Toyota i-Road Concept has been revealed ahead of the Geneva Motor Show. It’s a three-wheeled EV designed as an urban transport solution.

But if there is a way to make EVs acceptable to car buyers it’s to offer an alternative to the normal ICE car that works in specific and appropriate locations better than a full-sized ICE car can, not to try and make a normal car run on electricity.

So the new Toyota i-Road concept – heading for a debut this week at the Geneva Motor Show – is probably a sensible route for Toyota to go with its EV ambitions as it offers an urban transport solution that doesn’t pretend to be a car. In fact, the i-Road seems to be a motorised bike with a chunk of the benefits of a car.

The three-wheeled i-Road – one wheel at the back, two at the front – has room for two in tandem style, is powered by two 2kW motors on the front wheels, has a maximum speed of 28mph and can manage 30 miles on a three hour charge from a domestic socket.

The i-Road measures 2350mm long and just 850mm wide making it easy to thread through urban traffic and comes with ‘Active Lean’ which automatically balances the i-Road when cornering.

Toyota i-Road Pictures

Although the i-Road has the manoeuvrability of a two-wheel bike, its three wheels means you won’t need your feet to prop it up when you’re stopped at the lights, so the cabin is enclosed and even gets car-like comforts such as lighting, heating, sound system and Bluetooth.

The Toyota i-Road EV will debut this week at Geneva.

By Cars UK