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Scion iQ a smart buy for those on a budget

The 2013 Scion iQ has taken the 5-Year Cost to Own Award from Kelley Blue Book today for the lowest projected costs of ownership in the subcompact category – echoing our admonition yesterday that though bigger may be better, smaller is cheaper.
Posted: February 5, 2013 - 3:08PM
Author: Don Bain
The 2013 Scion iQ. Photo courtesy of Scion.

If you are good at math, they say you are smart. If you are good at everything, you have a high IQ – something not needed to figure out smaller cars are cheaper to own.

The Scion iQ is probably good at most things like parking, economy and navigating the urban jungle, but it may have trouble with running into a GMC Yukon or pulling a two-horse trailer.

The car value experts at kbb.com used their own Residual Values guides to determine depreciation costs and combined those costs with projected fuel, insurance, maintenance and repair costs to find the winners in the 2013 Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own Award.

“Although Scion iQ is small in size, the 2013 Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own Award proves it’s big on value,” said Scion Vice President Doug Murtha. “For the urban driver looking for maneuverability, impressive fuel economy and style, the iQ is an excellent choice.”

The iQ is comes with a 1.3-liter, four-cylinder engine producing 94 horsepower and 89 lb.-ft. of torque channeled through a CVT to engender smooth acceleration and excellent fuel efficiency. The iQ is a ULEV-II vehicle achieving an EPA-estimated 37-mpg combined fuel rating.

It has a base price of $15,495, a $110 bump from 2012 plus $755 destination in the Southwest region – in some regions these charges may vary. During midsummer last year you even got a Sony PlayStation Vita with a purchase of one.

Late last year the Scion iQ EV was announced as a candidate for urban and campus based car sharing programs.

Added value comes from the standard Scion Service Boost, a complimentary plan covering normal factory-scheduled maintenance for two years or 25,000 miles whichever comes first, and three years of 24-hour roadside assistance.

Could it be four strong guys that lift the iQ into the bed of a Tundra pickup? If you hooked it up to a tow truck would it dangle like a piñata?

Please excuse our facetiousness – we really DO like the little car.

For further investigation of big versus small car concerns, see Bigger really is better.

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