Here's another new addition to the Geneva Motor Show, the futuristic Toyota i-Road. Let Twizzy get ready, as the competition will start to tighten...
Toyota made a point of disclosing its new Personal Mobility Vehicle (PMV) even before presenting it at the Swiss event, which will take place tomorrow, March 4th. In addition to the images you can see in this article, the Japanese brand also revealed some important details about this innovative personal mobility solution.
The i-Road was created specifically thinking about the demands of large urban centers and as much as it costs us to accept, this type of vehicle is, without a doubt, the ideal for the nerve-racking madness of everyday life. If you don't notice… it's not enough to be a super-compact vehicle (great for parking), as it's still fully electric, in other words, zero emissions – a characteristic that all environmentalists approve, especially those who live in the most polluted cities. Ah! and like the Twizzy, the i-Road is also closed-cab and comes with a capacity to transport two people.
With a maneuverability identical to that of motorcycles, the Toyota i-Road has an overall width not much larger than that of the two-wheel machines, it is only 850 mm wide (341 mm less than the Twizzy). Present in this PMV is an unusual technology, called Active Lean. Basically it's an automatic cornering system, which is activated via the turn radius and speed. This is why this arrangement with only one rear wheel is essential.
The i-Road has a maximum autonomy of 50 km and offers its owners the possibility of recharging the batteries from a conventional household outlet, and this, in just three hours!! Our special (and lucky) envoy, Guilherme Costa, is already on his way to Geneva to bring us this and other news from the automotive world. Stay tuned…
Text: Tiago Luís