Our Cars: Toyota iQ

Allow me to guess what you might be thinking, having just read the sub-head. Why on earth has Sutcliffe bought himself a car like this – a tiny Toyota with fewer usable seats than cylinders that would struggle to remove the froth from a cappuccino, even with a fair wind on its back? Has the man finally lost the plot?

Well perhaps, but what you will likely already understand is that one of the problems with being obsessed with cars is you never know quite when to stop. Those familiar with this affliction will know that whatever you have today is never enough; your mind will constantly wonder what it could be replaced by tomorrow. Although when I say replaced, what I mean is joined by – because the true sufferer will always dream up reasons not to sell what they already have.

Today that little bit more comes in the form of the heroically slow but also intriguing Toyota iQ, a long-time favourite small car for reasons I’ll expand on in a minute. My justification? In another act of wild self-delusion I managed to persuade myself that my wife Samantha and I needed this car when categorically we do not.