Toyota i-Road Concept EV is not your three wheeled personal rickshaw
Toyota i-Road Concept EV has been revealed via official images and video before its global premiere at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show later today. Though the EV has three wheels, it is not like an Indian rickshaw.
Toyota’s Personal Mobility Vehicle (PMV) i-Road Concept will be offered with a 1+1 tandem seating layout. It will be a compact vehicle and totally emission free which is what will attract it to a new rage of ‘Go Green’, ‘Go Small’ customers especially in view of the ever escalating fuel prices and limited parking spaces. i-Road Concept will be similar to Renault Twizy, though it will have only one wheel at its rear end which will enable it to tilt into a bend like a motorcycle, though retaining its stability, thanks to ‘Active Lean’ technology.
This technology, automatically balances the i-Road while cornering. It collect input data in the form of type of road, steering angle, speed, and a gyro sensor. Dimensions of Toyota i-Road stand at 2350 mm in length, 1445 mm in height, and 850 mm in width. The wheelbase of the i-Road is at 1700 mm.
It may be remembered that Toyota had showcased personal mobility concepts at various auto shows in the past. In 2005 Toyota i-Unit made its presence felt while in 2007 Toyota i-Real was displayed. i-Road is one of the company’s personal mobility concepts that takes the shape of an actual car and hence will cause quite a bit of excitement at the upcoming show.
