Story highlights
- The Toyota iRoad is a three-wheeled electric vehicle
- It was unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show in 2014.
Tokyo (CNN)The Toyota iRoad is like something from the future.
It isn't a car. It isn't a motorbike. This three-wheeled, two-seater -- driver and passenger sit in tandem -- is being billed as an electric-powered "personal mobility vehicle", and it reimagines how city dwellers could get around their urban environments.
With a 37-mile range, it's the perfect run around, able to squeeze into tiny parking slots and weave through traffic, while reducing congestion and carbon emissions.
CNN's Tokyo-based international correspondent Will Ripley took the iRoad for a spin. Here, he gives us the low-down on the five coolest things about the iRoad, first seen at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show.
1. It's bite sized
The i-Road is tiny. Three feet wide and 7 feet long, it's basically the size of a motorbike, but boasts the safety of a car.
At least two i-Roads can fit comfortably in a standard parking space. In a city like Tokyo with narrow, crowded streets, this small size gives you flexibility. It's also easy to park.
2. The support system
One of the coolest things about the i-Road is what Toyota calls "active lean suspension". When you turn the steering wheel, the i-Road leans like a motorcycle or like a skier.
It's a weird feeling at first, but really fun once you get used to it.
3. Safety awareness
The i-Road has built-in safety software that controls how deep it leans, based on your speed.
If you're going too fast around a bend, the steering wheel vibrates to warn you to slow down and avoid tipping over. When you hit the brakes, i-Road goes upright.
4. Charging power
The Toyota iRoad at a charging station.
The 600 pound (272 kilogram) i-Road is an electric vehicle that you can plug-in to power up. It takes about 3 hours to charge and can go about 30 miles per hour (mph), with a top speed of 37 mph.
It's great for buzzing around the city, although you wouldn't want to venture too far away from your charging station, or you could end up stuck.
5. It's a head turner
One of the best things about driving the i-Road is seeing people react when it's zipping down the street. Some reviewers say it looks like a jellybean, others less flatteringly compare it to a reject from the movie "Tron".
I think it's futuristic and fun. I usually walk around Tokyo to do my errands but the i-Road would make me get behind the wheel.
Photos: The smaller, the better?
The BMW Isetta was a world removed from the Bavarian manufacturer's premium saloons. The firm produced more than 160,000 examples of the tiny microcar between 1955 and 1962.
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Photos: The smaller, the better?
The Citroen 2CV had as little as two horsepower when it was launched, but it became one of France's most recognisable cultural symbols, and one of its best-selling cars.
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Photos: The smaller, the better?
The original Volkswagen Beetle enjoyed considerable popularity outside of Europe, with strong sales in the United States and a factory in Mexico that continued building the car until 2003.
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Photos: The smaller, the better?
The Peel P50 holds the Guinness World Record for being the smallest production car. It is just 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) long, holds only one occupant and has no reverse gear; you pick it up and swing it around if you need to make a tight maneuver.
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Photos: The smaller, the better?
The original Mini is one of the landmark small cars. Clever packaging meant that it could cope with a family of four, while still being cheap to buy and run.
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The Fiat 500 is still a surprisingly common sight in Italian villages. It was even smaller than the Mini, and the original version had just 13 horsepower.
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Fiat reinvented the 500 in 2007 -- although the new edition was considerably larger and more refined. It has proven a smash hit with customers worldwide.
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Fiat tried to replace the 500 with the 126, but while it was ultimately killed off in 1980, production continued in Eastern European countries like Poland, right through until 2000.
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Japan's 'kei cars' offer tax benefits because of their tiny size and small engines. Most Japanese manufacturers offer them in their domestic market. Mini-MPVs like Toyota's Pixis Mega are popular choices.
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Photos: The smaller, the better?
The most distinctive design element on the Isetta was its door - which was, in effect, the entire front bodywork of the vehicle. It opened up to offer surprisingly easy access.
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The 'new Beetle' was launched in 1997. It uses many of the original car's styling cues, but is designed as a fashionable alternative to a regular hatchback instead of basic family transport.
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Photos: The smaller, the better?
The kei-cars feature some of the Japanese brands' most tortured attempts to hijack the English language. Mazda's offering in the category is called the Scrum Wagon.
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