Toyota has built its reputation by creating cars which are sensible, reliable and generally do their job perfectly well, without being particularly interesting or exciting. Occasionally, though, the company bucks its own trend by coming up with something a bit more off-the-wall, notable examples from the past being the Celica and MR2 sports cars.

Toyota's latest offering is certainly one of the more fascinating products it has come up with, but it isn't a sports car. The iQ has been designed largely for city use, and for reasons of manoeuvrability it is exceptionally small - only slightly longer than a smart fortwo.

Unlike the smart, however, the iQ has four seats, though Toyota isn't claiming that it will actually accommodate four adults. But you can fit three in there (as long as the two on the passenger side don't mind being squeezed in) and assuming that the driver doesn't need his or her seat to be as far back as it will go you could add a small child to the human cargo.

This is a remarkable piece of packaging for such a short car, and while there are bound to be concerns about safety, particularly in a rear-end shunt, Toyota has addressed these to some extent by fitting the world's first rear airbag to help protect the heads of back-seat occupants.

What's more impressive is that it feels like a proper grown-up car to drive. If you buy a Toyota iQ you're not automatically condemned to feeling that you are travelling on a rollerskate - in fact the car rides and handles like something much bigger, and the levels of comfort and refinement are very high. Admittedly you also have to pay quite a high price (the most basic model doesn't leave much change from £10,000), but for a reasonably wealthy motorist who wants something economical for city work the iQ has a lot going for it.