The Toyota I-Road personal mobility vehicle is a new form of transport that offers more flexibility in urban environments and has been released for everyone in the 2013 Geneva Motor Show .
The new Toyota I-Road is a comfortable and closed vehicle, for two occupants sitting in tandem, which incorporates active inclination technology ('Active Lean'), which allows a pleasant experience of safe, intuitive and no helmet driving, with an autonomy of up to 50 km with a single load. Users of personal mobility vehicles need a vehicle that is more comfortable, more weather -resistant and safer than a cyclomotor or a motorcycle, but that continues to offer the advantages of low maintenance cost and compact dimensions (especially in width), to facilitate parking and urban maneuverability, associated with two -wheeled vehicles.
Beyond the 2 350 mm long, 1 445 mm high and 1,700 mm of wheelbase, the key dimension of the Toyota I-Road is a width of 850 mm, approximately the same as that of a conventional two-wheeled vehicle. Thus, the Toyota I-Road has the same capacity to maneuver freely and allows to park up to four i-road in a single car parking space.
The electrical system of the Toyota I-Road works thanks to a lithium ion battery that drives a pair of 2 kW electric engines mounted on the two front wheels. Combining an energetic acceleration with a very silent functioning, Toyota's new personal mobility vehicle has an approximate autonomy of 50 km, after which it can be recharged by conventional domestic power outlet in just three hours.
One of the keys that allows higher levels of stability, safety and comfort when driving the Toyota I-Road is the new and intuitive 'active lean' (active inclination) technology of Toyota. The system incorporates an engine and inclination gear mounted on the front suspension, and connected by a fork to the two front wheels. An ECU calculates the necessary inclination depending on the steering angle, the gyroscope sensor and the vehicle speed. Then, the system automatically moves the wheels up and down in the opposite direction, and apply an angle of inclination to counteract the centrifugal force of the turn.
With an angle of minimum turn of only 3.0 meters, the system also enters operation when the Toyota PMV PMV moves straight through a uniform surface, so that the inclination system automatically compensates for changes in the road surface to maintain the body level.
The 'Active Lean' system, which does not need any specialized driving ability, offers a driving experience similar to that of a motorcycle, but without the need for the driver himself to stabilize the vehicle in the maneuvers at low speed or stop. Since the 'Active Lean' system eliminates the need for the driver to lower the feet to the surface of the road at no time, the body of the Toyota I-Road can be closed, hermetic and safer.
That not only means that Toyota's new personal mobility vehicle can be driven without a helmet, but also that it has an environment more similar to that of a car, with the possibility of enjoying elements such as lighting, heating, a Bluetooth sound and connectivity equipment with mobile phones.
Toyota believes that the concept of individual electric mobility of the Toyota I-Road will play an important role in reducing congestion and air pollution in urban environments.
The workers of the metropolitan areas could use public transport or a conventional private vehicle to move to transport nodes in the urban perimeter and, from there, change the Toyota I-Road to complete its route and move through the center of the city.
Its compact dimensions, maneuverability, ease of parking, rapid recharge and availability in open or closed cabin make Toyota I-Road an ideal solution of urban transport, designed to reduce the congestion and emissions of CO2, NOX and particles in urban centers, without renouncing the freedom of individual movement.
Here you have the presentation video of the Toyota I-Road :
