First rumored more than a year ago, the much-anticipated US debut of the Toyota iQ is finally upon us… but it’s been badged as a Scion and the expected fuel economy numbers are not really all that impressive when you consider just how tiny this vehicle is. Scion says the car will eek out mileage “in the high 30s.”

With Chevy saying its new Cruze Eco — a much larger entry level car — will return at least 41 mpg on the highway, purchasing a car as small as the iQ might be a hard sell for the young, cash-strapped new car buyer. But the iQ does have one secret lure under its sleeve: with an overall length of only 120.1 inches and a width of just 66.1 inches, it is truly a tiny car… even smaller than the Smart ForTwo, but with room for four.

So its the iQ’s size that might just make it the perfect choice for the city dwelling chic crowd… which is good because that’s who Scion is targeting with the iQ. Imagine being able to park this car facing the curb in a space meant for parallel parking. For those of us who have driven around for 30 minutes trying to find parking in a big city only to curse the bad parkers who left 7 foot spaces between cars, that feature alone is extremely enticing.

The iQ comes with an impressive list of standard safety features including Vehicle Stability Control, an anti-lock brake system with Electronic Brake force Distribution, Brake Assist and Traction Control. It also has an amazing 10 airbags, including a world’s first rear-window curtain airbag. Other airbags include driver- and front-passenger airbags; driver- and front-passenger seat-mounted side airbags; side curtain airbags; driver- and front-passenger knee airbags; and a Scion-first driver seat-cushion airbag.

How they managed to fit that many friggin airbags in such a tiny car I will never figure out, but considering its tiny size, the extra dollop of safety is probably a good thing.

Reprinted with permission from Gas 2.0