2015 Toyota iRoad and COMS Scooter Sharing In French Grenoble from October 1st!

February 17, 2019, 8 pmSeptember 12, 2014, 1 pm by Tom Burkart

This would be a fun addition to any major city: 70 brand-new EV mobility machines from Toyota that can be rented with a smartphone at 27 city locations.

Similar to other hourly car-sharing services, but cheaper and quicker and more fun. This is also a great way to introduce people to the EV three-wheeled i-Road and four-wheeled COMS.

They are both fresh and clean designs of a car-person’s ideal motorbike: easy, safe and enclosed… with regular steering wheel!

They look like fun. No word on the bike’s top road speeds… but Grenoble citizens will surely be flooring it soon and finding out!

The three-wheeler is the better-looking, and also articulates around corners. With its ecnlosed design and at big angles around corners, the iRoad is certainly a futuristic and cool way to get around town.

2015 Toyota iRoad

Allez i-Road!

Toyota ultra-compact electric vehicles ready to run in French urban mobility project

Toyota providing 70 ultra-compact electric vehicles for Cité lib by Ha:Mo, an urban mobility project to be launched in Grenoble, France on 1 October
Three-year trial scheme will see three-wheel Toyota i-Road and COMS four-wheel electric vehicles available for public car sharing on local journeys

Toyota is ready to bring nimble, zero-emissions motoring to Europe’s crowded city centres with a fleet of its i-ROAD and COMS ultra-compact electric vehicles. The chic and colourful three and four-wheelers are set to prove how clean and easy urban motoring can be by taking part in a major pilot programme in the French city of Grenoble.

Toyota is a key partner in the three-year low-carbon car sharing scheme, which is expected to transform the way people plan and make local journeys.

It is supplying 35 of each type of vehicle and is also contributing its Ha:Mo (harmonious mobility) system to manage the scheme day-to-day, following a model that’s already been successfully trialled in Toyota City in Japan.

Known a Cité lib by Ha:Mo, the programme is also supported by the local authorities in Grenoble, the French power supplier EDF, SODETREL, an EDF subsidiary that installs, manages and maintains electric charging points, and well-established local car-share operator Cité lib.

From 1 October, anyone 18 or older who holds a valid driving licence can register with Cite Lib to gain access to the Toyota electric vehicles. Once subscribed to the service, they can download an application on their smartphone, tablet or computer to see the real-time location of vehicles that are charged and ready to use.

People will be able to pick up their car and drop it off at a different location – any of 27 charging stations in the greater Grenoble area – rather than having to make a round-trip. When the vehicle is dropped off, it is plugged into the station to be recharged and ready for the next customer.

The concept is seen as a way of building a better-integrated public transport service, where people collect an electric vehicle from a location near their home or office to drive to a local transport hub for the next stage of their journey. Likewise, people arriving by bus or train can step into a car on arrival to complete the last leg of their trip. The network of charging stations is seamlessly connected to Grenoble’s transport network IT system to make total journey planning easier.

Both Toyota vehicles have been developed as user-friendly transport around town. The i-ROAD is particularly innovative, using a clever Active Lean technology that steers in a similar way to the movements of a skier. It’s not much larger than a motorbike or scooter, but has a full canopy that protects the driver from the elements and gives the kind of secure feeling and comfort of a car.

Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “This project came to fruition because all of its partners have the same aspiration — to be a part of creating a future urban mobility.

“Urban mobility solutions will be a key growth area for Toyota in the future. We are very excited to be working alongside the people of Grenoble in solving urban traffic problems,”

During the pilot the programme partners will gather data on technical issues and user behaviour to help shape future mobility initiatives.

Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.

He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.

Mr. Burkart is available for all questions and concerns by email Tom(at)car-revs-daily.com.

www.car-revs-daily.com

Related

2024 Kia EV6 GT review by Ben Lewis
We recently tested the 640 horse, Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and marveled at its jaw-dropping performance. But there’s another super-hot EV in the Kia/Hyundai family, and it’s the Kia EV6 GT. It’s a little more Grand Touring than out -and-out sports car, but with 576 horsepower, it’s got plenty of thrills to serve up. So, what’s Kia’s performance flagship like? Let’s check it out! Sleek Style Any trim of […]
2024 Acura ZDX A-Spec Review: Teamwork Makes the EV Dream Work
As the saying goes, what’s old is new again. Case in point: the new Acura ZDX A Spec. It’s not that the vehicle itself is old—it’s more that the way this vehicle came to market. 1996 was a year chock-full of optimism, with Americans everywhere doing the Macarena as they poured their life savings into the can’t-miss investment vehicle known as Beanie Babies. Cheap gas allowed sales of the newly […]
Road Test Review – 2024 Volkswagen GTI 380 – Goodbye Manual, You’ll Be Missed
The Volkswagen GTI (aka Golf GTI if you’re willing to travel back into the past) is a hot hatch that has withstood the ravages of time and has always been one of the few performance vehicles on the market to offer buyers budget-friendly performance and a manual transmission to row through the gears. However, Volkswagen is changing the status quo and confirmed that the 2024 model will be the […]
2024 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring Review – Small In Size. Big On Luxury.
While Lincoln’s Corsair is technically a compact SUV—it’s based on the similarly compact Ford Escape—thanks to some clever packaging and design tricks, it feels a lot bigger than it actually is. The specific ride you see here is the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring—the one with the plug-in hybrid electric powertrain—and it just so happens to be my ride for the week. It’s deceptively small As is the […]
Road Test Review – 2024 Lexus RX450h+ – The Balanced Hybrid
The Lexus RX is the bread and butter that helps fuel the luxury brand’s sales machine with the RX rapidly morphing into a vital cog in the broader sales machine. The updated RX made its debut a short while back and while the odd exterior styling caused some controversy, it ultimately did little to stunt the model’s sales. Lexus is also out to prove that it’s not afraid to […]
5 Things to Know About the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
It’s incredibly powerful. The numbers are jaw dropping. 641 horsepower and 565 lb. ft. of torque. For those playing at home, the Porsche 911 GT3 serves up (only!) 502 horsepower. It’s incredibly fast. 0-60 mph comes up in 3.2 seconds. That’s about the same as that Porsche 911 GT3! It thinks it’s a gas-powered car. (Sort of) One of the great thrills in the 5 N – press the N button on the […]
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N review by Ben Lewis
If you’re new to Hyundai, you might have not noticed their “N” division. It’s pretty simple like BMW’s M division (and the watered-down M Sport models), The N is the Korean maker’s high-performance arm. (And like BMW, Hyundai also has an “N-Line” trim that’s sporty, but many levels below a true N). We recently tested a Hyundai Elantra N model and found it exhilarating fun in a small sedan […]
Road Test Review – 2025 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek – Trailbusting in Style
When one looks at the Nissan Rogue, you would be hard-pressed to think that the urban-focused crossover would be a good tool of choice for serious trail running. However, Nissan knows that in order for it to get a bigger slice of the SUV market, it has to explore other avenues and segments to enhance profits. That includes the off-road market with the Rock Creek moniker serving as the bridge […]
Road Test Review – 2024 Toyota Supra 45th Anniversary Edition
It can be hard to believe that the Toyota Supra is 45 years old. While most buyers are familiar with the current generation model and its 1990s era ancestor, it can be easy to forget that the Supra actually had its start in the 1980s before gaining widespread popularity a decade later. Toyota is eager to celebrate with the all-new 45th Anniversary Edition Supra. This Supra promises to help the […]
Road Test-Review – 2023 Honda Passport Trailsport – Holding Down The Fort
Honda is preparing a new Passport which will be making its way to dealerships to bring the fight to rivals like the Ford Bronco Sport and the Toyota RAV4. But before the revamped model can forge its own path, the company has to rely on the aging outgoing model to hold down the fort for it at its dealerships. The first-generation Passport has proven to be a capable steed in the past, but does it […]
5 things to know about the 2025 Honda Ridgeline:
We recently tested the 2025 Honda Ridgeline, and came away very impressed. Here’s a quick take: 1. It rides like an SUV.Since it’s based on the same unibody chassis of the Odyssey, instead of the separate frame like most trucks, the ride is smoother and quieter, and handling is excellent too. 2. There’s a dedicated off-road modelIntroduced last year there’s a Ridgeline […]
2025 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition review by Ben Lewis
We all know how popular SUVs are. But, if you’re looking for the real best sellers, you have to look at pickup trucks. For 2023, the #1 seller was the Ford F Series– over 750,000 sold. #2 the Chevy Silverado– 543,000, and #3 Dodge Ram – 449,000. (For those of you playing at home, #4 was the Toyota RAV4 at a commendable 443,000!) So yes, a lot of buyers still want a truck. But a lot of them don’t […]