The Scion iQ made its debut yesterday at the New York Auto Show with bright yellow paint and wearing 18 inch wheels. It’s the latest in this recent “micro-subcompact” car trend and has been aimed to beat competitors like the SMART car by offering advantages such as slightly bigger seating and luggage space, without compromising fuel economy or ease of parking. It measures a bit over 10 feet from front to back yet it supposedly can sit three people and their gear. No word yet on how comfortable that would be but judging from the interior shots, they are talking about a very small set of three people and their miniature sized luggage.

Besides looking like an xD, It’s Scion branding is very obvious; it looks like it is marketed towards “tuners” in high school looking for their first car. The model on display is a modified version that primarily features a widebody kit from Five Axis, 18 inch wheels by MetalFX, a stainless steel exhaust from Five Axis, and TEIN Super Street coilovers. The widebody kit might look pretty good if it featured less vents up front, it looks too close to an insect face as it is right now.

There is no official word if this thing will make it to production. They claim that they are gauging response to it and will determine whether to make it. It looks like there is a pretty big chance that we’ll end up seeing this thing on the streets soon as its right up Scion’s alley: it’s an odd shape, it looks like it could be fast (to non car enthusiasts), and of course it’s actually a really economical car at heart… reminds me of the Scion tC. Under the hood lies a 1.3 liter inline three engine that is rated at 93 horsepower, making this a perfect city car on the cheap… just don’t make any expectations for performance!