MME Goes To Japan Part 1: Driving the Toyota i-Real
We’re off to the Land of the Rising Sun…to drive a scooter
by Imthishan Giado
The wind bites hard, gnawing at my cheekbones like an ungrateful zombie. My hands are jammed hard into my thin pockets trying vainly to resist the unkind cold. As I walk down the streets, my nondescript features are lit by the neon lights of the most exclusive brands on planet Earth: Gucci, Bulgari, Tiffanys, it’s a cavalcade of conspicuous consumption. Every few feet, there’s another gorgeously-decorated Christmas tree lining the sides of the street. For all I know, Frank Capra is directing my world.
But he’s not. I’m in Japan. Somebody pinch me and tell me this is real.
Of course, the big question, why am I in Japan? I’m actually here to take a look at the factory where Toyota makes Land Cruisers, the car that redefined where we could go in the Middle East, and made the desert open to all and all abilities. As a former Land Cruiser owner this is as close to a pilgrimage to the promised land as I’m going to get.
But no one said anything about going directly to the factory. And when you’re in a city as big and incredible as Tokyo, it would be churlish to turn down the opportunity to see some some sights. And when I mean sights, I mean the incredible MegaWeb facility that Toyota has built on an artificial island on Odaiba, where as it turns out, there was an interesting surprise waiting for me.
But before we get to the car stuff though, we did do a few touristy things. One of these was visiting the impressive Asakusa shrine, a well known Shinto site with one of the largest Buddhist temples in the city. It’s far away from the hectic hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo, but even on a cold, wet and windy day like this one there’s still hordes of people to get through, the shrine packed to the rafters with patrons. A custom of the shrine is that you toss a coin into a trough inside the main hall and it will bring you luck. I couldn’t even get close to the trough, such were the crowds; a constant plink-plink of change echoes from within the halls.
Of course, no shrine is complete without a tourist trap. As you would expect, a small bazaar has sprung up on the edge of the shrine catering to every tourist’s needs. If you came to Japan looking for every cliche – kimonos, katanas and hand fans – this is the place to find it.
This is not however, the place you’d expect to find an ice cream sandwich burger. This not-so-delicious treat is sold by the not-so-charming lady in this store for the princely sum of 300 yen – that’s about Dh13, foreign-exchange fans. Being a fan of the lost art of the ice cream sandwich, I had to give it a go. Having consumed it, I can now report with authority that this concoction tastes like two pieces of cardboard bookending the most bland dollop of frozen sugar you’ve ever tasted.
Seven hours and one slightly-upset stomach later, we arrive at Odaiba, a large artificial island in the Tokyo Bay, which you reach by crossing the colourful (and colourfully named) Rainbow Bridge. Odaiba is an impressive achievement all on its own. Built as an island fortress in the 1850s by the Tokugawa Shogunate as a defence against American ‘gunboat diplomacy’, it has evolved over the years into a seaport, a public park and today holds a number of fascinating attractions including the Museum of Maritime Science, a Venice-themed shopping mall, a scaled down replica of the Statue of Liberty, and most importantly to us car nuts – Mega Web, Toyota’s premier Exhibition Centre.
Mega Web consists of two parts – a super-high tech car showroom, and a classic car garage on the far edge of the complex. These two sections are so interesting that the next two installments of my Japan diary are about them, but now let’s take at look at the first surprise of my trip – the Toyota i-REAL.
The reception we were invited to attend was for the Fifa Club World Cup (of which Toyota is a headline sponsor) but the moment I saw this sign in the corner, I immediately shot off to sign my name up as fast as I could. After all, who would turn down the opportunity to drive – or er, ride – a priceless prototype of the future of transport?
Everything in Japan has restrictions, and the i-REAL is no exception. Naturally, you also can't ride while drunk...
I first heard about the i-REAL concept four years ago when Top Gear’s Richard Hammond drove an early prototype. Since then it’s gone through a number of upgrades and has had a few spin-off models but the basic idea remains the same: a ‘Personal Mobility Concept’ that aims to make travelling more ‘fun’ and comfortable, but without the constraints of a bicycle or the restrictions of a motorcycle. The i-REAL is an electric single-passenger three wheeled vehicle powered by lithium-ion batteries, but more importantly, it’s something that only the manga-obsessed Japanese could have come up with – and then actually built.
Granted, it doesn’t look very dramatic in this model, like a sofa that has delusions of grandeur. If you look closely, you’ll see the two handles that control the movements of the i-REAL. Both work in exactly the same way so it can be used by either right or left-handed people. No foot throttles or brakes here, the control scheme couldn’t be simpler – twist forward to move head, twist to the right to turn.
Watch the nice Japanese lady’s left hand carefully: she’s pressing a seriesof buttons to put the i-REAL into ‘gear’. Yes, the i-REAL does have a P-R-N-D shift just like a normal car. It has even headlights as well so you could conceivably take it out on the road. Although with a top speed of 30kph, I wouldn’t recommend hitting the freeway any time soon.
But I wouldn’t getting anywhere near that top speed to start with. Oddly for the safety-obsessed Japanese, there’s no seatbelt; you just plop yourself in, select a direction of travel, lean forward gently on the sticks and well, away you go. As you cruise around in the i-REAL, the three-wheeler emits unearthly humming and whooshing noises, just like the Fisker Karma. It also plays really girly video of sparkling-stars on your backrest, which made feel like I’d somehow ended in the girl’s version by mistake. The fact that my i-REAL was called the ‘Ann’ was probably a big hint in that regard.
OK, I have to admit, it looks kind of dorky in this mode. This is ‘Walking Mode’ where you sit mostly upright, with the idea being that you can have normal conversations with people at eye level. Not that there’s anything normal about looking like an extra from an Daleks episode of Doctor Who. In this mode, the i-REAL is not what you’d call fast – a person at a brisk walking pace could easily keep up, even with the throttle completely held down.
But the i-REAL has a secret. Press a button on the console and the it literally transforms, leaning backwards and extending the rear wheel to become a futuristic three wheeled motorcycle. Now the i-REAL can reach its top speed of 30kph – and while that may not seem like much trust me it feels flipping quick when you’re riding a sofa. Going around corners is actually a lot of fun – the whole thing leans over like a motorcycle to maintain balance! Unfortunately, being in a giant ballroom and not outdoors, I didn’t have the opportunity to test the i-REAL to see if it has any 86 DNA…
Would I have one? Well for one thing I’m not sure it’s really necessary: in the UAE we’re fat enough and anything to encourages us to walk even less is probably not a good idea. However, I have to admit that it was an absolute hoot to ride and over a long day, it would save you a lot of time, although it’s far too slow to use on the roads. For older people or those with disabilities, the i-REAL makes a nicer alternative to traditional disability scooters and is far more compact.
When will it come to production? For now, Toyota says it’s ‘just a concept’ and they’re still considering the pros and cons of commercial production. What a pity. I wouldn’t mind a transforming scooter for popping down to the shops – wouldn’t you?
Next stop, Mega Web!
