A new SMESTO- dwelling Customer
The i-TRIL has been developed with a new type of customer in mind: a sophisticated, single, 30-50 year old active female with two children and a vibrant lifestyle. And she lives in a SMESTO (Small to Medium Sized TOwn)...
European Union studies on the future of cities have suggested that, rather than further expansion of already vast metropolitan areas such as London and Paris, the continent will witness a steady increase in growth of built-up areas adjacent to existing cities, in the manner of medium- density suburban pockets of development.
The number of such SMESTOs in Europe travel extensively to take children to school, shop, visit restaurants and socialize. As such, requirements are for small, agile and urbanfriendly vehicles.
Toyota’s research with SMESTO-dwell and spending time with her children her behavior, she refuses to be a slave to those children.
The new i-TRIL Concept embraces and - ties through three functions: Active Lean the unique One-plus-Two seating layout of the vehicle.
Active Lean Technology
Driven by electric motor power and weighing just 600 kilograms, the i-TRIL is some 2,830 mm long and 1,460 mm high. It features 1,200 mm front and 600 mm rear track widths, with a hinge between the rear axle and cabin allowing the vehicle body and front tires to lean while the motorized rear tires remain perpendicular to the road surface at all times.
With the front wheels and fenders clearly separated from the main bodyshell to facilitate the leaning of both the former and the latter, the cabin consists of a smooth, dark, cocoon-like central mass with no belt-line or door handles.
This is visually overlaid with a surface wrapping which undergoes a seamless transition between the body color it shares with the front wheel arches and the transparent cockpit glazing, whilst emphasizing the powerful forward movement inherent in the i-TRIL’s silhouette.
on the sloping A pillars to maximize the opening area and ease of cabin entry to even the rear seat passengers, whilst requir- ing no more opening room within a car parking space than conventional doors.
The robustness of the vehicle architecture and the added width of the rear cabin to accommodate a two- seat bench are reinforced from behind by the full- width combination lamp design above a clearly separate rear axle structure that incorporates the electric motor drive system.
Using their previous experience with Active Lean technology, Toyota’s engineers discovered that a lean angle of 10 degrees proves perfect in combining enhanced stability and grip, greater fun and driving pleasure, and less risk of passengers suffering from car sickness.
Allied to 25 degrees of front wheel steering, this technology equips the i- TRIL with a turning circle of just 4 meters ( similar to that of the Toyota iQ), making it not only highly engaging to drive at even modest speeds, but also very much at home in even the most congested urban environment.
Aspiring an actual driving range of more than 200 kilometers between charges, the new Toyota concept is capable of operating conceived to provide such driving pleasure that owners will wish to drive themselves for the majority of the time.
Relaxed Engagement
From the perspective of “Relaxed Engage sample a range of driving positions. They chose a slightly higher, yet relaxed and laid-back driving position -almost akin to that of a go-kart- with good engagement of the steering module.
This latter is important, because the i-TRIL has no pedals, enabling the driver to stretch out their legs in comfort, and wear whatever style of footwear they choose without risk of losing control of the vehicle. The base of the driver’s seat features a central rib to offer a snug, high
Steering, acceleration and braking is all carried out via drive-by-wire technology. The i-TRIL is operated by left- and righthand control nodes (in the manner of computer mice or game controllers) which extend towards the driver’s hands beneath the stretch fabric covering the manual driving module.
During autonomous driving, the left- or right-hand instrument panel extremities automatically illuminate whenever the i-TRIL is about to enter a corner, letting all occupants know which way the cabin is about to lean.
There are no other controls or switchgear, and no driver’s instrument binnacle. In manual driving mode, a simple head-up display gives the driver all the information they need. A completely new approach to the Human Machine Interface (HMI) focuses on voice activation technology, Intelligence for the control of multimedia and infotainment systems.