"It takes the compactness of a motorcycle and the stability and convenience of an automobile," says Toyota's Akihiro Yanaka, noting that the i-Road's ultra-narrow body and relatively slow speed mean that it could be driven in bike lanes (some municipalities may disagree, but it's an interesting thought). And in some ways it's more of a faster, safer, more comfortable bicycle alternative than a tiny car, an ultra-efficient way to get around in dense, urban areas.

Driving the i-Road is actually kind of scary, at least at first

At CES this week, Toyota wanted me to take the i-Road for a test drive. How could I say no?

Since I'm 6-foot-4, getting into the vehicle was a little bit of a challenge. It is nothing like a standard car from an interior perspective — it's cramped, extremely narrow, and leaves little room for even buckling your seatbelt. Driving (riding?) the i-Road is... actually kind of scary, at least at first. Because the car is all electric, there's little difference in feel going from neutral to engaging the motor. At even relatively low speeds, the car leans deeply into turns. The faster the turn, the deeper the lean — but interestingly, the faster you're going the larger your turning radius becomes. That means you can't zip around tight corners at higher speeds, and though the designers of the i-Road claimed I had nothing to worry about, even at a moderate pace I did initially fear the car would just tip over on me. It didn't.