The top Japanese automaker hopes that the events will help revitalize the slowing domestic automobile market.

The four-seater iQ is less than 3 meters long and is shorter than minivehicles.

The company hopes that the car will appeal to a wide range of consumers, especially those living in urban areas. The iQ's unique features include good gas mileage and maneuverability.

The gasoline-powered iQ is as environmentally friendly as Toyota's popular Prius gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle since the amounts of carbon dioxide emitted from the two models are almost the same, according to Toyota.

The prelaunch test-driving events are rare for a Japanese automaker. Toyota is showing off the iQ in a bid to attract consumer interest ahead of the planned autumn launch of a number of fuel-efficient minivehicles by other automakers.

The events will be held in Inuyama in the central Japan prefecture of Aichi on Sept. 6, in the western city of Wakayama on Sept. 19, and in the town of Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan, on Sept. 27.