Toyota has said it plans to phase out the Scion brand at the end of the year, but the cars such as stylish Scion iM hatchback will not disappear since demand for small, subcompacts remains surprisingly robust even as sales of pick-up trucks and utility vehicles rise.
The subcompact segment might even expand as city-dwelling buyers, both young and old, search for vehicles that can fit into increasingly scarce parking spaces in urban areas, while also offering a measure of versatility, such as the new Scion. As a hatchback, I think, the iM is more practical than the Scion iA Toyota also introduced for 2016.
The iM was clearly designed to compete directly with cars such as Honda Fit, Mazda 2, Chevrolet Sonic and Nissan Versa. Scion is making a bid to re-establish its presence and influence in the heart of the affordable, subcompact market.
The car’s exterior styling is mercifully free of the quirkiness that has diminished the appeal of certain Scion and Toyota models in the past. The fact the iM is the product of a joint venture in Mexico between Toyota and Mazda, one of its smaller Japanese rivals, has bestowed the iM with a nice clean but not flashy appearance.
The iM follows the tradition the Japanese auto giant has established with Lexus and Toyota by giving the car a unique and easy to identify face complete with halogen headlights that have been tucked into the corners of the design.
On the inside, the Scion iM is impressive from a car that will retail for less than $20,000. Prices for the manual transmission start at $16,495 and $17,595 for the version with an automatic transmission.
In the past, Scions have suffered from cheap-looking interiors filled with plastic. But the iM is relatively plush and filled with soft-touch material along the dashboard and inner doors, and even the piano black accents around the small center console enhance the overall appearance of the cabin.
The instrument cluster with a tachometer and analog speedometer was clean and easy to read, though the trip odometer didn’t have enough back lighting to overcome the glare, which made it next to impossible to read on a bright day. The graphics on the seven-inch screen in the center stack that’s also used for a backup camera were also nicely done, and the steering wheel had a nice feel in your hand.
Navigation is available as a $395 option but Toyota is taking something of a gamble, I think, with Scion iM’s entertainment system. It has no connection for satellite radio and no compact disc player. The theory is motorists who want music can bring their own into the car’s USB drive or their smartphone, which can be connected to the audio system. But the system comes with Bluetooth, voice recognition and quick access to streaming sites such as Pandora.
The back seat of the iM is relatively small given the 101-inch wheel base, limiting the car’s utility has a people carrier. But the hatchback does have plenty of space for carrying packages, luggage or even sports gear.
The iM has a 1.5-liter, four cylinder engine that produces 106 horsepower and 103 foot pounds of torque.
The automatic transmission is virtually invisible while the car is moving, which is a good thing since it creates no unnecessary drama as it operates very smoothly with the engine.
However, the combination of 1.5-liter engine and automatic transmission can create the impression that the car is underpowered even though its curb weight is less than 3,000 pounds. But the car is very maneuverable and performs quite adequately in a normal range of operations between 45 and 70 miles per hour. It also has no problems keeping pace with traffic out on the highway.
The end of a brand invariably means that the cars loses some of its intrinsic value, but Toyota has a good reputation and history of standing behind its vehicles, which helps mitigate the risk that comes with buying into a brand scheduled to vanish.
