BY ANY OTHER NAME
Former Scion returns as a Corolla
When you close the shop, what do you do with the stuff left inside? That’s what Toyota had to figure out when it discontinued its Scion brand last year.
Aging models like the tC and xB were no-brainers for the history books, but the iM hatchback had just recently been introduced. And so for 2017, it wears a Toyota badge, and is now known as the Corolla iM. (The sporty Subaru-based FR-S was the only other Scion to migrate over in our market, and it’s now called the Toyota 86.)
The Scion name was used only on our shores, and its vehicles were mostly rebadged versions of Toyota cars sold in other markets overseas. The iM is known elsewhere as the Corolla-based Toyota Auris hatchback. And while the company never intended it to be a direct replacement for the defunct, Ontario-built Matrix hatchback, it could be an option for those who miss that little model. It uses a 1.8-litre fourcylinder engine, mated either to a six-speed manual transmission or, as in my tester, an automatic, continuously variable transmission (CVT). Scion sold its cars in a single trim level, and the iM continues that tradition. Your only choices are the transmission and the exterior colour, at $22,540 for the stick shift model, or $23,375 for the CVT.
That’s a jump of some $1,380 over the Scion version, but there are a few new features added. It
now has a package called Safety Sense, which adds pre-collision warning with emergency braking, lane-departure alert, and automatic high-beam headlamps. It also now gets heated front seats, a popular item in our colder-weather climate that was notably missing from the Scion version.
Other items in that one-sizefits-all price include a rear-view camera, automatic dual-zone climate control, heated mirrors, variable intermittent wipers, and 17-inch alloy wheels.
The stereo can be a little fiddly to use, but it has what I think is possibly the best sound quality in this segment, even against thirdparty name-brand music boxes found in a couple of other small hatchbacks.
The engine cranks out 137 horsepower, and rather reluctantly when you ask it to be delivered in a hurry.
If you’re planning on passing other vehicles, don’t make promises the iM can’t keep. There is a Sport mode, but don’t expect much; it simply keeps the engine revving a bit higher, and pretty much just produces more noise instead of extra performance.
Opting for the stick shift also doesn’t really provide much in the way of athleticism either, as I discovered on an earlier drive with that transmission and its long-throw shifter. It’s more about keeping the price down.
Handling doesn’t feel as sharp as benchmark-setters like the Mazda3 or Volkswagen Golf, and there isn’t much steering feel, but the iM still reacts quickly and accurately when you move the wheel.
It’s a commuter vehicle that doesn’t pretend to be a sports model, but that’s exactly what a lot of drivers want.
The front seats have small bolsters on the side and they’re actually quite comfortable.
The rear chairs are flat and nowhere near as nice, but backseat legroom is pretty good for a car this size, and there’s space under the front seats to slip one’s feet under them. The rear seats fold 60/40 for extra cargo space, and they’re easy to operate and fall almost flat.
Unlike the Matrix, which had a lot of plastic in the cargo compartment that looked cheap but was practical for easy cleanup, the iM has thin, board-backed fabric that looks cheap and is a tougher to tidy up if you’re hauling muddy items.
The dash is a very busy design, but most of the controls are simple and easy to use. The heated seats are the exception, handled by small dials hidden within a covered cubby, and which are tough to spin when regulating the temperature.
The iM’s price can look fairly expensive when it’s compared to the starting stickers of some of its competitors, and can be as much as $2,500 more than hatchback versions of the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, or Hyundai Elantra, among others. But keep in mind that the iM comes with everything, while you’ll have to move up into the competitors’ pricier trim levels to get a similar number of features.
A couple of rivals can still undercut the Toyota when similarly equipped, but be sure you’re doing an apples-to-apples comparison when price shopping.
The Scion brand was all about cheap and cheerful, and the iM stood out as more upscale and mature within it.
But out on its own in the cutthroat world of hatchbacks, its tepid performance becomes even more of a setback, especially since there isn’t correspondingly fantastic fuel efficiency to compensate for it.
Be sure to drive at least a few of the others for comparison before you make your final decision.