WASHINGTON — For 2016, Scion doubles its offering with this compact hatchback and a smaller subcompact iA, which we’ll talk about in a few weeks.
The iM doesn’t break the bank with its pricing with an as-tested price of around $19,500. The iM comes in one trim level and the only factory options are color and transmission, which help keep down the cost. You can add options like NAV and a sportier suspension at your local Scion dealership for a posted price with no haggling. Scion knows many of its customers are first-time car buyers, so they take a different approach.
The Scion iM has been sold in Europe as a Toyota model, so it’s pretty much a Toyota with some different styling. If you are Toyota Matrix owner, this could be worth a look as it’s also a five-door hatchback layout, and you can stay in the Toyota/Scion family.
The styling of the vehicle is bit aggressive and somewhat sporty-looking. Seventeen-inch wheels and the lower body moldings give it a sportier look than some other compact hatchbacks on the market. The colors are the usual silver, black, red, white and blue — but if you’re really want to stand out, check out Spring Green, a color I sampled earlier in the year for the Scion launch event. The mirrors in the same body color are a nice touch for the price. Sometimes in this class, you only get black mirrors.
The sporty look doesn’t really convey to the driving experience, which does a nice job on the highway and during the normal commute. But you won’t want to fling around your favorite back road, as the iM doesn’t really enjoy that.
The 137hp engine is adequate for most situations and the manual transmission makes it a more engaging experience than the optional CVT automatic. The throws on the shifter are rather long, but I appreciate it and am glad it’s offered. While the engine might not be very powerful, it never sounds harsh when pushed and is mostly a quiet runner. After a week and 315 miles of mixed driving, I managed 32 mpg — just slightly better than the 31 mpg the sticker says.
The interior of the Scion iM is good for this price point, and maybe one of the nicer interiors in a Scion as far as I can recall. It’s not an earth-shattering design, just a nice, simple interior with cool round air vents. There is a decent amount of soft touch material and the cloth seats are pretty comfortable, with good support. Even the rear seats have acceptable space for two passengers of average size. The cargo space seems a bit tight when compared to some of the competition in its class, but more than a compact sedan trunk could dream of. There is a good size, 7-inch touch screen for the HD radio and the dual zone climate control is also a welcome feature.
Aimed at first-time car buyers, the 2016 Scion iM is a compact five-door hatch, helping keep the Scion brand relevant with a useful layout. With no cost maintenance for the first 2 years or 25,000 miles and no hassle sales pricing, it might not be the most exciting five-door hatch to drive in its class but may be the easiest to buy. Just choose the manual transmission to make it bit more interesting.