Scion iA and iM To Be Renamed As Yaris And Corolla

7376 Views 11 Replies 11 Participants Last post by have2ride, Nov 29, 2016

Scion iM News 1

Discussion Starter · Mar 18, 2016

We all know that Scion is getting axed and their cars are going to be transitioned under the Toyota badge but what we didn’t know is that both the iM and iA will be renamed as Yaris iA and Corolla iM when they go on sale as 2017 year models.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to us since the facelifted Scion FR-S was rebadged and renamed as the Toyota GT 86 in North America. Bill Fay, Toyota division Group Vice President, made this statement: "when we announced the transition of the Scion models to Toyota we hadn’t planned on changing the names of our cars, but by popular demand, for our sports car, we decided to adopt the global name of 86".

Going forward, Toyota will report the 2017 model year Yaris iA sales volume with the normal Yaris as a single unit. The same applies for the Toyota Corolla and the Corolla iM. Toyota can now advertise the Yaris and Corolla as having two body styles buyers can choose from. This makes sense for the iM since it’s already a Corolla hatchback under the skin but the iA was based off of the Mazda 2 and not the Toyota Yaris.

Other than getting new badges, nothing else in the iA and iM will change. The iA will still come with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder paired with a six-speed manual or an optional six-speed automatic. The iM will have the same 1.8-liter four-cylinder under its hood and mated to either a six-speed manual or a CVT automatic.

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Briggs

· #2 · Mar 18, 2016

I dont understand why they changed the name to Toyota Yaris iA. They could have went with Toyota iA, but the iA is originally a Mazda2. It has absolutely nothing to do with the yaris.

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Patrick.S

· #3 · Mar 18, 2016

But how do you really expect them to differentiate the two? You want them to call both the hatch and sedan the same thing?

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KalD

· #4 · Mar 19, 2016

Briggs said:
I dont understand why they changed the name to Toyota Yaris iA. They could have went with Toyota iA, but the iA is originally a Mazda2. It has absolutely nothing to do with the yaris.

In Canada they don't have the Scion iA. Back in November when I went to go to the Toyota dealership I asked about the Yaris (hatchback) and he told me that the Yaris also came in sedan as well. When I got home to do more research it looked like the Yaris sedan was the same as the iA.

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iMScion

· #5 · Mar 23, 2016

I don't get why they're renaming it...

I prefer the scion name to it.

What do you guys think?

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Aprime

· #6 · Mar 23, 2016

iMScion said:
I don't get why they're renaming it...

I prefer the scion name to it.

What do you guys think?

I think you don't know why this decision was made.

The brand's over a decade old and has hardly any name recognition in stark contrast with brands like Toyota.

It *never* made any sense to create a youth brand that wasn't merely a *sub brand* like say, SRT.

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Patrick.S

· #7 · Mar 23, 2016

Exactly, basically it suffered a similar faith as Pontiac but at least pontiac had longer run with more models, but fortunately Toyota is seeing around the corner and knowing it's not a viable business strategy.

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Gotcha

· #8 · Mar 23, 2016

The decision was made before but pretty close to the 2008 financial crisis. Seems like an easy time to make a terrible business decision.

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S-Factor

· #9 · Mar 24, 2016

iMScion said:
I don't get why they're renaming it...

I prefer the scion name to it.

What do you guys think?

The first post just summed up why they wold rename it, so Toyota can report the sales together under Yaris and Corolla.

If you're wondering why Scion the brand dies, here you go: No More Scion

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Lavispa

· #10 · Apr 5, 2016

I'm thinking The iM is going to be called the new Corolla hatch as an option from the sedan model that they already have. Also In NZ this car is called TOYOTA COROLLA LEVIN ZR or Australia TOYOTA COROLLA SX. Btw maybe importing their fog lights will be an option in the US

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CAD-Man

· #11 · Nov 29, 2016

Has anyone looked on the Toyota site to build a Corolla iM. It seems like they are offering nothing as far as packages. They do not list a Nav system, just color options and Interior or Exterior adds. It almost seems like they want the iM just to die off and bee an afterthought. Same thing with the Yaris iA, no Nav system. But the Toyota 86 offers all the same options that the FRS had.

CAD-Man

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have2ride

· #12 · Nov 29, 2016 (Edited)

I have to say iM is an amazing car for the money. There are almost no other alternatives that would offer comfort, room and features. It handles great as an everyday commuter. But Toyota needs to offer packages, since iM is now branded as Toyota. It also needs a slightly more powerful engine, like 160 horses would be great. Nav/better audio system.

It just seems like the best cars are left to die off in order to sell more mainstream cars, such as Corolla sedan. Honda did it with their Element (which I still think was the best Honda ever made). Toyota is doing it with the iM. When I was at the dealership for my service some salesman was explaining how great Corolla is to some 40-45 y.o customer. When that guy asked for better cargo space, salesman said he should look for RAV4 or Camry. Since I was right next to them, I said why don't you show him iM? But the salesman just played it off mumbling "oh yea, iM, but it's discontinued" and walked away with the customer. Yes, Scion was terrible for sales people. It only gave them $150 commission per car sold, at least when they started. But now since it is gone I am sure there is more money to make.

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