Short test drive of the '16 iM.

stever

Stopped by the local Toyota dealer after lunch and checked out a couple of cars. The iM caught my eye because @iluvmysephia1 has been jonsing for a Scion iA. I'm more of a hatch/wagon minivan guy and we'd previously tested a Honda HR-V. Moving up in size, we've tested several Souls.

Back to the iM, the editors here don't seem to like it much. I hadn't read their reviews so didn't go in with any expectations one way or the other, except for reading about golf-carting around in the iA.

It's small (d'oh, it's a subcompact). The rear seats fold down almost flat so that helps with toting stuff. Interior fit and finish seemed good, has the backup cam, 12v/110 powerport in the console next to the USB port. Nice console that didn't intrude on my knee room. We tested the automatic.

Driving around the neighborhood behind the dealer, the iM seemed plenty peppy. It was even peppier in Sport mode but that would probably be most useful in commuter traffic with lots of merging. Did a 360 on a typical subdivision street with room to spare and the steering felt nicely weighted and snappy.

Fun little car. My wife's first comment was that it was a bit bumpy. That's to be somewhat expected with a small, short wheelbase car. This was mostly a joyride and the low fuel light was on, so I didn't feel like taking it out on the Interstate.

The seats were very comfy (Toyota seats seem to fit both of us well in general).

One noticeable advantage the iM has over the HR-V we tested was a good AC. It was in the low 80s on our test drive and there were no hiccups with cooling.

Anyone shopping these?

Michaell

Isn't the iM compact sized? Effectively a corolla hatch. The iA is the subcompact model.

stever

You're right, and Edmunds calls it a compact hatchback. Maybe because it's "short" in height it seems smaller than the Soul. Felt closer to a Spark to me. But it's bigger than the subcompact Fit, although it didn't feel as big as the HR-V.

iluvmysephia1

Ironically it was the Scion iM that first caught my eye, stever. Little did I know that it's little brother would bend me so, eventually. Nice review of the iM. I enjoyed it. I do like the look of it and it does like very "Corolla wagon-ish" and I don't mean that in a bad way. It has a futuristic look to it and because I'm so betaken over the Scion iA I haven't found out what the Scion iM's New World Order Toyota name is going to be. More on this later. Again, great review, stever!

regal1994

Reminds me of the Vibe. My 2003 Vibe is the best car I have ever owned with 226,000 miles. Does the iM have good seat height like the Vibe? That is one of the things I like most about the Vibe not having to climb out of the front seat.

stever

I only test drove a Vibe/Matrix a couple of times. Mostly I remember how well I liked the manual transmission shifter.

Not sure if I trust my memory but I think the Vibe seats were a tad higher.

It was a fun test drive so you may as well hit a dealer and at least sit in one.

gthomasbaldwin

Kind moderators!
Would you be willing to provide money factor and residual for the 2016 scion iM in Las Vegas, NV for a 12k/36m lease
Thank you

kyfdx

gthomasbaldwin said:

Kind moderators!
Would you be willing to provide money factor and residual for the 2016 scion iM in Las Vegas, NV for a 12k/36m lease
Thank you

I'm sorry, but we don't get any Scion lease info.

Typically, cars that sell at full MSRP do not lease well. We don't usually see much interest in Scion leasing.

Sorry that we couldn't be of more help.

Michaell

kyfdx said:

gthomasbaldwin said:

Kind moderators!
Would you be willing to provide money factor and residual for the 2016 scion iM in Las Vegas, NV for a 12k/36m lease
Thank you

I'm sorry, but we don't get any Scion lease info.

Typically, cars that sell at full MSRP do not lease well. We don't usually see much interest in Scion leasing.

Sorry that we couldn't be of more help.

Actually, scion has a one price philosophy - and that price doesn't have to be MSRP. My local dealer is asking $15,505 for the automatic - and it stickers for over $17k.

But, no idea what the lease numbers are.

gthomasbaldwin

Just a quick follow-up. I found this dealer
http://www.redmccombstoyota.com/scion-im-lease.htm

The way those numbers work out I think they're offering it with 65% residual and .00165 MF.

I wonder if the rebadge to Corolla will shake things up a bit for this car.

Michaell

gthomasbaldwin said:

Just a quick follow-up. I found this dealer
http://www.redmccombstoyota.com/scion-im-lease.htm

The way those numbers work out I think they're offering it with 65% residual and .00165 MF.

I wonder if the rebadge to Corolla will shake things up a bit for this car.

If nothing else, we may start to get lease numbers on these models once they are rebadged.