Platform sharing and collaborations seem novel today, but it's far from a new idea. In the series Alt-Toyota, we look back at some Toyota badged cars from other automakers and Toyota vehicles disguised under the styling of a different brand. Let's learn more about these Toyota alternatives you may not have known existed.
Japanese car brands Toyota and Mazda started an alliance in 2018 to create a massive factory in Huntsville, Alabama to produce 300,000 vehicles annually between the two companies. However, this was not the first time Toyota and Mazda did business together, the rival brands worked together in 2015 to release to the U.S. market, the Scion iA. Scion at the time was a struggling brand, it was meant to bring younger car buyers into Toyota showrooms and although the vehicles were of typical Toyota quality, they didn't resonate like the Corolla, Camry, or Rav 4, automobiles that are affordable and sell like hotcakes. Mazda on the other hand was free from Ford, they severed ties with FoMoCo in 2015 as the American brand's stake dwindled down to single-digit percentages, this also meant Mazda was back to exclusively producing vehicles on their own, starting with cars out of the Salamanca Plant in Mexico. For the first time, Scion would have a car that isn't a Toyota on the showroom floor, a Mazda down to the smallest particle, it would be the last push to keep Scion alive.
The Scion iA was introduced in 2015 on sale as a 2016 model in the United States, it was a Mazda 2 sedan with different badging and a front fascia that "zoom-zoom" happy face upside down, for a sad fish look. The iA was not very impressive when it came to stats on paper, just 106 horsepower and 103 lb-ft of torque from its 1.5 L Skyactiv-G engine but it could be had with either a manual or automatic transmission to power the front wheels, it was on-par with other subcompacts getting to 60 in just under 9-seconds and through the quarter mile in 17 seconds. Although the Scion iA didn't seem like much more than an affordable commuter car, it was very nimble due to its sub-2400 lb curb weight being able to generate around 0.83 on most magazine skidpad tests while tight gearing made it feel peppy and still provided 41 mpg on the highway. Inside, the car was all Mazda, in the best way possible as that brand had incorporated great ergonomics and material choices post-Ford which makes this subcompact a great place to be; I drove one after a canceled flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa and left thoroughly impressed with the value it delivered.
By definition, the word scion means the descendant of a wealthy family, in this case, the brand Scion which was geared toward a younger audience; was the descendant of the great Toyota family name. The iA name itself has an interesting origin, according to Toyota's marketing, "i" stands for: intriguing, individual, and easy on customers' income, while "A" stands for accommodating trunk and aggressive styling. The Scion iA name, however, would only stick around for one year as Toyota discontinued the brand after selling more Toyota Avalons than all Scion-branded vehicles combined in 2015. The iA would find a new home and adopt a new name as the Toyota Yaris iA which then became a cousin to the "regular" Yaris, a hatchback on a completely different platform. Things would get further complicated when the iA was dropped and the name Yaris Sedan was used, and eventually, the Mazda2 hatchback that was sold internationally replaced/became the Yaris Hatchback until regulations forced Toyota to discontinue the model altogether, and their participation in the subcompact car market in the United States.
The Mazda2 which ended up being the last subcompact sold by Toyota (aside from the CH-R crossover) was one in the great lineage of this genre of car sold in the United States. Aside from the short window that the Publica was sold stateside, Toyota's most value-conscious offerings really kicked off with the Starlet nameplate, which then transferred over to the Tercel for about a decade or so, then a small window with the Echo, before the Yaris took over from the early 2000s. The Scion iA upon its introduction was fully equipped for $16,495 (around $21k in today's money) which was a great deal from a brand like Toyota, but lower interest rates and customers shifting their tastes to SUVs of all sizes meant that sales would be lukewarm for this, and many other good small cars. Today, however, with higher interest rates and the need for cheaper cars that are fuel efficient, it's a shame that the Yaris or something like it doesn't exist in this market. Overseas the Mazda2, Yaris, and even a Starlet based on a Suzuki Baleno are sold to hordes of people looking to drive space-conscious vehicles that are affordable to maintain, perhaps regulations passed to end the sale of such cars were an incentive for automakers to continue making SUVs and trucks that generate larger profits, pushing them to customers who have come to adopt the "bigger is better" ethos.
In the end, the Scion iA/ Yaris iA/ Yaris Sedan; was a great little car born from a partnership with an unlikely rival. Today, this partnership lives on with Mazda using the RAV4 drivetrain in their CX-50 crossover, and there are continued rumors that future Lexus models may use the turbo straight-six from the CX-70/90. As for the Scion iA, it is a great bargain for those looking for a reliable, small, and fun car; all while holding value above $10,000 for a clean example. The iA is perhaps the only Scion that didn't benefit (suffer) from the availability of aftermarket accessories, aside from cold air intakes and coilovers, not much else is available, even old forums fail to mention someone using this platform beyond getting to work. It has a mix of Mazda and Toyota quality, good interior finishes, and relatively handsome exterior styling. The Scion iA was and remains a good cheap car, perhaps it was what Toyota needed in its vast lineup for the now-defunct subcompact car genre, a rebadged vehicle that could hold the torch of reliability for the big T.
The most thorough review of the Scion iA from one of the best in the business:
Savagegeese - 2020 Toyota Yaris | The Art of Cutting Corners
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