Just six weeks after Toyota pulled the plug on Scion and took some of its models aboard as Toyota cars, the automaker says it will change their names. When they go on sale as 2017 models this August, the Scion iM will become the Toyota Corolla iM, while the Scion iA will become the Toyota Yaris iA. (The tC coupe has been discontinued.) The bigger news is with the Scion FR-S, an affordable rear-drive sports car that won Cars.com’s Best of 2013 Award It becomes the Toyota 86, a name it alreday uses in some international markets.
The name recalls Toyota’s AE86-generation Corolla — another front-engine, rear-drive coupe. The changes go further than just the nameplate: The 86 gets a wider air intake that fans out to where the FR-S’ fog light portals once were. The front and rear lights use LEDs, with restyled taillight reflectors that add a little more visual width. Toyota also reshaped the rear bumper, though the FR-S’ aggressive black lower insert with dual tailpipes carries over. Inside, the 86 carries over the FR-S’ styling, but Toyota says it has new materials on the seats, dashboard and doors. The steering wheel gets integrated audio controls.
Mechanical differences include revised suspension tuning plus a little more power on stick-shift versions of the 86: 205 horsepower and 156 pounds-feet of torque, up 5 hp and 5 pounds-feet from the FR-S. Toyota says the manual transmission has revised gear ratios, too.
Toyota did not mention any changes for the Corolla iM and Yaris iA relative to their Scion predecessors; a spokesman did not return our emails. Toyota says it will show the new 86 at the 2016 New York International Auto Show, so stay tuned for our up-close impressions next week.
SOURCE: cars.com