While most car buyers that are looking to spend less than $17,000 on a new car will be happy to get most basics on their vehicle such as power windows and a decent sound system, a pre-collision braking system is not what most buyers would expect to see as a feature for cars within the price range.
Scion, however, is including such a safety feature in the company's new iA subcompact sedan, which will have a starting price of $16,495 for the base six-speed manual transmission version of the car once it goes on sale on Sept. 1.
The 2016 Scion iA is basically a sedan version of the Mazda2 of Mazda, which is not being sold within the United States, expect that it instead has a face and badges of Scion. When Mazda and Scion met to discuss which features to include in the single-trim Scion iA, the pre-collision system was among the features which stood out.
"We looked at that feature and said we're in," said Scion VP Doug Murtha, to car news website Automotive News during a press event unveiling the Scion iA and its hatchback cousin, the Scion iM.
The pre-collision system, which is manufactured by Continental AG subsidiary Conti Temic, utilizes an infrared radar system which scans the road extending 30 feet in front of the vehicle when the car is moving at a speed of between 2 mph and 18 mph.
If the system detects a large object in the road ahead and the driver does not step on the brakes or steers the vehicle away from the object, the driver will hear an audible warning and will see a flashing indicator light on the car's dashboard. Simultaneously, the brakes of the vehicle will precharge, and will be applied automatically if the driver still fails to do so.
While it is widely believed that the young drivers do not care about road safety, Murtha said that their research showed that young drivers saw the value in a pre-collision system.
The system is a part of the safety package that Mazda uses in its Mazda2 vehicles abroad and its upcoming CX-3 crossover for the United States. Mazda is assembling the Scion iA in Salamanca, Mexico alongside the Mazda2 and Mazda3.
The Scion iA features a 1.5-liter engine with 106 horsepower, with an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 33 miles per gallon for city driving and 42 miles per gallon for highway driving for 37 miles per gallon combined.
Other features for the Scion iA include a rear-view backup camera, power exterior mirrors and a 7-inch touchscreen multimedia system with voice recognition.
