Ace of Base: 2017 Toyota Yaris IA

Have you ever walked into a restaurant to find it happens to be marking some sort of special occasion by offering only a single dish? One time, I ambled into a greasy spoon fine dining establishment to discover the sole food available was roast beef. The solitary option? Mashed potatoes or french fries, sir. No substitutions.

While that approach had me heading for the door in a hurry, sometimes it pays dividends in the car world. We’re all spoilt for choice these days, so Toyota makes it easy for us with the Yaris iA.

Archaeologists know that it takes some digging to find the real source of an artifact. Dig a bit into the Toyota Yaris iA, and one will find a rebadged Scion iA, itself a rebadged Mazda 2 sedan. Keep digging and one may find King Tut’s tomb, or at least the bones of another compact car being sold elsewhere in the world.

The Yaris iA firmly plants all four of its 16-inch alloy wheels at the economy car end of the scale, even if its price of entry is a comparatively lofty $15,950. Customers can elect to spend an extra $1,100 on an automatic transmission. Save for a few available dealer accessories, that’s the only choice one has to make.

A 1.5-liter four-cylinder making 106 horsepower shuffles the Yaris iA down the road, connected to a six-speed manual transmission. Toyota has recently been making a lot of noise about their safety systems, and the iA includes nannies like low-speed pre-collision avoidance, braking assists, and a raft of airbags. These are all Very Good Things for the first time driver — a demographic which likely makes up a good chunk of iA pilots.

Drivers accustomed to a few gadgets will find a good bit to like about the iA’s interior, which should look immediately familiar to any Mazda fan. Given Mazda’s proclivity for cranking out desirable product, this is not a bad thing at all. A 7-inch color touchscreen display stands on the dashboard just as it does in other Mazda cars, above a simple set of HVAC controls and to the right of a great set of gauges. Like its Mazda cousins, this is an attractive interior for the price. Fortunate, as the iA’s front grille is decidedly not attractive at all.

Air conditioning, cruise control, a couple of USB ports, and a rearview camera are stuffed into this little sedan. Tossing in push button start and a steering wheel which adjusts for reach and rake help to seal the deal.

Great colors spanning the spectrum are available, including the Sapphire Blue shown at the top of this post. I should mention that a press photo of last year’s Scion iA was used today instead of the usual Build & Price screenshot because the image on that page was microscopic. Deal hunters take note: every hue, no matter how bold, is $0.

I’ll cap off with the same verdict I gave to the iA’s half-brother, the Yaris hatch. There are definitely cheaper base model sedans on the market but I do think the Toyota stands a better chance than some other brands of hanging on to some of its value come trade-in time. It’s list of standard equipment earns it a spot on this list, too. Just don’t ask for any substitutions.

[Images: Toyota]

Not every base model has aced it. The ones that have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments. Naturally, feel free to eviscerate our selections.

The model above is shown with American options and is priced in Freedom Dollars absent of delivery and other fees. As always, your dealer may sell for less.