2013 Scion Fr-s Automatic Pioneer Audio Paddle Shift 6k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

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World Car Of The Year down to its final four

Judges for the World Car of the Year Award have narrowed down the finalists to just four vehicles. Out of a total of 42 entries, only the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Porsche Boxster/Cayman, Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT-86 and Volkswagen Golf remain standing. For Volkswagen, this marks the second consecutive year the company has had an entry among the finalists, and the fourth time since 2009. In order to qualify, a vehicle must be on sale on two continents during the span of time between January 1, 2013 and May 30, 2013. A panel of 66 journalists from 23 countries then vote on the finalists.
Three vehicles have made the cut for the last round of voting on the 2013 World Performance Car as well, with the Cayman/Boxster and FR-S/BRZ/GT-86 running against the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Meanwhile, the Renault Zoe, Tesla Model S and Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid are duking it out for the World Green Car Award. Finally, the World Car Design of the Year Award is up for grabs between the Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar F-Type, and the Mazda6. Check out the full press release below. Overall winners will be presented at the 2013 New York Auto Show.

Which sinister Scion FR-S would you buy?

Look beyond the utility. Look beyond the amenities, the infotainment, the hidden storage cubbies, and the 72-way adjustable seats. Yes, even the seats. Outside all the fluff of today's cars, there's a blank canvas waiting for an artist; cars can really come alive with a few tastefully placed modifications. These two Scion FR-S sports cars surely fall into that category, and when they both turned up on eBay, we figured we'd ask the question — which would you rather buy? The track-centric red car or the brutally simple black car ? Internet, you be the judge. The "widebody" look — with its outrageous fender flares and visible rivets—isn't for everyone, but this 2013 Scion FR-S happens to pull it off quite well. According to the listing, the pumped-up fenders, splitter, and additional aero bits are courtesy of legendary widebody purveyor Rocket Bunny. Overall, the racy body mods add a significant twinge of aggression to the once docile FR-S... a notion that's echoed underneath the hood. The heady Scion FR-S leverages an HKS supercharger system and exhaust, paired with a set of Buddy Club racing coilover shocks, Bee-R wheels wrapped in Yokohama ADVAN rubber, and a new engine management system. All in all, this looks to be one fierce track and street monster. RELATED: Check Out This Wild Toyota GT86 Wagon Concept But whereas the red car is a shout, the black car is a growl. Confident, powerful, yet restrained. The black 2013 Scion FR-S sports a sultry Varis Arising 2 body kit with carbon fiber accents lining its front lip and boot lid, as well as a brilliant set of projector headlights and Tom's taillights. The icing on the cake is the set of Work M1R gunmetal grey wheels, which come fitted with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. There's no supercharger in play here, but the Scion's 2.0-liter boxer engine does breathe a bit easer thanks new ceramic coated exhaust headers and a high-flow catalytic converter. It can also handle a bit better too, courtesy of sporty Cusco Street Zero 3 coilover shocks. If we're honest, both are quite jaw-dropping in their own unique styles. But which do you prefer? Related Video: This article by Zach Doell originally appeared on Boldride.com.

2016 Scion iA First Drive

Leading up to our first test of the 2016 Scion iA, we're actually really excited to drive it. A string of "if A, then B" logic tells us this car ought to be pretty good. We drove the new Mazda CX-3 and loved it. The CX-3 is based on the Mazda2 platform. The Scion iA is a rebadged Mazda2, built in Mexico as part of Toyota and Mazda's joint venture. Following that line of thought, we should like this Scion a lot. And we do – mostly. Parts of the Scion iA experience feel a lot more Toyota than Mazda. Scion executives tell us that Toyota had a lot of influence in the engineering of the Mazda2, since in addition to being the iA in the US, the car will be sold as the Yaris in other markets. Unfortunately, that Toyota-ness comes through in the driving dynamics. The iA uses Mazda's 1.5-liter Skyactiv-G four-cylinder engine with 106 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 103 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. On the canyon roads near Malibu, CA, we're putting pedal to the metal; uphill acceleration is unsurprisingly poor for a car with meager output numbers like these. Around town, 106 hp and 103 lb-ft is perfectly fine for the 2,385-pound iA. And it allows the car to return impressive EPA-estimated fuel economy numbers of 33 miles per gallon city, 42 mpg highway, and 37 mpg combined with the six-speed automatic transmission. Should you choose the six-speed manual, those numbers only drop to 31, 41, and 35, respectively. The six-speed stick is all Mazda, and we love it. You should choose the manual, by the way. The six-speed stick is all Mazda, and we love it. Gear throws are short and snappy, and the clutch has a nice weight and crisp action. Driving the manual iA back to back with the six-speed iM really points out that Mazda makes a far better manual transmission than Toyota. Great gearbox aside, on these canyon roads, we're feeling a bit let down. Never mind the acceleration issues, the iA just doesn't feel like a Mazda in the turns. Credit where credit's due: the steering is really nice, with a solid feeling on center and crisp turn-in and lots of feedback throughout the entire range of motion. But we're remembering the solid, planted feeling the CX-3 exhibited when we hustled it along the mountain roads of Arizona. And we aren't feeling it here in the Scion iA.