Drove the tC today and...

Drove the tC today and...

...and Toyota has done a pretty good job with this one, I must say. I was working down in service when the guy whose in charge of accessories and internal stuff came over to me and said, "Hey it's here!" and I said, "What? What's here?" and he told me that the tC was coming off the truck as we were speaking. So I jumped in the golf cart and flew up to new cars to get a look at it. As I was coming up the hill to new cars, the tC was rolling off the back of the truck and onto the pavement. The driver parked the car and brought the keys inside, but I stood there and checked it out. It was a burgundy color and...a 4AT

She already had the keys waiting for me and gave them to me. We went out and were standing there and I asked her if she was ready to drive the car and she said, "YOU can drive the car, I really don't need to." I told her that I was only 17 and she said my name was on the dealership's insurance, ect so I was good to go. So, 17 year old male + brand new demo Scion tC with 15 miles on the clock= what you're about to read. I got a chance to really walk around the car and study it and I really like the front. It's unique looking and definitely a fresh face in this crowd, plus a little upscale looking...ala 6 series. The rear shot, straight on, is great. It's nice looking, clean and simple. The side profile though...I don't care for the rear 3/4 panel at all. I don't know if it just ends too abruptly or if it's because the car is a hatchback, but that's the only real downfall I see with the exterior design. It makes the car sort of..."piggish" in stance. The wheels are stunning in person- the shape, size, style and finish look much more expensive than many of the other cars the tC competes with. There is definitely room in the wheel wells for 18 or 19 inch rims. Overall the exterior looks quite a bit different in person than it does in the photos. It's definitely better looking in person, but that rear quarter panel annoys me.

The keys are similar to the Lexus setup with the lock, unlock, and panic on the base of the key. I unlocked it and got inside. The first thing I did was adjust the seats, which was a little complicated, but I got it figured out and got comfortable easily. Even at 6'1" I was very comfortable in this car and there was plenty of head, hip, shoulder, arm and leg room for me. After I was comfortable I started messing with things...the center console, the doors, ect. The (rice paper? as scion says) material on the doors sort of annoyed and didn't really impress me. It looks like black plastic with a semi- wood look going on. It's got pencil-led sized horizontal squiggles all over it. It's not offensive or anything, but the material in the Corolla is more likeable and feels to be of better quality. The dash is nicely laid out and simple to see and use, but the aluminum is a little but overwhelming. It's ALL aluminum and you better like it because it's impossible to just look over. I'm one for simple accents, not overwhelming silver everytime you open your eyes. The shiftgate is easy to see and use, as well as pretty classy looking. There is a decent amount of room in the rear, only marginally less than the Corolla while having two less doors. The panoramic roof is definitely a cool touch as well. Overall I liked the interior, but not as much as the Corolla XRS' which is slightly classier and of a little higher quality.

I snapped the shifter into reverse and we were off! My first impression about the car while driving it- great turning radius. Things can be tight on a car lot, but this car was easy to manuver and felt light on it's feet. I went to the turn out of the dealership, waited for a space in traffic to open, and gunned it. First impressions about acceleration: 1) The Camry roots are immediately noticeable because of the fact that torque was instantly available and 2) the Camry feels faster. I'm not sure if the Camry feels faster because there is so much sound deadening in the Scion, or if it really is quicker, but whatever. It felt to me like the automatic was really sucking a lot of power out of this car. It's definitely not slow, but I'd say the acceleration in automatic form is only slightly better than average. I'd put the 0-60 at around 8.7 seconds or so. The route I took was a square, so as I came up on the first right hand turn I took the turn at about 45MPH and then gunned it. The car feels extremely confident on it's feet and there is a little body roll but the car never becomes unsettled. The tires gave a slight squeal, but the car held on and cornered beautifully. I gunned it from about 45MPH all the way to 60 and then slammed the brake pedal to the floor at a stop sign. Again, the torque really sets this car apart from some of it's rivals because it "feels" a little bit quicker than some of them due to this factor. The brakes also work quite well. I made another right and then gunned it again, onto a road is slightly twisty and vision isn't great because of trees and bushes. On the road is where this car really shines. The suspension sucks up bumps and pot holes pretty well, it corners beautifully, the ride is smooth and quite firm but never becomes jarring, body role is rather minimal, and the steering is great. You can really feel all four tires on the ground and what each one is doing. It's pretty communicative, but not to the point of being intrusive or uncomfortable for a long haul. The car handles curves and dips with ease and never became unsettled or hard to drive. It seems like Scion spent a considerable amount of time perfecting the way that this car drives, because it really drives quite well. It's smooth and firm, the steering is spot on and projects a pretty good image of what's going on under you, and cornering/hard driving never revealed a weakness. I made the third right and gunned it until I had to let off- at about 103 MPH. It's a long, straight road with a big dip in the middle. Although the automatic doesn't feel necessarily quick, it builds speed quickly and smoothly and it seemed like I hit 100MPH in no time. The car is just as composed and smooth at this speed as it is at 20 mph. The torque helped the car to climb the hill you face after coming to the bottom of the dip without having to downshift to get more power. It work's nicely all the way to redline and never sounds rhaspy or unrefined. The driving characteristics of this car are it's best quality, no doubt. The one thing I did notice...after our little 100MPH+ stint, the A/C was blowing a nice scent of burnt "something" through the vents

When I got out of the car the first thing I thought was, "I really wan't to drive that 5spd." Then I looked the car over again and looked at the price and really realized that I had nothing to complain about. This car had a sticker of $17,320, and I thought about the fact that I could have a faster, more fun to drive tC with all the same equipment for almost $1K less. The interior is a slight annoyance and could have been executed a little better, but this car is also incredibly inexpensive. That quarter panel is also something that would take some getting used to, but it looked to me like a spoiler would have helped the problem. Overall, Toyota hasn't created the perfect car for under $20K, but they've done a darn good job. This car's strongest points are to be found in it's driving characteristics. It really drives like a well polished, sporty coupe and it seems like Scion engineers put in overtime in developing the cars driving style because the suspension, chassis, and steering work together very nicely.

If price wasn't an option, I'd have the Corolla XRS because of it's extra gear and doors, but the tC is an incredibly compelling deal for under $17K considering standard features, style, price, and how the car performs.

On a side note...I think a 5spd for this car is fine, but I really wished a 6 spd was available. I'm also not really a fan of hatchbacks and wish it was a coupe, and I also wish they'd offer an interior color other than black.

Heres the car:

The general consensus though is that if when I get ready to buy a new car I have the additional money to lay down on the XRS, I would do it. The XRS feels like more car overall than the tC...and it is. The tC is a great buy for the money, but I'd gladly take the keys to the XRS.

-Michael-

One thing....is it faster then an 03 auto?

Someone had posted that it was about the same but I really dont think that is true


BTW: great review....if I knew what you looked like I could swear that I was there.

Nice review. I still don't know what the big hype is about regarding the TC. THere are much better cars out there with same specs, if not, better. It looks funny now that I've seen it from different views. I guess it's ok for those who need an economical sedan because it gets the job done.

Maybe I'm not use to the Scion name because it's so new or maybe that purple color ruined it for me.

I'd definitely say that the tC automatic and the Corolla automatic are about neck and neck. Seriously, the Corolla is really quick for "just" 130hp and the tC's acceleration with the 4AT was a little disappointing. I drive automatic Corollas all day long at work and they feel almost the exact same as this tC.

I'm 17, about 6'1", brown hair and eyes, goatee, I was wearing my white Toyota shirt with tan cargo pants and black boots. When I test drove the car (about 7:00) there was nobody around except for one guy sitting inside the showroom by the XRS, reading a newspaper.

Let me know! LoL!

-Michael-

After finally getting to drive the car, I'd have to agree with you. I think that for the price the tC is a good car. People here and on scionlife.com had been making it sound like this was going to be the second coming of christ, and after driving the car yesterday, I can tell you it's not. It has it's shortcomings- I thought some parts of the interior were cheap, the rear quarter panel is odd, and the styling is pretty love it or hate it, but after those complaints I looked at the sticker and reacknowleged the price. This car is on par for it's price, but I would rather have a Mazda 3, and definitely the XRS. The XRS is night and day, above and beyond, more car than the tC- even considering price. One of the things I like most about the XRS is how it looks like a mini-Lexus inside and out. It has fantastic interior quality and the design is simple and easy to use. The seats and layout were a bit more...comfortable in the XRS as well. The XRS IS a more upscale car, which is something that I want if I'm going to throw down $19K (I know the tC is less, but I think the XRS is definitely worth the extra money.) I know it was an automatic, but the XRS I drove felt like it had a twin turbo V-8 compared to the tC. Like I said I would put the acceleration for the tC at about 8.7 (this was an automatic), and thus I'm betting the manual will be 8.2 or 8.1. The XRS manages to hit 60 in about 7.5 seconds. I can definitely see where the tC is going to require the S/C to just keep up with the XRS in a straight line.

Bottom line: For the price, Scion has put together a good car, but if you can dish the extra cash for a 3 or XRS, you'd be getting more car for your money without some of the little annoyances the tC has.

-Michael-

Let me tell you what I do.......I live in a city that is not all that big on the freeway doing 65mph it takes about 10-15min from one end to the other.

I drive for a living not to much on the freeway manly in the city(going from real estate office to office delivering mail)I'm at 62-63k on the corolla,and I need something.......will differant? heh I guess I'm just sick of the seats I have and the fack that the car is some what loud inside
(yes most of the time I'm bumping my system, but when I want some peace the corolla is a little loud for me.

Now I know most of you are going to say why not just go and test drive one, but the dealer here wont let anyone test drive it and if I want to buy it I can now, but I cant take it home untill the 26th.....thats tomarrow, but most likly someone bought it already and I wont be able to test drive one for sometime.

So what do you think of this car for having to stay in it 8hr a day(100-150 miles)??

BTW, when does the S/C version come out?

November is the so called release date