Scion Tc
 

I was priviledged enough to test drive a Scion Tc yesterday (I say priviledged because the dealer wasn't supposed to even have it yet, I was one of the first 5 people to drive it in Hunterdon County). I took it on a 30 mile drive and put it through the works. Here's my impressions:
Very high build quality for a car that starts at $16k
Very stylish, but would look a lot sportier if it was just an inch lower
Very nice 17" factory wheels
The dual panoramic sunroofs are awesome
Front seats are very comfortable, but nothing too fancy
Back seat has a lot more room than expected and 60/40 seats recline
Interior has kind of a dimpled foam, not a big fan
Poor choice of speakers 5.25s and 1/2in tweets in the doors, 6.5s in the back.
Acceleration is about equal to the SVX up till about 70 (didn't get to go any faster than that)
Engine likes to rev up very quick
Handling is nimble, but would be better if it was lowered as well
Braking is good

Overall I give the car a 9.2/10 and a 9.9/10 for value. I plan on getting one in about a year, once I see how they hold up.

Cool... glad that someone got to drive it and tell us what they think...

Scion's are kinda new in the US but I've seen them in other parts of the world before. The new Tc (IMHO) has many diffrent styling cues from other cars in it... I could have sworn when I first saw it that the headlights looked kinda like those of a BMW 7 series... I think that was the one that I was thinking about. It is a cool little car, and sounds kinda cool from what ya've just said... I might have to take a look at them myself (since they have a Scion dealer here in Beaufort :):) )

The new Scion Tc is a cool little car and all the magazine articles I've read about it have had high praise. The Tc is supposed to have a peppier engine than the one found in the Xa and Xb.

Either way, for 16 grand, you can't go wrong with a value like that! :)

-Chike

I actually liked the body on the Xa... Don't know anything about the car though... :rolleyes:....

can anyone clue me in??

My friend (with the urging of myself of course) was the first Pennsylvanian to own the Xb. He got it right around this time last year. Shipped from a dealer in California. It is a fabulous car definately great around town. It and the Xa are based on the Toyota Echo. Same engine and all! Has like 108hp but geared great up until about 50 or so. Not a drag strip winner at about 10-12 seconds to 60 but just fine for normal driving. If I remember correctly he paid $17500 for it including the $850 to ship it to PA. Only issue he's had was with the Toyota dealer here. They refused change his oil b/c they didn't know what filter to use (this was prior to Scion coming east).:D Has like 25k on it without an incident. Only thing he'd change is would want a sunroof but it wasn't available.

So thier pretty much a Toyota huh?? I saw on thier website that they use VVTi engines.. I know that's Toyota... Well if they are just a rebadged Toyota then they might not be all that bad... :rolleyes:

it may be a matter of days before i trade in the geo prizm, the impreza, and unfortunately, the 92 svx in for an xA. insuring five cars is killing me.

ps - everytime god kills a kitten, they build a house in the pine barons?

Let's look at the +ve here...at least you'll be able to keep that perfect, low mileage '97! :cool:

-Chike

i know, but the 92 is my first svx love. i always thought i'd be going the other direction. :(

:( :(

-Chike

Don't trade-in the 92, sell it private party. The Scion dealer said he could give me $3500 for my car, I laughed and said no thanks. The Xa starts around 13k and the Xb around 14.5k. Don't get any of the accessories you don't want. The dealers are supposed to pretty much be installing the accessories when you tell them you want them, not charging you for something you don't want.

P.S. Yes, the Xa and Xb are based on the Echo drivetrain, but the Xa has the basic body of the Matrix. The Tc has the 2.4L Vvti that's found in the Camry.

What's the hp rating on the Tc? Isn't it somewhere in the 145-160 range?

-Chike

i stopped in last week and they had a xA with no options in my color of choice. if i can get 11,000 for all three it's a done deal.

160 hp with 163 ft lb or torque

There's also an optional supercharger (not available yet) that is going to run around $3k and will boost it to atleast 200hp.

That supercharger should be pretty cool :)... I wanna see a Xa up close... That comercial that I saw of the robot running down a tunnel and then morphing into an Xa made the car look really sleek and cool...