James Riswick
Assistant A&E Editor
Scion tC
“Scion? Isn’t that one of those weird box things?”
“Why yes it is, but there’s more than just the box-on-wheels xB on Scion’s shelf.”
This was a typical conversation I had with people during my week spent with the new Scion tC coupe. Unlike the original two vehicles from Toyota’s new youth-oriented economy brand, the funky xA and xB, which are rebadged Japanese-market Toyotas, the tC is the first vehicle designed specifically for Scion.
With Toyota becoming a brand that successfully caters to everyone by being as neutral as possible, Scion’s mission is to be different and attract younger buyers who have shied away from the well-built-but-dull Camry and Corolla. At the same time, its goal is to maintain the aspects that have made Toyota the world’s No.-2 automaker: quality engineering and design.
In order to accomplish this, Scion dipped into the Toyota parts pool. The platform comes from the European-market Toyota Avensis mid-size sedan that gives the tC a noticeably large 106.3-inch wheelbase (5.1 inches longer than the similarly sized Acura RSX). This creates an unparalleled amount of backseat leg room in this class — two average-sized people had plenty of leg room to spare on a jaunt to Hollywood, even with the two front seats in their rear-most position.
The other essential element Scion lifted from its Toyota parents is the Camry’s sweet 2.4-liter inline-4 engine. With 160 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of torque on board, this isn’t another peaky Japanese power plant like in the Toyota Celica or Acura RSX that needs to be revved to 8,500 rpms before things start to heat up. Instead, the tC really comes alive at around 3,000 rpm, and the abundant torque means there’s no need to constantly row through the gears to get the most out of her.
Which is perhaps a shame since the buttery-smooth, short-throw five-speed manual begs to be played with like a puppy at Petco.
As great as the tC is to drive 95 percent of the time, though, its Avensis heritage and dodgy all-season 17-inch tires betray it when hitting the canyon roads. That isn’t to say the tC is a dull sheep in an edgy wolf’s clothing, but the Scion is not in the same handling league as the RSX, or a similarly priced Mazda 3 or Mini Cooper. The steering doesn’t transmit enough of what’s going on and it’s not as tightly balanced as one would like for bombing around sharp turns and hairpins. The tC simply doesn’t inspire the same type of spirited driving as other hot hatches, and subsequently cannot be described as one despite having the looks and price-point of them.
Something tells me, though, that’s not what Scion was shooting for. Instead, it recognized that its buyers would focus on the same things that make “Pimp My Ride” such a success. They certainly want a car that handles well (which the Scion does, just not excellently like the others mentioned), but particularly those in the college-age demographic want their cars to be unique as possible. Subsequently, the tC only comes with three factory options: color, side-curtain airbags and transmission. The rest are dealer-installed options such as the test car’s in-dash six-CD sound system with 10-color options for the LCD display, cool under-dash amber lights and various performance accessories like a performance exhaust. The latter of which was buzzy and irritating, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Inside, fit and finish are top notch, as are ergonomics — everything is where it should be. The knobless radio takes some getting used too, though, and the silver plastic cover that slides over it is completely pointless. The cloth front sport seats fit snuggly, and slide forward to reveal a back seat that, although big on leg room, puts the pinch to taller passengers. The rear seats recline, however, which fixes this problem for most people, but probably not a Yakouba Diawara. And despite being technically a five-seater, the middle passenger will have to be someone you really dislike since the bucket/bench seats perch that poor schmo uncomfortably skyward into the second piece of the panoramic sunroof that spans the car’s roof.
At a base price of only $16,465 (including destination charges), the tC is a well-equipped bargain with such high-end standard features as ABS, auto up and down power windows, outside temperature gauge, a six-speaker Pioneer sound system, those nifty reclining rear seats and the panoramic sunroof. Our press car’s as-tested price came in at $18,974, which is pretty cheap for a car that is so well-built and that comes with so many neat features. I kept reminding myself of this any time I found some sort of nitpicky thing wrong with it — not that there were many.
Ultimately, the Scion tC is a very cool car. People notice it when you drive by with its edgy, almost BMW-like looks (check out the headlights and Hofmeister kink in the rear window).
It has an impressive list of features, while providing craftsmanship that is on par with the most uppercrust Lexus. It doesn’t disappoint dynamically with a sweet four-cylinder engine and handling that, although not on par with the Acura RSX or Mini Cooper, is still entertaining enough to keep the driver involved. Finally, it’s a cool car that should please most college students as a definite hip ride, while pleasing their parents by being well-built, safe and very affordable.
This Scion is most definitely not a weird box thing.
02-24-2005
