Opinions on Toyota Scion TC
December 28, 2005 8:44 PM Subscribe
I'm thinking about buying a Toyoto Scion TC and bidding adieu to my '97 VW Jetta. Any opinions or thoughts, stories or feelings on the Scion TC from current owners?
Why that particular car? What else have you looked at? What's important to you in a car? As another alternative, the Civic was redesigned this year and is a great car - the Si is another 40hp over the tC and you can get nav and other options in it.
I hear the tC is OK, not sure if the resale / depreciation holds up yet.
posted by kcm at 8:54 PM on December 28, 2005
I hear the tC is OK, not sure if the resale / depreciation holds up yet.
posted by kcm at 8:54 PM on December 28, 2005
There's one parked outside of my building and it looks pretty sweet.
I've always been a big Toyota fan, and I'm still driving my 8 year old Tercel around, and I've probably only spent about $300 in on repairs in that time (got it new in '97)
posted by delmoi at 9:50 PM on December 28, 2005
I've always been a big Toyota fan, and I'm still driving my 8 year old Tercel around, and I've probably only spent about $300 in on repairs in that time (got it new in '97)
posted by delmoi at 9:50 PM on December 28, 2005
You'll probably want to ask that question and browse around here.
I occasionally hang out on the Audiworld forums, and a few people there have Tc's - at least one with the bolt-on supercharger. They seem to be pretty happy with the car and the integration of the supercharger, etc..
Personally, i think its a pretty hot car for that segment. If I was looking, it would be on my short list for sure.
posted by jba at 10:57 PM on December 28, 2005
I occasionally hang out on the Audiworld forums, and a few people there have Tc's - at least one with the bolt-on supercharger. They seem to be pretty happy with the car and the integration of the supercharger, etc..
Personally, i think its a pretty hot car for that segment. If I was looking, it would be on my short list for sure.
posted by jba at 10:57 PM on December 28, 2005
Oh, another note - if you do the bolt-on supercharger, i would recommend you do it before you get the car (ie: buy it with the supercharger option) - that way the supercharger goes through the same break-in phase that the rest of the engine goes through (keep it under 4K rpm for the first 1K miles, etc...).
posted by jba at 10:59 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by jba at 10:59 PM on December 28, 2005
I have the tc (2005) and I love the car. Don't have the supercharger though, but as is, it handles nicely, and has a decent kick to it, even for my automatic. The 17" wheels are pretty bumpy, so unless you really want the 18", I'd stick with the 17's. The '06 have the radio controller on the steering wheel and iPod connector which is a nice addition. I just have the standard XM radio which I installed after a few hours of nerve wracking labor. Check out Sparks for more customization goodness. That is where I got the XM, and it includes a year of service for free.
posted by _zed_ at 6:27 AM on December 29, 2005
posted by _zed_ at 6:27 AM on December 29, 2005
My brother bought a 2006 (I think) tC a couple of months ago. He really likes it. His favorite feature is the auxiliary audio input. You can plug in your MP3 player directly and there's a hidden power jack for it too.
It's strange but it seems like no one has ever heard of the car yet. Even if they recognize "scion", they think it's the boxy one. So you have this whole discussion every time you tell people what car you have. Not a real factor in buying the car, but strange.
Now, I personally was car shopping recently and took a look at the 2-door Civic. In my area, it was very high in demand. That meant month-long waiting periods, limited color choice, basically paying sticker price, and options you didn't want. It was several thousand dollars more than the tC. And the Si was even more in demand, and it hadn't even come out yet. (I ended up buying a Mazda 3 5-door.)
posted by smackfu at 7:11 AM on December 29, 2005
It's strange but it seems like no one has ever heard of the car yet. Even if they recognize "scion", they think it's the boxy one. So you have this whole discussion every time you tell people what car you have. Not a real factor in buying the car, but strange.
Now, I personally was car shopping recently and took a look at the 2-door Civic. In my area, it was very high in demand. That meant month-long waiting periods, limited color choice, basically paying sticker price, and options you didn't want. It was several thousand dollars more than the tC. And the Si was even more in demand, and it hadn't even come out yet. (I ended up buying a Mazda 3 5-door.)
posted by smackfu at 7:11 AM on December 29, 2005
Thanks for the Sparks link, _zed_. I got an xB a few weeks ago, and was looking for a few things. They seem to be the cheapest dealers on the net, all for the same parts.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:27 AM on December 29, 2005
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:27 AM on December 29, 2005
I have a 2006 Scion Tc in auto trans. Previously I had an SUV which got totaled in a car accident, so buying a new car was rather sudden. I did take a lot of time comparing various vehicles, from SUVs to sedans to sporty cars, etc.
The Scion has a lot of pick up and go, even for the auto trans. It's a two-door hatchback and the back seats fold flat, so there is a lot of room to haul stuff. The interior is nice - not too flashy, but enough gadgets to keep you happy. As mentioned, there is the hidden plug-in, if you have a need for that. The stereo system is pretty decent quality. Although Scion is such a new offshoot for Toyota, the entire thing is Toyota built, so you have quality. The salesman said the engine is basically the same as a Camry, but I didn't verify that.
The best thing is the pricing. What you see is what you get - no haggling! There are some options available, but they made a lot of stuff just standard. No experience with the supercharger.
The back seat is roomy enough for adults, but probably not on a long trip. The front seats are a little "slouchy" like they're supposed to be a combo between a race car seat and a sedan seat, so definitely sit for a while. They get a little annoying on long trips.
Pretty decent gas mileage, too. I'm pretty happy and until very recently, you never saw them in my area. Lots of the boxy xBs, but not Tcs. I had a hard time finding dealerships with them in stock, but now they are around more and people are definitely buying them.
When I was looking, Consumer Reports didn't even have a rating, but now they're recommended, if that holds any water with you.
Overall, I'm happy and I'd purchase it again if I had to do over.
posted by cyniczny at 4:38 PM on December 29, 2005
The Scion has a lot of pick up and go, even for the auto trans. It's a two-door hatchback and the back seats fold flat, so there is a lot of room to haul stuff. The interior is nice - not too flashy, but enough gadgets to keep you happy. As mentioned, there is the hidden plug-in, if you have a need for that. The stereo system is pretty decent quality. Although Scion is such a new offshoot for Toyota, the entire thing is Toyota built, so you have quality. The salesman said the engine is basically the same as a Camry, but I didn't verify that.
The best thing is the pricing. What you see is what you get - no haggling! There are some options available, but they made a lot of stuff just standard. No experience with the supercharger.
The back seat is roomy enough for adults, but probably not on a long trip. The front seats are a little "slouchy" like they're supposed to be a combo between a race car seat and a sedan seat, so definitely sit for a while. They get a little annoying on long trips.
Pretty decent gas mileage, too. I'm pretty happy and until very recently, you never saw them in my area. Lots of the boxy xBs, but not Tcs. I had a hard time finding dealerships with them in stock, but now they are around more and people are definitely buying them.
When I was looking, Consumer Reports didn't even have a rating, but now they're recommended, if that holds any water with you.
Overall, I'm happy and I'd purchase it again if I had to do over.
posted by cyniczny at 4:38 PM on December 29, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by xmutex at 8:46 PM on December 28, 2005