Scion tC review

[Randle2I]

Just got back from testing out a new Scion tC. While this car wasn’t on my list of vehicles to check out the Toyota/Scion dealership was right next to the Honda one. Anyways, on to the report.

My first impressions of the vehicle where lukewarm at best. It’s a good looking car, but it hardly stands out in a crowd. Compared to the xA and xB the tC is a step back in individuality IMO.

Inside things start to look up. IMO the dash really didn’t feel that much better than the Cobalt SS’s, but perhaps I’m bias towards the Chevy. I went into this with an open mind though and attempted to erase any pre-conceived notions I may have had. I’ve often heard people complain that the door covering the radio felt cheap, on the test model I drove that was not an issue. All of the panel gaps where tight and the dash was very well laid out. I didn’t have any trouble reaching any controls. The car I drove had cloth seats and they where fairly comfortable, not as much as the Cobalt’s or the Civics though. Perhaps I’m asking for to much in a car, but again this vehicle had no vanity lights. I wasn’t aware that those are such an expensive item to put on cars. On the plus side there was a center console, something the Cobalt was sorely lacking. One thing I didn’t care for was the radio. It sounded weak and artificial, and in order to get it loud enough at highway speeds you had to really crank it. Alas as soon as we got back to the city streets it was far too loud and had to be turned all the way back down again. I was using the steering wheel controls to adjust the volume and I’m fairly certain that was the issue. They where slow to react and didn’t adjust quickly enough, had I been using the volume knob on the head unit I could have made the adjustments that much quicker. To me though that would defeat the purpose of the radio cover and the redundant controls on the steering wheel. Overall the interior was well laid out and of good quality.

Once I got started the car was extremely easy to drive. The clutch feel was very nice and the shifts where smooth. I’m not sure how best to put this, but the shifting wasn’t as good as the Cobalt’s. I could easily modulate the clutch and it was smooth, but it seemed to lack the control that the SS had. If that seems contradictory I’ll try to explain it better. I wear boots everyday and wear a size 13 ½ shoe. This lead to some problems as the gas and brake pedal where too close together for me. My right foot was at an awkward angle in order to not hit the brake pedal. I took the Scion on the highway and it was very smooth, pickup was nice and I had plenty of passing power. It wasn’t anywhere near as quick as the Cobalt but I was surprised at how nice the 2.4 felt, its power delivery was very linear.

After the test drive the salesman asked me how I liked it compared to the Cobalt SS. I told him it felt different, neither good nor bad but just “different”. The Cobalt’s goal is very pronounced, its power was abundant, and it makes you want to drive faster. The tC on the other hand was much more laid back, almost more adult in feeling. While it could get you from point A to B in a hurry, you don’t feel the need to while driving it.

Overall I liked it a lot, but I don’t think it’s for me. Coming from the supercharged T-Bird and then the supercharged Cobalt it lacked the balls to the walls feeling that I’m looking for. For most people though I think that the price alone would make it a hard car to pass up. I can certainly understand why DieselStation and others bought this car.

[ChevroletRevived]

Hmm, so what car are you going to get? Have you decided yet.

[Randle2I]

Still haven't decided. Obviously from 2 reviews in as many days I'm still in the testing phase. Still on the palet is the Civic SI (although that may be harder than I first thought, we'll see how it goes). I'll test drive the Focus as well, just to see how much I like/dislike it. It may pleasently surprise me.

[ChevroletRevived]

Of course, I just was wondering if you had made a decision yet.
Don't worry, it took me a while to decide what I'm planning on purchasing also.

[ChevroletRevived]

Do you like the Cobalt? Or is that out of the question? It has a nice interior, good exterior styling and OnStar. Good platform too.

[CobaltSScrazy]

check out the mazda3 and the gti. I don't know what your budget is, but I REALLY LIKE both of those cars in addition to the cobie ss.

[Randle2I]

ChevroletRevived: my review of the Cobalt is already posted. To sum it up: I like it and it's not out of the question.

CobaltSScrazy: I'm going to check out the GTI, the M3 though isn't really on my radar in the least. Although since I'm trying to keep an open mind I may as well check it out. I'm expecting it to be like the tC though, nice but not my cup of tea.

[Strapping.Young.Lad]

Wait for the MazdaSpeed3.