Official 2011 Scion tC Thread (2nd gen)
scion
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From: Northern VA
The IS, like most Toyotas (including the new tC unfortunately), is too floofy for me. Not enough grunt and too much nonsense. I'm banking on the 2011 WRX looking better or a successful ft-86 that hopefully out-does the genesis coupe.
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Okay here is my comprehensive list of thoughts:
First, I'm glad we got a bigger engine, even if its only marginally larger. With a slightly larger displacement, it should make forced induction systems more effective in the long run.
6 speed tranny will help with highway driving and engine noise a bit since the gearing should also be slightly improved.
I happen to like the tail lights, though they remind me of Infinity G35/37. The spoiler is also reminiscent of the G35 flat-wing also (at least from directly behind the car)
The headlights look nice and the front looks nicer now that its pointier. I always thought the tC1 had a rather blunt nose. Though this does raise the issue of "Will it chip just as bad as the old one?"
The interior is nicer to me. The perforated leather steering wheel is nice and I kinda like the flatness of it since I always hit my thighs on the wheel when I got in and out with a perfectly round one on the tC1. The seats and headrests are nice and look modern where as the old ones looked like they yanked them from a junked Echo.
It appears that the hatch interior deck lid may actually be made of something stiffer so it doesnt end up arching downwards the way the current one does.
I thought putting 'scion' engraved on the tails was kind of a nice subtle touch.
I like the new gauges though it'll take a few seconds to get used to the speedo not being in the middle any more.
It also appears that there may be a bit more room in the hatch area for storage which is nice.
I like how the headliner and pillars now match the dash colors.
Folding mirrors are something that was sorely needed on this car and I'm glad they included them.
Finally, the 18" wheels are a nice addition...but only if they made them wider as well to give it that nice sexy look. Along this thought, it appears they also made the wheel gap much smaller and contoured the wheel wells to better form around the wheels/tires.
Now here are my complaints:
The armrest is no longer a two-compartment setup. This was handy for separating bigger items from smaller items in the otherwise cavernous secondary, lower storage area. It also kept clutter away from the three wires you almost always had in there: iPod, charger and Aux cable.
There still is no mpg or fuel range gauge that I can tell, unless they worked it into the ODO somehow.
Same boring Orange colored gauges
I'm sorry but 'amber' as a color has sucked for a long, long, long time. They put a 'different' orange/amber color in this car, but it still sucks. What I find amazing is that how cheap <$100 car stereo's can have 32,000 color variations, but a $18,000 car cant.
There is still no trunk/Hatch release anywhere on the inside of the car or on the remote. Even the Cobalt LS (their lowest model) has a button to release the trunk.
No Mute button or Cruise controls on the steering wheel. I hate having a THIRD steering wheel stalk when there is a perfectly GREAT place to put the cruise controls on the right hand side of the steering wheel. Also having a mute button on the steering wheel with the other volume controls just makes sense.
Hard Plastic storage bins by spare tire.
The foam ones were actually cheaper to make and dont make any noise when you put stuff in them or when it shifts around when you drive. These plastic bins will inevitably start making rattles in a car already plagued by rattles in the hatch area.
Removal of wind deflector for moon roof.
Its been replaced by what looks like a vertical windscreen of some kind. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but it sure looks cheap from the pictures. Personally, I still liked the old glass one they had before. They DID manage to fix the shattering problems of the 05 tc so why not stick with it?
Rear seats are square and cheap looking.
The front seats look nice and modern with curved edges and a headrest that slides down (visually) into the seat. The rear seats not only have non-uniform headrests (two of one style, one of another) but they are two different colors. The one in the middle is nice and fantastic looking. The two on the sides are high up and will create an even worse blind spot than the current tC already has in its two rear quarters. Add to this that the rear seat backs look like uncomfortably stiff boards, and its a fail for me.
6 speakers up front
This one I'm tossed up with. Most people want more speakers and most folks didnt like the stock 6" subwoofer in the hatch area on the 08-10 models. I dont like the LOOK of the doors with 6 speakers. But if they put 6-8 subs in those lower speakers, I think I could like it. However, I still think that putting a tweeter and those would-be subs in the rear speaker areas (which is where most people put low frequency speakers anyway) would have been a better way to cram in 8 speakers. As it stands now, the doors look a little heavy with all that hardware in them.
Sun visors lack lights
Most cars have this as a standard feature and while I dont necessarily have to have it, it would have been nice to have at least for the passenger. Plus it would be one more light we could all mod. :-)
HVAC controls are hideously common.
To this day, I've not seen a HVAC like the tC1 had. Its unique and I liked it since it didn't have any ***** to turn, it was flush and blended with the dash color. This new style, makes all the toyota cars look the same and I thought Scion was supposed to be about uniquness? Well plunking the Yaris HVAC into the tC2 isn't very unique.
No radio door
This is a spot of contention for a lot of folks. Some liked it, some didnt. Having this door makes the car look stock, even if you have a $1500 navi crammed in there. Personally, I liked it and the tCover mod was one of the best ones for this little door.
Third Brake Light still only 6 inches wide
The tC1 TBL was tiny, despite that it had this huge wide look to it. The tC2 just cut out the reflector part and made it the same tiny useless thing it was before. And unlike the tC1, you can't increase the size with Ozniums TBL because they made the actual cutout for it smaller. And if you add the lip spoiler to it as shown in these pictures, it obscures the already tiny light even more.
Rear Spoiler
I like that its a lip spoiler and that its a really wide and deep lip spoiler, but the fact that it protrudes DOWNWARD towards the license plate confuses and disappoints me.
I think thats a long enough post from me today.
First, I'm glad we got a bigger engine, even if its only marginally larger. With a slightly larger displacement, it should make forced induction systems more effective in the long run.
6 speed tranny will help with highway driving and engine noise a bit since the gearing should also be slightly improved.
I happen to like the tail lights, though they remind me of Infinity G35/37. The spoiler is also reminiscent of the G35 flat-wing also (at least from directly behind the car)
The headlights look nice and the front looks nicer now that its pointier. I always thought the tC1 had a rather blunt nose. Though this does raise the issue of "Will it chip just as bad as the old one?"
The interior is nicer to me. The perforated leather steering wheel is nice and I kinda like the flatness of it since I always hit my thighs on the wheel when I got in and out with a perfectly round one on the tC1. The seats and headrests are nice and look modern where as the old ones looked like they yanked them from a junked Echo.
It appears that the hatch interior deck lid may actually be made of something stiffer so it doesnt end up arching downwards the way the current one does.
I thought putting 'scion' engraved on the tails was kind of a nice subtle touch.
I like the new gauges though it'll take a few seconds to get used to the speedo not being in the middle any more.
It also appears that there may be a bit more room in the hatch area for storage which is nice.
I like how the headliner and pillars now match the dash colors.
Folding mirrors are something that was sorely needed on this car and I'm glad they included them.
Finally, the 18" wheels are a nice addition...but only if they made them wider as well to give it that nice sexy look. Along this thought, it appears they also made the wheel gap much smaller and contoured the wheel wells to better form around the wheels/tires.
Now here are my complaints:
The armrest is no longer a two-compartment setup. This was handy for separating bigger items from smaller items in the otherwise cavernous secondary, lower storage area. It also kept clutter away from the three wires you almost always had in there: iPod, charger and Aux cable.
There still is no mpg or fuel range gauge that I can tell, unless they worked it into the ODO somehow.
Same boring Orange colored gauges
I'm sorry but 'amber' as a color has sucked for a long, long, long time. They put a 'different' orange/amber color in this car, but it still sucks. What I find amazing is that how cheap <$100 car stereo's can have 32,000 color variations, but a $18,000 car cant.
There is still no trunk/Hatch release anywhere on the inside of the car or on the remote. Even the Cobalt LS (their lowest model) has a button to release the trunk.
No Mute button or Cruise controls on the steering wheel. I hate having a THIRD steering wheel stalk when there is a perfectly GREAT place to put the cruise controls on the right hand side of the steering wheel. Also having a mute button on the steering wheel with the other volume controls just makes sense.
Hard Plastic storage bins by spare tire.
The foam ones were actually cheaper to make and dont make any noise when you put stuff in them or when it shifts around when you drive. These plastic bins will inevitably start making rattles in a car already plagued by rattles in the hatch area.
Removal of wind deflector for moon roof.
Its been replaced by what looks like a vertical windscreen of some kind. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but it sure looks cheap from the pictures. Personally, I still liked the old glass one they had before. They DID manage to fix the shattering problems of the 05 tc so why not stick with it?
Rear seats are square and cheap looking.
The front seats look nice and modern with curved edges and a headrest that slides down (visually) into the seat. The rear seats not only have non-uniform headrests (two of one style, one of another) but they are two different colors. The one in the middle is nice and fantastic looking. The two on the sides are high up and will create an even worse blind spot than the current tC already has in its two rear quarters. Add to this that the rear seat backs look like uncomfortably stiff boards, and its a fail for me.
6 speakers up front
This one I'm tossed up with. Most people want more speakers and most folks didnt like the stock 6" subwoofer in the hatch area on the 08-10 models. I dont like the LOOK of the doors with 6 speakers. But if they put 6-8 subs in those lower speakers, I think I could like it. However, I still think that putting a tweeter and those would-be subs in the rear speaker areas (which is where most people put low frequency speakers anyway) would have been a better way to cram in 8 speakers. As it stands now, the doors look a little heavy with all that hardware in them.
Sun visors lack lights
Most cars have this as a standard feature and while I dont necessarily have to have it, it would have been nice to have at least for the passenger. Plus it would be one more light we could all mod. :-)
HVAC controls are hideously common.
To this day, I've not seen a HVAC like the tC1 had. Its unique and I liked it since it didn't have any ***** to turn, it was flush and blended with the dash color. This new style, makes all the toyota cars look the same and I thought Scion was supposed to be about uniquness? Well plunking the Yaris HVAC into the tC2 isn't very unique.
No radio door
This is a spot of contention for a lot of folks. Some liked it, some didnt. Having this door makes the car look stock, even if you have a $1500 navi crammed in there. Personally, I liked it and the tCover mod was one of the best ones for this little door.
Third Brake Light still only 6 inches wide
The tC1 TBL was tiny, despite that it had this huge wide look to it. The tC2 just cut out the reflector part and made it the same tiny useless thing it was before. And unlike the tC1, you can't increase the size with Ozniums TBL because they made the actual cutout for it smaller. And if you add the lip spoiler to it as shown in these pictures, it obscures the already tiny light even more.
Rear Spoiler
I like that its a lip spoiler and that its a really wide and deep lip spoiler, but the fact that it protrudes DOWNWARD towards the license plate confuses and disappoints me.
I think thats a long enough post from me today.
Last edited by djspectre; Mar 31, 2010 at 07:00 PM.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/2010...YORK/100339961
That's what these people said. I don't know. Probably 13" or something, but I haven't seen otherwise.
That's what these people said. I don't know. Probably 13" or something, but I haven't seen otherwise.
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 131
From: Horsham, PA
Very nice post djspectre, that sums it up pretty well I think.
I'm not sure what to do at this point.. I loved the original tC when I first saw a poster for it hanging on a New York street. This one.. well I'm going to the auto show on Sunday so we'll have to see how it is in person I guess.
Is it sad that as soon as they showed the rendering in the video for the center armrest and I saw it didn't open in two anymore I got sad? I stuff so much stuff into that top compartment. Bleh.
Maybe I'll hang with my 05 tC until that FT-CH Toyota hybrid concept comes out.. doesn't look too bad. Unless they neuter down the design and make it look like some generic smaller Prius.
As you can tell I'm not into the modding of the cars as much as a lot of people here. I just love my 05 tC and am hoping for another great experience from a car out there. And there's always the FT-86 yeah, but it'll be a bit pricey.
I'm not sure what to do at this point.. I loved the original tC when I first saw a poster for it hanging on a New York street. This one.. well I'm going to the auto show on Sunday so we'll have to see how it is in person I guess.
Is it sad that as soon as they showed the rendering in the video for the center armrest and I saw it didn't open in two anymore I got sad? I stuff so much stuff into that top compartment. Bleh.
Maybe I'll hang with my 05 tC until that FT-CH Toyota hybrid concept comes out.. doesn't look too bad. Unless they neuter down the design and make it look like some generic smaller Prius.
As you can tell I'm not into the modding of the cars as much as a lot of people here. I just love my 05 tC and am hoping for another great experience from a car out there. And there's always the FT-86 yeah, but it'll be a bit pricey.
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 16,638
From: Parsippany, NJ
http://www.autoweek.com/article/2010...YORK/100339961
That's what these people said. I don't know. Probably 13" or something, but I haven't seen otherwise.
That's what these people said. I don't know. Probably 13" or something, but I haven't seen otherwise.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 5,103
From: I'm da BOOM King!!!
I guess it could have been worse. I'm on the fence with this new tC. The square-ish design reminds me of Honda when they redesigned the TL/TSX. I like my 2K5 tC & TSX rounded, so I'm not a big fan of the re-design(s). I was also never a fan of the Ped. Spoiler. Throw a Lip Spoiler on the 2K11 tC and it will look clean IMO. I cannot pass judgment on a new model until I see it in person. So when they hit my Scion dealership, I'll be there.
I guess it could have been worse. I'm on the fence with this new tC. The square-ish design reminds me of Honda when they redesigned the TL/TSX. I like my 2K5 tC & TSX rounded, so I'm not a big fan of the re-design(s). I was also never a fan of the Ped. Spoiler. Throw a Lip Spoiler on the 2K11 tC and it will look clean IMO. I cannot pass judgment on a new model until I see it in person. So when they hit my Scion dealership, I'll be there.
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Joined: Mar 2007
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