imjonk

Well, i got my tC on November 3 and it's great. Decided to do a review...
FYI, i bought a Flint Mica tC w/ man-tran and side airbags.
accessories: floormats, TRD rear sway bar.

Exterior/Style
i still get compliments on it. i got my windows tinted yesterday and the tint store owner was saying how nice of a car it is and the tint applier guy (?) said the same. And he laughed at my personalized phrase on the stock head unit (it said, "You Suck") and thought that it was pretty cool. i don't see too many on the road and i still occasionally have people ask me what it is. "Scion? Do you mean, 'Saturn ION'? No..? Hmm... never heard of it". It still looks great to me and luckily i haven't gotten any door dings or anything.. yet *knock on wood*

Interior
the heater works great here in San Antonio, TX. i have had no issues with it being lukewarm, but then again the temperature has only reached freezing twice in the past month. So i can't speak for those in colder climates.

the head unit is a definite plus. The only problem i have is with the text for MP3s. Why they don't have it scroll the text? It's ridiculous to hold down the "text" button for 2+ seconds to see the rest of the title. Maybe because it would look weird with the huge "pixels"? i don't know, but that's probably the biggest annoyance. Other than that.. it plays all the MP3s i put on it. i probably have 3 days worth of straight music in my car on various burned CDs and it's good.

my passengers love the back seats. they think that reclining back seats are the greatest invention ever. Also it has plenty of room for passengers. It's actually kind of odd because there's more space in the back for the rear passengers than there was in my previous car (4-door 96 Jetta GL) though it lacks the convenience of 4 doors.

Mechanical/Performance
The installation of the TRD rear sway bar was insane for me. Took me about an hour because i had no idea what i was doing. i couldn't get the old bar out and i had a lot of difficulty getting the new one in. All i know is that i've got lots of red paint rubbed up on various parts underneath my car on the rear. The end result though... was definitely worth it. The difference is subtle, but it's noticeable. i'm going to install the TRD shocks/springs in Jan, i think.

the stock tires aren't so great. i find myself skidding around a lot, but it's always pretty manageable. Like when i'm accelerating out of a corner pretty fast, i can feel/hear the tires starting to lose grip. They feel too similar to my previous car's tires after 20K miles on them. Maybe it's that extra torque...

When i first got the car, i had problems with not being able to hear the engine (i don't like just looking at the tach) while driving but now i can hear it just fine. Whether it's gotten louder or whether i'm just more attuned to the sound of my car... i don't know. But i don't have that issue as much now.

Mileage is fairly decent too. i probably average about 330-350 before the light goes on, so i could probably pull out about 360-400 miles per tank if i really wanted to push it. i do mostly highway driving (distance wise), but probably split up evenly

Overall
It's solid with no rattles (only 2500 miles on it so far so i guess there's always the chance of something coming loose still).Overall, i'm extremely satisfied with my vehicle. i'm going to go on a 1K mile road trip (Texas to GA) at the end of the week so i'm going to add a long distance review. See how well the tC deals with the crappy road conditions of I-10... If i gave a 1 to 10 rating of the tC with 10 being the highest, then i'd have to give it a ten. With the balance of performance/price/features.. there isn't anything that can compare. It's the price tag that brings it up from a 9 to a 10. Also i feel like there is a lot of potential for this vehicle and i'm glad i purchased it. It's the paint-by-numbers canvas instead of just a blank one. Yeah.. anyway, i hope everyone else is enjoying their tC as much as i am.[/b]

WarrenSteve

Not the same for me, even with the seats reclined, my friends complain.

although they rip on the scion constantly anyways. mabe cuz they are all 6foot+. they have to duck....

girls fit great back there though ;)

fearturtle44

Good review. I would also comment on the Head Unit and the volume. Too cumbersome to move the volume up/down to notice any difference. Would have been nice to have a dial/**** for this feature.

Kevin

PS. What does the rear sway bar really do for the tC???

cad455

i just drove mine from south carolina to long island and back. the tC might not be built for highway cruising, but it does a decent job.

new york roads are TERRIBLE. i guess the winters do a good job of tearing them apart. they were able to bring about an intermittent roof rattle. it comes and goes, and the roads here in myrtle beach are almost never rough enough to rattle it.

as for other rattles in the car, i can hear the interior parts shifting around when the car is torqued or flexed over big bumps and whatnot. but that's normal to me. i hear the same shifting sounds in mercedes, bmw, infiniti cars.

as long as the road is decent, my tC is quiet.

i wish i had more money to tune the car, but i just finished up school. hopefully the new year will bring me good fortune.

sometimes the tC seems lacking to me. it's big, heavy, fwd. when i went into the new car buying process, i was coming from an infiniti g20 (designed for the euro market, spectacular handling, legendary SR20 :D). i was actually looking for something very small and efficient. after spending some time in europe i was bitten by the small/micro bug. i was test driving the xA and xB when my dad pointed out the tC. once i did some research, i found that it was a european chassis with a very similar setup to my G20. it handles similarly too. so i was sold.

i still have my g20 though. can't let go of it :D

yeah, this is a bit of a rant, but anyway...3500 or so miles and no major complaints.

imjonk

oh, that's also annoying. like i don't want to mute it sometimes... can't i just turn it down from 40 to 10 without waiting 10 seconds? yeah, anyway... on paper - "the TRD Rear Sway Bar reduces body roll during cornering resulting in improved overall stability, increased maneuverability more neutral cornering. Powder-coated in TRD red, the TRD Rear Sway Bar offers a significant rate increase over stock – 39% stiffer in the “street“ setting (outer hole), and 64% stiffer in the “race“ setting (inner hole)."
personal experience? it's just a tighter back end and less body flex so you don't have to account for body roll as much when you're making turns. or you won't notice it as much. it's good stuff. i was just really annoyed at the installation and i even had all the proper equipment (lift, wrenches.. good stuff)

Ranthese

add TRD springs and you'll definitely be able to take the corners

R3DLIN3_WHIT3

nice write up

the volume is a small complaint by me also but i can deal with it

and the reclining seats in the back are very nice and no complaints from riers...1. because no one over 6 feet tall has been in my car and 2. many of my friends are used to the cramp space of the celica and like te extra leg room