i agree, the article seemed quite favorable to me, it seems like the only thing they really harped on was the crappy suspension-- and aftermarket springs/struts aren't really prohibitive items when your car comes with all that fun stuff for under $18k, imo.

sure a tc is not going to beat a gti or v6 stang off the line, or anywhere else for that matter, but i'm fairly impressed with the amount of fun you can have with such (imo) a bargain buy daily driver. and if tc owners really get the itch to look at most all other cars in the rearview later on in life, the resale value really helps the wallet on that new vette.

 

^^ agreed....cept for the 'vette part. Just never grew on me. Also when I was young, there was a dude in my neighborhood who owned a 'vette and he was a really big bag of douche.

 

I agree, yet disagree.

I think some of you miss the point of the article. Let me re-word it and maybe you'll understand...

I give you $20K. Your mission is to find the fastest cars on a dealers' lot that you can buy with that $20K. Aftermarket tuning is NOT an option, you have to drive the car as-is off the lot. does that make the comparison make more sense?

The article is not meant to be a performance review.

So from that perspective, yeah... a tC would not be my first choice given that task.

Oh wait, I have a better analogy. You just killed a man and stole his donuts. Cops are chasing you. You happen to turn the corner and find a mile-long stretch of car dealerships. You gotta make a getaway QUICK, which car do you try to steal... the Civic SI, or the tC? Well, actually, this analogy is pretty sucky because I'd skip both those cars and go straight to the V8s. lol.

But I don't think the comparision is unfair. No matter what, no matter how much I love my tC, it is not a performance car. Tuning/modding is taking something that's not and making it into somethinng that is. Case in point: Motor Trend did an article several years ago about a customized Ford Focus that got something like 400HP. No joke. Does that make the Focus a 'performance' vehicle? No. Not to mention the mod/customization cost $100K.

 

Scions are on high demand right now. They really need to give it some shine.

 

Here's an older review w/ the s/c
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=4211

 

i'd say dealers are ripoffs... just get the parts slowly and it'll cost much less!
anyways i wouldn't praise on handling and enginer performance of tCs. they kinda sucked. reason i got them coz that the $$ i've got and it looked good (still lovin my car anyways) but i've seen drag races of SC tC against 06 rsx typr s with intake and exhaust and it beats the tC hands down. i mean orsies wise they are the same... but tC is just wayy to heavy....

 

I dunno? I think Scions make for great daily drivers? If I wanted a performance orentated vehicle I'd have gotten something else? Nothing wrong with it, Toyota built it for transportation not competition.

Think about it? Why else did we get a vehicle with a Camry engine? Because
- Cheaper to build
- Cheaper to fix
- Abundant
- Proven!!!

More power to the people competing with it but let's face it. Straight out of stock the tC lacks in the sport department but for the bargain price you get many anemities that lack in this sub compact department.

Who knows? I've always figured they could fit a v6 in the engine bay. Hell there's so much room there!?! Then the sticker price would jump, the balance would probably suck even more and it'd take premium? I wouldn't pay premium gas prices for a 4 banger unless it made 200hp and was ALREADY stock turbo'd.

 

tc vixen, your economics are way wrong and that's why this thread is wrong. Scion Tc's are in high demand because Toyota builds 90% of demand, thus keeping the prices and profits up and guaranteeing future sales. Thus, they don't HAVE to give Road and Track, Car and Driver, or Compact Car suped up Tcs because they're already selling every car they make.
Otherwise all the Tc bashers on here are wrong. The Tc is a competent performance car because it has 1) a stiff chassis, 2) big bottom end torque, and 3) while it's front/rear bias is high, the suspension is well designed (read: multilink, just like on an EVO), and therefore the car is well balanced. Ask Chris Rado what he thinks.
I admit it kind of sucks when Sport Compact Car says the new 08 Tc is a car "they've grown to sorta/kinda like." They just write it off. But then 20 pages later they're lining it up against a Honda Si race car.

 

Bottom line is that the tC will NEVER compare or even get the amount of respect that the civic si, GTI, or mazdaspeed 3 etc. get off the lot. These cars are performance cars that u could drive off the lot and to the track with the tC you would have to make a stop at the garage in between and throw aot of money just so it could compete. Yes the tC does have a lot of potential to be a performance car but i guess it all depends which way u wanna go either from the factory or aftermarket performance the coice is yours but as u can see i choose the warranty

 

I don't read compact car mag's anymore ... they are just a selling point for honda's, STi, EVO's ... etc.

We drive a car that isn't the hottest rock in the pile. We picked tC's because we wanted to be different. I see a lot of people doing their own thing with their tC's. Any jerkoff with a couple K's laying around can hop up a honda.... bolt on parts are just dropping out of the sky.

Screw reviews... Test drive and talk to a scion OWNER not some schmo who drove our car for a couple hours on a test course. Cause the last thing I saw from a review on our car, was how annoying our car stereo cover is.... well screw you man I like it.

 

The tC is a great commuter car. I don't think there is another performer that offers this amount of "bang for the buck." There will definately be better cars, faster cars but again those are still a couple grand (if not a lot) more than the tC.

I still think Toyota hit the nail right on the head. They targeted a section that needed tapping and look! Honda brings over the Fit, Nissan brings over the Versa. A trend? Who knows and who cares? We ultimately benefit from a better market.

 

I recently went shopping around for anew car...........
I got under the hoods of many cars .............I climbed under the cars and .............I did all the comparisons.............I wanted a sporty looking car with 2 doors..........bigger than 16" wheels.........disk brakes all around..............sunroof........nice interior...........safety such as airbags.........and the ability to get my fat butt into the back seat if needed........I tested The RSX.........the Eclipse...............the Honda SI................the Tiburon.....................and the TC...............I read the numbers on all and lined them all up................

For the money the TC was the nicest looking............best stock optioned...........roomy...........and to be honest.............it just felt better driving.............I was leaning towards the Eclipse..........till you look inside and realise you need to be much slimmer to fit..................and same with the Tiburon...........Honda........and dont get me started with the RSX.........

When I drive down the street in my TC.........all the Eclipse,Tiburons,SI,and RSX guys are looking at my TC..............when I talk to the guys at work they all love my TC..........and most of them drive faster Hondas and Acuras and Mazdas...........except for the spoiled kid in the M3 AND EVEN HE LOVED THE tc...........

Lets face it.........the TC is a great all around car.........good looks.........good design.........good room..........good handling and enough power to do just fine on the street...........I dont need to be the fastest,prettiest,or coolest..........been there done that...............done a lot of racing in cars............probably like 800 times down a 1/4 mile...........and got beat 100s of times................at the end of the day go have a beer with the guy who beat you and he will tell you just how much a thrill it was to race you win or lose.................very few cars go into a race knowing they are going to win...........very few............all in all the Tc is a great car

 

There are a lot of periods in your post...

 

true at least in a tc you wont be surprised at all the cars that romp it. you always know the tc will lose, unless a catastrophe happens to the other driver. YUP just sit back and drink away the pain. the pain of knowing that we can bearly merge onto a highway or freeway without a truck eventually ramming the crap out of us from behind before we get up to speed.