Hello all, new here. Been looking at cars for daily driving duty, and for some reason the TC keeps popping up. Just thought I'd try to get some info.

Some background: I currently have (between my fiancee' and myself) a 2000 Lincoln LS V8, 2 1993 Pontiac Trans Am's that are both very modified, an 89 Celica (beater) and a 90 Buick Century (another beater). I don't like driving the Trans Am's every day because the gas mileage sucks (although extremely fun), the Lincoln is primarily my fiancee's (although I LOVE that car and drive it any chance I get), and I'm just sick of the two beaters. SO there's my reasoning for looking for a new car.

Now, I have a 35 to 50 mile commute each way depending on the direction I head to work, and I've heard that the TC gets around 30ish on the highway. True?? I could live with that, but what is the factory recommendation on fuel octane?? I presume that with the prerequisite bolt on upgrades (Intake, Exhaust, some light tuning) that fuel economy will go up a tad.

How's the interior room for taller people? I'm 6'3" and while used to smaller cockpit styling interiors, still like to be semi-comfortable.

How's the insurance bracketing for the tC?? What's everyone paying?

How's Scion when it comes to warranties and aftermarket modifications?? Some of the pricing for the accessories is ridiculous and I'd much rather just do it myself, but I really want to ensure that I keep a valid warranty due to the amount of driving I do (around 25K miles a year).

The overall satisfaction seems to be very high with everyone, which is a strong point. People don't seem to be so loyal anywhere else, and I presume it's for a reason. Hopefully I'll catch some time this evening to go take a test drive and see first hand.

Lastly, anyone have any constructive advice for me?? Just trying to do some research and what better than to talk to those with the hands on experience.

Thanks all!

 

Hwy Mpg is high 20's for me, usually 27 or so, but then again, I don't drive 100% exclussively hiway, so that is probably on par for a manual tc with mostly hiway, some city.

I'm 6'1", no problems at all. With your height, I would definitely recommend you sitting in one, or test driving one if possible, and checking out as much as possible things like: where you rest your arm, what you do with your left leg when not shifting, so forth and so on.

I have a clean record on insurance (no tickets, accidents, etc) and I am paying a little under $800 a year, in Northern Va. Thats a single male, over 25, full comp/collision, $250 deductable. How that compares with others in the DC metro area with similar coverage/paramters, I'm not sure, but I suspect that most people pay mor than me.

So far, warranty has not been an issue for me. I think that has a lot to do with your dealer though. Some dealers are less informed than others, and some dealers are more accepting of mods than others. Bottom line is, per the Magnusen/Moss act, a dealer has to prove, not state, that either the mods, or the faulty installation thereof are the cause of damage.

The satisfaction *is* very high, but that does not mean that TC's are without complaints. Do a search for thigns like sunroof creaking, rear hatch rattle, chipped paint, and see what I mean. I love my tc, but there are issues to be aware of.

Advice: if you are worried about insurance prices, trade the two beaters and one of the TA's in, or sell one or more of them outright. It is of course your business, but I can't see any conceivable reason to keep 5 cars for two people. Especially when you sick of two of the cars, and don't enjoy driving the other two everyday for MPG reasons. Getting rid of 2-3 cars will save you a good amount on the insurance, probably not enough to offsett the tc, but some.

Good luck!

 

Two words "Worth It"... the tC Fits 4 people comfortatbly without moving the seats forward... Its quick and get decent gas Milelage... Its near 28-30 range freeway... I'm not sure if you have seen the post but the tC is an extremely safe vehicle to drive... with all the airbags its a tank... also Its such and eye catcher... ladies love it... and there just arent that many on the road... the insurance is decent because of course the power is under 200 hp... and from what I've heard Resale is doing pretty good right now... Oh and as far as I know no one has been having a problem with aftermarket parts voiding warranty. Hope that helps!

Justin

 

Thanks for the info guys!

The two beaters are going to be gone. With 195K miles on the celica (No AC, motor finally going) and 150K on the buick they're outta here. Coughing up one of the Trans Am's is NOT going to happen though lol. Those are my babies. One's a primarily dragstrip car and the other is set up for road racing (NOT that there's a lot of that in NJ). I love driving them but the 20 MPG kills me when I notice that I go through 1/2 tank in a single day and it's in the vicininity of $30-35 to fill up.

The things that really attracted me to the tC is the styling, and the fact that it's Toyota built. As die-hard GM as I am, you can't compete with the reliability of an import, especially Toyota. I put that 89 Celica through hell and back and it shrugged off everything I could throw at it. I'm probably at the top end of the age bracket that the Scions are aimed at (turning 27 next month) but with the blandness of what's on the market in current times, this is eye catching without being gaudy. The interior room is a really attractive thing too (althought admittedly I've been looking at things like another LS for me or a Pontiac Bonneville GXP for the 4-door passenger factor).

I've made up my mind that come hell or high water I'm going to hit the dealership and take one for a spin tonight.

My only (and biggest) concern is going to be insurance. The peoples republic of New Jersey has some freaking outrageous insurance rates.

 

Insurance really should not be that bad compared to other cars. It's not a sports car, nor is it a luxury/prestige brand of car. You should be okay.

 

To answer your question, the factory recommends you use 87 octane, so that's what I use. I'd say I get high 20's as far as gas mileage goes but then again, I drive it like I stole it (The only way to drive ).

I myself am 6'5" 215lbs w/ a 36" inseam and I fit very comfortably in it. 9,800 miles of pure driving bliss.

 

6'5" will fit in the driver's seat...but not in the passengers'
There is no height adjustment on the pass. side.
Someone on here mentioned there being 1000 positions to the driver's seat. I have to agree. It takes a while to find the one that's right for you.

20 MPG?!? REALLY? Damn! I traded an 03 Dodge Dakota 4.7l that was getting 14-17...now THAT sux.

 

Oh...and I meant to add that I couldn't be happier with my cars. They are both fantastic.

 

Well, went and took one for a test drive last night. The red release edition too. Number 23something. Real nice girl at the dealership who went on the test drive said she had the same thing. Car was an auto though, and I was hoping to drive a stick.

My first impression was that there isn't much head room, even with the seat fully down. It was comfortable though after I found a seating position. Just a personal preference here, but I'm used to having my elbows on the arm rest/center console, and both of these were practically non-existent. I had to completely change my typical driving style. Visibility was OK, the way the A-pillars came up made a huge black hole in the forward vision though.

Driving impressions were: FUN! Although the automatic was verified to be a slug, this little sucker was a blast to drive. I LOVED the handling. Felt great. I didn't want to lean on it too much being a limited edition with 12 miles on it, but it felt like you could really push it around the corners. Acceleration, well......let's just say that I wouldn't have wanted to try to pass anyone uphill while on the highway. I firmly feel that the stick would be more peppy solely based on gearing.

Sadly, the fiance' did NOT like it. She couldn't get comfortable in the passenger seat as she couldn't get it to lower. IS there even a provision for lowering the passenger seat down? That and she said she doesn't like 2 door cars (though she loves the Trans Am?????) Women.

The dual sunroof feature was really cool, the back seat was amazingly spacious, it was quiet on the inside, and overall, I liked it. I can't say for sure that I'd get one, but I'm hoping the dealership will get in a stick that I can take for a test drive. I just would NEED to make sure that I would be comfortable in it for extended time frames. Hopefully more to come, aparrently the color I want is the hardest to get (Black Cherry).

 

800 a year for insurance HOLY SMOE, VA is damn cheap with that...

You'll like the tC, give it a test drive, that's the best thing when researching cars. do your online research, then go test drive it!