OT... What car has caught my eye lately.. Scion TC...

[DaCan23]

What a nice little coupe and cheap too... tried to get a friend to buy one but she opted for an Acura TSX for an extra $10k

[AllanS]

There was a review on the TC on speed a few weeks back- looked very clean, and it has excellent performance. 160hp too.

[George M]

saw that...am a big fan of the TC...quick, Toyota build quality...looks good, great mpg...priced right...very nice little car and will outrun my Saturn SC2 5 speed at 124 hp..mine is a bit more...after a 50 shot install...different ballgame :-)

[Mr Project]

saw that...am a big fan of the TC...quick, Toyota build quality...looks good, great mpg...priced right...very nice little car and will outrun my Saturn SC2 5 speed at 124 hp..mine is a bit more...after a 50 shot install...different ballgame :-)

Yeah, a friend of mine just bought on here in Omaha. I'll be driving it tomorrow and let you all know my thoughts.

We'll be working on his 1990 300zx TT. Anybody work on one of those before? This is the 5th time he's (I've helped twice) replaced the turbos, all with the engine in place. Incredible. This thing has to be in the top 3 hardest (non-exotic) cars to work on ever made.

[TC535i]

I've been looking at em for about 4-5 months now... if I was in a position to get a new car, I would seriously consider this thing (w/the TRD supercharger, ~200hp).

[Brian C.]

...compared to the other recent "wheeled cargo-containers." To me, the Element, the G-class....yadda-yadda....all look hideously designed, whereas the xB, (that's the square one right?) is actually very funky looking. As I understand it, the concept was to sell a vehicle that could then be modded as the buyer wished. Sort of a blank canvas. I see some stock ones here, but not any tricked-out ones yet. Supposedly there's a aftermarket turbo set-up that will make it fly.

Brian C.

[George M]

Toyota is once again very forward thinking in their approach to offering these cars targeting young people. The demographic isn't all young either as old car guys like me happen to love what they are doing as well. Their support of the tuner market is spot on by offering performance pieces to trick out each car on almost a custom basis.
American car companies are well behind the curve on this and losing out on this huge and growing market that sets the bar for future car buying as this generation of first time car buyers ages.
If I went for the TC...would have to be the 200 hp supercharged version. A blower and tuner car is the perfect marriage. I am sure you would agree Brian with your PT cruiser.

[casurfer911]

If i did spend the 17k on one plus the 3k for a supercharger, your getting into wrx territory and it is still front wheel drive, that totally blows it.

[Mr Project]

Well, put maybe 20-25 miles on my buddy's tC last weekend:

Handling: Well, not great. It's not a sports car, it's not really even a sports coupe in feel. There is quite a bit of body roll, and it's rather softly sprung. The shocks are nicely valved, however, not terribly under-damped, and the ride is very comfortable. In a corner you constantly feel the height of the car, and the body control is not wonderful. Overall available grip is high, though, and understeer take a while to set it. Steering is nice and tight, nicely weighted with ok feedback.

Power: Pretty good. Really nice low-end torque. You can lug this thing around with the A/C on in traffice at 2k rpm with no problem. Only had 200 miles on it, so I didn't wind it out, but it's not a wind-it-out type of motor. Great for a daily around-town car with a low, fairly broad, powerband. (kinda like an M30 ) The shifter is not great. Kinda hard to find some gears, with a rubbery, isolated feel. Not real impressed here. It's really, really, really quiet, too. I mean quiet. Like I wasn't sure I'd started it, and tooling around, you don't really even hear the engine unless you're up over 2-2.5k rpm.

Interior: Well, it's a cheap car with a cheap interior. It's attractive, and the seats are a nice blend of comfortable and supportive, but the dash material, and the upper door panels, is some kind of wavy textured rubbery stuff that is kinda ugly. Other than that, it's nice looking, but very cheap to the touch. What do you expect for 16k?

Exterior: Those headlights are a dead ringer for the new 7er from the side view, and the grill reminds me of the R34 GT-R, but overall it's a tidy package that does a decent job hiding how tall it is. Come across as very 'chunky' in a good way, IMO.

Overall: I think it's a good commuter. Nice torque, quiet and smooth, decent price. It will do well in this segment, I think. It drives like a more expensive car, but not like a sporty one. The steering helps add to the fun while driving, but this is not a car I would go toss around some back roads for fun, not even as much as the current Celica.

[George M]

Nice write-up Mr. Project. Thanks for the review. Biggest disappointment to my eye is the compartment over the radio. Why would they do that...more at home on a high end car but in this case with very cheap execution. Simply should have left the center stack exposed. As to the suspension...upgradeable...Toyota's skewed the equation more toward ride versus handling. As to the engine...with the 200hp supercharged version in the wings...will be nice. Question is...for the money is it a better car than the Mini? For mini dollars, I would have to get a 350Z.