by Mike Kowdley, 2004-Jun-30

2005 tC

It's July 2004 and the Scions are finally here across America in full force. Scion has expanded its xA and xB distribution to be nationwide, and the tC joins the Scion lineup. We visited with Scion this week in Seattle, WA, to take the tC out for a spin both through downtown Seattle and nearby country roads.

The day led off with a presentation about the tC and the direction that it's going in from the Vice President of Scion, Jim Farley.

Jim was pleased to announce the introduction of the tC to the US and to point out that unlike the xA and xB, which have counterparts in Japan (namely the i.s.t and the bB), the Scion tC was dedicated only to the US market which would make or break the vehicle. Sales of the xA and the xB have far exceeded Scion's expectations and even after doubling their production capacity the manufacturing plants have been hard-pressed to keep up. Scion has been a success for Toyota at a corporate level as well, with 76% of buyers purchasing their first ever Toyota vehicle.

Jim highlighted some of the points of the tC, Scion's first coupe. The entire Scion brand targets the youth market, and the tC is no exception. The coupe body style is sporty and fun, and the tC emphasizes "style, freedom, and personal expression", as do Scion's other two vehicles, with numerous dealer installed accessories available on the vehicle.

Specifications

Next, the hard numbers, provided by Scion as "tc Preliminary Specifications":

Taking a quick look over those numbers, we see that the 160 horsepower engine is the same powerplant driving the Toyota Camry LE, which clocks in at almost 200 pounds heavier than the tC. And, in line with the car's target American market, the beefy 163 lb.-ft. of torque exceeds many vehicles in its class, including the Ford Focus ZX3 (135 lb.-ft.), the Civic Coupe EX (114 lb.-ft.), and even the Acura RSX (141 lb.-ft.)

For those of you who are really looking for the big numbers, Scion plans on having a tC super charger available around Fall of 2004. Look for horsepower numbers in the 200's on this Vortec / TRD dealer installable option.

Features

The numbers don't tell the whole story though. Getting in the Scion tC you're quickly aware that it is not a typical entry level car targeted toward the youth market. The vehicle is replete with features that you would expect to see on a vehicle in the $20k range, but are surprising for a car that lists under $16,800:

• Driver and front passenger airbags are of course standard. But look a little lower and you might notice that a driver's knee airbag also comes standard on the vehicle.
• The six speaker AM/FM/CD sound system from Pioneer will satisfy many an audiophile's ears, eliminating the need for costly stereo upgrades. A lot of vehicles come with CD sound systems, but how many match the Scion with a CD deck that's capable of reading CD-ROM's and playing MP3's directly off of them? Again, a nice touch for the youth market.
• Four wheel ABS disk brakes are standard.
• A cell phone holder - a cute touch.
• Dampened interior handles and glove box. When opening the glove box or releasing the interior handles (the ones you hold onto when your driver gets a little too excited about the tC's 160 horses), they don't snap back on a spring but glide back into place slowly. It doesn't sound like much when you read it on a web page, but it's touches like this that bring about the feel of a luxury car.
• The rear seats recline. You read that right.
• A front sunroof and rear moon roof
• One-touch controls for driver and passenger windows. Most vehicles have this on the driver side only.

When comparing the tC to other vehicles, Scion used as their quality benchmark the BMW 3-series and the Audi A4. It's safe to say that these are considered high quality vehicles and any vehicle that matches those standards comes across as quality, regardless of price. "We wanted to take the tC to a new level of sophistication for cars in this class ... Our goal was to give the tC the upscale look and feel, fit-and-finish, and attention-to-detail that approached that of a Lexus."

An interesting touch is the interior surfacing that Scion has used across the interior in areas such as the dashboard and doors. Getting away from the typical "animal hide"-like interiors common on leather and pleather vehicles, and avoiding the cheap feeling of cloth, Scion has used a surface inspired by high end papers designers had seen in Japan. It's pleasant to the touch and classy.

As with its two siblings, the Scion tC has a minimal number of "options" available on the vehicle. Keeping the number of options down keeps the price down for Toyota and simplifies maintenance on the vehicle. The only choices for "options" that the customer has to make are a) standard or automatic ($800), and b) Front side seat-mounted and front and rear curtain airbags ($650).

But don't confuse "options" with "accessories"! In the Scion tradition, new owners have a plethora or accessories to choose from, allowing them to create a tC that's almost unique.

As you can see, there's no shortage of dealer-installed options available for the tC. The combination of available performance, convenience, and appearance features are sure to satisfy almost anyones needs. You'll also notice that the supercharger is not on this list:

"For added performance, a dealer-installed, fully-warranted supercharger system developed by Toyota Racing Development (TRD) will be available this Fall. The turnkey performance option incorporates a Vortech scroll compressor and integrates with the factory engine management system to boost output to approximately 200 horsepower."

Drive

Next we headed out to the lot and picked out our tC's for a test drive through downtown Seattle and the surrounding areas. ScionZone.Com rode with Jim Ely, Technical/Training Specialist for Scion's Portland region.

The tC was a pleasure to drive. The first part of our drive, around downtown Seattle, was typical city driving: stop and go, uphill and downhill. The tC's engine provided plenty of power for passing in town even on the steep uphill grades of downtown. Accelerating onto the freeway was a breeze. The manual transmission was quick and easy to use, and its short throw added to the sports car feel.

We then drove several miles through windy country roads east of Seattle. The Scion took the turns with ease, sticking to the road with no trouble as we swerved on a turn to avoid a woman coming toward us in our lane in her Acura. The 2.4L engine handled the uphills and downhills effortlessly and acceleration was equally responsive.

Braking in the corners was smooth, and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) distributes the braking power amongst all four weeks to prevent wheel lockups. For example, braking hard through a right turn, the right rear tire tends to lift up, and so EBD reduces the amount of braking force on that wheel to keep it spinning and in contact with the pavement.

During the second half of the day we drove an automatic transmission tC. The European-style gear selector took a little getting used to, instead of sliding it in a straight line (as in most vehicles in the US), the selector moves in a zig-zag question mark pattern, to help prevent inadvertent gear changes.

The Future

Scion has created a car for under $17k that can compete in terms of luxury and engine performance with vehicles costing three to ten thousand dollars more, and offers a bevy of options to customize it, consistent with the rest of the Scion vehicles. Jim Farley noted that the youth market, which covets the class and status of vehicles like the BMW 3 series, can have all of the features they want while saving thousands of dollars with the tC. Scion hopes this match of luxury and affordability will appeal to the young, image-conscious generation.

We'll have to see, however, if it plays out. If the twenty-somethings see the tC as BMW quality without the BMW price tag, then Scion should be in great shape. But the tC doesn't say "BMW" on it, it says "Scion". Is the nameplate more important than the quality and value? Time will tell. The Scion tC is a great car and has standard features that far exceed expectations and its competition; with the right marketing we should see a strong performance from it in '04 and '05.

Special thanks to Jim Farley and Jim Ely of Scion, and to Michael and Catherine Dobrin of Michael Dobrin Public Relations.

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