iamhomin

I went to test drive the Scion tC yesterday, and wow was I impressed.

The shifting was smoothe on all gears, downshifting felt tight and responsive, handling was surprisingly good, the speed wasn't modest, the exterior styling was modern, and the interior was full of simple and attractive designs.

For the starting price at 16,500, it can't be beaten.

scion tC!

phile

I went to the site to build my own tC, and the price was $17,910 (interior blue lighting and 6-disc CD changer). 36 month finance and monthly payment is $534 at 4.65% APR. For 48 months it's $410, 60 months of $335. That's not bad at all.

captainjack

I went to the Scion site too. I couldn't find any of the go-fast parts I've herad Toyota offers. The "Packages" tab wasn't available--maybe that's where the intakes, etc. will be.

Sweet looking car, though.

Junkster

yea, if this car is marketed right, the tC might be the new entry coupe king.

You just can't beat that price with all the standard equipment and Toyota reliability.
Now, I've heard that Toyota makes nearly no profit off selling their Camrys at such low and competitive prices. I wonder if it's the same for the tC...

Junkster, who heard a max profit of 500~1000 for Toyota per Camry sold

iamhomin

According to the sales rep, the scion tC was brought to attract customers of younger age, not to make their profit more marginal.

I'm on the same boat as you Junk, I don't think they'll make much profit from their tC's.

sandwiches

The profit comes from the accessories at the dealership.

Junkster

That's what I'm wondering about. Will this idea work? How many parents are going to hook their kids up with rims, exhaust, turbo kits... wait, never mind, all those spoiled little brats with money to burn, I forgot about them.

For the tuners, though, this might not work. Toyota won't offer anything that I would like. The only plus is the warranty, but still, I want what I want on the car, not what the car company offers me.

Junkster, who would still grab a tC

Junkster

There never is a very large profit margin for such entry level cars. Large volume of sales make up for it, but it's something the companies are willing to eat on their bill.

Junkster, who wonders how much profit a Civic brings in

sandwiches

It may work for those who don't want to worry about their warranties and aren't the DIY type. The parts aren't that bad, sure there are the APC parts but there are also Hotchki's tie bars, AEM intakes, TRD exhausts.

I think if I were buying a car right now, I would choose the tC over the 04 Accord Coupe I have right now.

soopa

the tC is hawt.

it sounds sweet... and doesn't look cheap.

1SICKLEX

Bingo. No car maker makes much money on small cars. The more expensive the car, the bigger the profit. And the more expensive a car sharing parts with cheaper cars=cha ching!

I have yet to check out the Tc but no other coupe under what, 25k is close. It shows if you MAKE COUPES RIGHT, they will come ala G35. WE NEED MORE COUPES!!!

The Tc kinda looks G35ish to me. Or is it just me
Which is a good thing.
The xA, I have worres about. THe xB is cool in a quirky way.

98AccordEx

Car and Driver has a review of the Tc online
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=8288

It compares the Tc to the RSX for styling and the Civic Si for size (hatchback) and HP. It also compares it to its corporate cousin the IS300.

"Speaking of the Lexus IS, the tC is nearly as quick as its 215-hp luxury cousin. The sporty Scion scoots from 0 to 60 in 7.4 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 15.7 seconds at 88 mph, only 0.1 and 0.2 second, respectively, behind the IS ("$35,000 Sports Sedans," March 2004). Moreover, because the tC is geared fairly short—final drive is 4.24—its 30-to-50-mph top-gear time of 8.5 seconds is a 10th quicker than the six-cylinder IS's. Talk about "hardly shabby." Against its natural rivals, the tC is equally competitive. To 60, it is quicker than the Civic Si (8.0) and the Mini Cooper (8.3). It's even with the Mazda 3 s and just 0.4 slower than the supercharged Cooper S, which is the only one of the group to outgun the tC to the quarter-mile, nipping it by 0.2 second."

C&D's bottom line is the same as a lot of our reader: Lot-of-bang-for-the-buck

Wasn't that what they said of the TSX when it came out??????

Junkster

those are some surprising numbers...

Junkster, who would consider a tC if he was young again

accsuperstar

my roomate just got his tC yesterday, and after I have driven and ridden in it, I must say that it was definately a good buy!

accsuperstar

We get more bang for more buck

98AccordEx

We also pay a lot more bucks, $6-8,000 more bucks. I'm not concerned as the Tc does not convey luxury in any sense and of course does not have 4 doors. The civic coupe on the other hand is looking weak and expensive all of a sudden.

Junkster

It's about time one of the Japanese big 3 (Toyota, Nissan, Honda) gave us another cheap but nice cars that any teen could actually afford and want to buy. Now, if Honda comes with the Jazz, and Nissan brings their little compact from Euro/Japan, then I would think the Hyundais/Kias of the auto market would be shaking in their boots.

Junkster, who likes the Nissan offering in europe... that bug-eyed thing

planman

Saw my first tC in a parking lot a couple days ago...reminded me of what the Integra used to be and the RSX should be...a great looking, great performing entry-level coupe. I think you'll start to see lots of them in high school/college lots.

xizor

saw my first one today. 2 cute high schoolers in it, looked pretty good... and the car too. j/k

guess I looked kinda dumb in a hooked up Acura looking at a econo-coupe, but I've never seen one on the east coast till now.

goose25

Saw one today and thought it was nice. Two blondies riding in it with windows down and Three Doors Down blaring from the speakers.

mg7726

after driving my tsx, i am never going back to non-entry luxury again.

tsx-mdxman

I "built" one on their website. I don't like the look of the standard wheels but overall the car looks like a really good value. No leather, though, I think.

phile

I just found that the knob for the radio in the tC is real aluminum. How's that for gutsy!

Junkster

bump...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=1414

The notable from the article is that the supercharger is only three grand or so (install probably not included)... which would only push the car's price to a bit over 20k. 200hp in that car for 21~22k, not a bad deal at all.

Junkster, who thinks that's a steal

98AccordEx

Why is that such a steal??? How about 240hp in a car under $22k, its called an Accord LX coupe!!

98AccordEx

Road & Track article headline is a little misleading:
2005 Scion tC
A luxury sports coupe for under $16,500?

Since when is Scion a 'luxury' nameplate? What exactly makes this a luxury car? I think it's a great car for its target market and lots of other peolple but it's not a luxury sports coupe without leather, navi, traction control, heated power seats, etc.

Junkster

The Accord LX is a good bargin...

But you can't get manual, not alloy wheels and the car is heavier by about 300 lbs.

By the looks of it, even with the supercharger, the price is just at 21k msrp.

Junkster, who would opt for the Accord EX 4cylinder

TSXfan23

Has anyone test driven the Tc? Looks like an enticing package.

mandercruso

just came across a silver tc on the way home from work today. Talk about a sweet car. The headlights remind me of the new BMW's

I'd like to go test drive it if I get the chance this weekend. The interior looks pretty nice, at least in the pictures I've seen. I just wish the site would show what packages are offered. Leather???

TSXfan23

there is no leather offered mandercruso, i tried to build one from the scion site.

BuddySol

More like vague...

...as in it offers a lot more than the typical sport coupe. Altho, yah it doesn't have a Navi like the 3 does. What's that all about...but it does have mirror-mounted signals.

mandercruso

I just went and test drove an auto tC in white. This car is super nice. The exterior looks great, the interior looks and feels great too. For being such a small car, it has a lot of room. The car accelerates very quickly, changes gears smoothly. I am definitely considering this car. I still love the TSX, but it is a bit above what I can afford right now. I can definitely say that I would choose the tC over the RSX and Accord Coupe 4-cylinder, which were my other options.

My local dealer only had one tC in stock. They had 5 last week and sold them already. Hopefully they will have more color options on the lot pretty soon so I can check those out.

I asked about leather. The tC doesn't have the leather option, but like all Toyota's and Scions, they can install leather for $1100.

~Amanda

iamhomin

Are they even budging from the msrp?

iamhomin

I "preteneded" that I was interested in seriously purchasing the car, but the salesman didn't budge a penny from the msrp.

elduderino

1) The leather installation has nothing to do with Toyota... it's an aftermarket product / service, performed by a company that sells to the dealer. Nothing wrong with this, but be aware...

2) The salesman has no authority to budge on price (has to go through the sales manager), and no dealership will budge on price with anyone until they've run your credit app and know you are a qualified buyer with money and credit.

TSXfan23

good luck amanda. what color will u be getting? hope u get it in manual. love women who know how to drive stick.

mandercruso

i won't be getting anything at least for a few more months. I've only seen the car in white, and it was very nice. I'm gonna drive by another dealer next week and see what they have in stock.

~Amanda

phile

I think Scion is like Saturn...no haggling.

mandercruso

what is haggling? I have a Saturn. It's been a good car, but Saturn's customer service sucks!

KC 2004 TSX

I'm starting to see these on the road and I'm very impressed. I may have to go take a ride. I need to do a little research but this looks like a good one!