Scion tC
One for Junior, one for Dad |
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By Richard J. Newman
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NITS: There's no interior trunk release–in bad weather you have to get your hands wet or dirty on the outer release.
G-FORCES: It's no hot rod, but the tC is as much of a sportabout as the intended "youth" buyer deserves–and an economical little thrill for anybody else on a budget. The 160-horsepower four-cylinder engine is quick and lively. A high-quality suspension provides stiff cornering. There are so-called sports cars costing $10,000 more than aren't as much fun to drive.
GIZMOLOGY: The excellent audio system comes with different settings that optimize sound, or feel–as in thumping bass; it's a gimmick, but kind of cool nonetheless. One annoyance: Radio buttons that are so tiny that searching for them with your fingers is a distraction from driving.
KID MARKS: There's room in the back for two or three kids, along with handy cupholders in small outboard armrests. But crawling into the back is a pain, and kids who climb into the back on the passenger side will have a hard time shutting the door themselves. The cargo area is small and narrow, too cramped for a bulky stroller.
HOT OR NOT: Hot. Not an instant classic, but bold enough to look fresh.
ENVIROMETER: Rates above average on the EPA's air pollution scale. Mileage ranges from 22 mpg/city to 30 mpg/highway. More info: www.fueleconomy.gov.
CRASH COURSE: Earns nine stars out of 10 on the government's frontal crash test, and eight out of 10 on the side-impact test. Details: www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/Cars/3176.html.
PRICE POINTS: Base price is $16,465. Price as tested: $18,231. (All prices include delivery fees.)
MORE INFO: www.scion.com
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Model year tested: 2005
For the average price of a new car these days–about $26,000–you get a marvelous array of features and spirited performance. At least you should. More impressive, however, are a handful of vehicles that offer nearly the same package for under $20,000: The Mazda3, for instance, or the Honda Civic Si. To this select list of underpriced overachievers, I'd also add the latest specimen from Toyota's Scion brand: The tC hatchback.
The tC fills out Scion's introductory lineup of three vehicles–the others are the xA and xB–which debuted on the East and West Coast and are gradually rolling out nationwide. And the tC may be the best of the bunch. For a base price under $17,000, the tC offers big, grippy 17-inch tires, alloy wheels, a performance suspension, a power moonroof complemented by a rear skylight, and a 160-watt Pioneer stereo system that will compete with the customized boom jobs down at the racing strip. The 160-horsepower engine is as peppy as any in this price range, with a comfortable helping of merging and passing power. Handling is superb; driving the tC is fun. The interior is basic, but not spartan: Satin-nickel inserts on the dash add a bit of trendy flair, for instance, and the doors have a solid feel that will be reassuring to anybody leery of flimsy econoboxes.
There are also some elementary but smart design features that suggest careful engineering isn't reserved just for expensive cars. The manually operated front seats, for instance, have a "memory" feature that returns them to the setting you chose after you push the seat forward to get into the back. Front cupholders are nestled in the center console without interfering with the shifter, never a given on compact cars. And the sporty styling occupies a nice place between edgy and traditional. When I dropped the tC off in a parking garage one morning, the attendant walked around the car and exclaimed, "That's a Scion? I thought it was a Mercedes!" Not by a long shot. But it would be quite a rational choice to buy two or three of these instead of one of those those.
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