[whosthatrussian]

Here's the link to this obscure, yet interesting site:

http://www.elepent.com/review.php?nr=750

a pretty interesting and positive read. Enjoy.

 

[LoopyLady_1]

Hehe....I think it's funny they reference it's "light weight"...since everyone else pretty much agrees that it's a bit on the pudgy side.

But you're right...pretty good review. Nice to see these still coming...not like I expect anything different though. Hehe.

 

[JZA70]

2900 lbs... pudgy alright

 

[topworm]

"The tC looks best in light colors, several of which are borrowed from Lexus' palette."

Interesting and bold opinion... I prefer the black, flint, and indigo myself

 

[whosthatrussian]

me too, i love the darker colors as well, but hey, this car looks great all around. And yes, this baby's taken too many protein shakes in its diet, but it is pretty quick.

 

[crix]

I agree the light colors are best. IMO it's harder to see the tC's subtle styling in the darker colors.

Plus, I know if I got a dark colored tC it would probably look dirty most of the time..

 

[whosthatrussian]

Originally posted by crix@Aug 9 2004, 10:32 AM
I agree the light colors are best. IMO it's harder to see the tC's subtle styling in the darker colors.

Plus, I know if I got a dark colored tC it would probably look dirty most of the time..

you got a good point there. For me though, I love it when the sun hits the dark metallic colors (indigo ink), and you see the metallic paint sparkle, thats the best. It just looks so rich and vibrant. Damn, this car is sexy! My gf saw a white one today on the way to the beach, and said the color and the car looked gorgeous.

 

[LoopyLady_1]

Talking about the metallic paint sparkle, I drove my car by the popular auto place around here to get the windows tinted...and imagine my surprise when I pulled into the lot and saw a Hot Lava xB there. Hehe.

Anyways, all the guys behind the counter and in the shop sorta' took a double take at me when I got out of the car. Then I asked them for an estimate on getting the tint done and one guy asked the other guy, "That's a 4 door, right?" and the other guy said, "No, 2." Then when he explained it would be about $90 dollars for the front and back windows on each side, I asked how much it would be for the roof, and he looked all confused.

I explained that the whole top of the car is 4 pieces of glass and he just looked at me for a second, then said he'd have to see it. As he was walking out toward my car he said to that same other guy, "That's the xA right?" and he said, "Yeah..." then I said, "Nope..it's the new tC."

The best part of this story (that's longer than it needs to be) is that when they both walked out to my car, the first thing they both did was get all up close to it and say, "Daaaayam...look at that paint!!" Then they about drooled all over my moonroof. Hehe....I felt all warm and fuzzy inside, knowing all the kinds of cars these guys see day in and out, and they were loving mine.

OK, sorry...I just love thinking about that story and had to share it. Hehe.

 

[whosthatrussian]

thats cool.

Where's my tC!?!

 

[tfd666]

were is this cell phone holder. i have read it in a couple of other placese but can't seem to figure out were it is. is it the one in front of the cup holders?

 

[phammerz]

the review was nice, is the mini cooper really better than our car? maybe ill ask my violin teacher to drive his =)

 

[whosthatrussian]

imo, this car is better than the mini. Don't forget, the mini's are made by BMW, so the quality might be a bit better, but the car is so friggin small, that it's not too practical. Sure, it's a great city car and fits in just about any parking spot, but for anybody with friends or road trips, it just wouldn't do it.

 

[topworm]

Even though Minis get excellent satisfacation reveiws and are "a delight to drive," they have the worst possible reliability ratings from consumer reports. Granted there's nothing from them about the tC yet, but they will probably turn out to be in line with all toyota reliability tests. They are both priced pretty much the same, so I don't know. Reliability vs. fun? Seems like the usual asian/european tradeoff

 

[whosthatrussian]

i think that one can argue that the fun factor is definitely there in the tC. I do see what you're saying though, but usually fun comes at a price. The base mini starts at $16,500, same as the tC, but has a 1.6L 116 hp motor doing 110 lb-ft of torque.....does not sound fun to me. The cooper S is very close to the tC in terms of hp and torque, but starts at about 20,500 msrp. Thats $4000 more for a smaller car. It might be more maneuverable, but for $4K you can upgrade the springs/struts/shocks on the tC, and i'm sure it'll kick its ass on the track. I'm glad that Toyota's behind this car, and I'm sure the engineers did their homework.

 

[FrostbytetC]

i also agree with the light colors thing. But thats just my opinion. I would also like to know where this cell phone holder is. This is just like all the other reviews I've read. The tC is the BOMB, and we know it!!!

 

[imasaf]

Here's another pretty good review...

New Car Test Drive

 

[Zygote55]

By "cell phone holder" they probably mean that little compartment under the stereo. I know I use it as a sunglass/cell phone holder.

 

[whosthatrussian]

Originally posted by imasaf@Aug 9 2004, 07:15 PM
Here's another pretty good review...

New Car Test Drive

yeah, i've read that one before, very thorough.

 

[GA tC]

FROM C&D, the Mini-S is the only Mini that can touch the tC

 

[whosthatrussian]

^^^ Yep, and there's a huge price difference!