Ok, even though I'm still in the euphoric state after getting my tC this last wednesday, I'm going to be as objective as possible when giving the review for the tC.
As you can imagine I'm even more impressed with the car now that I've had it for a few days. I've driven other small size cars including the new civic, corolla, mazda 3, mitsu eclipse, vw beetle, mirage and a few others. (These are all just small cars, i'm not making any direct comparison to the tC so don't flame me) I'll try to go step by step in describing the different aspects and the pros and cons of some of the items.
EXTERIOR: Love the front end and the BMW-like head lights, also the front grille looks agressive, but not overly so. The mirror turning signals definitely adds some sexy point to this car, and I think is also good safety-wise. These do not come with any of the cars in this price range btw. The wheel wells are nice and big and offer plenty of room for modification (bigger rims, lowering springs, whatever). I actually like the way the stock rims look on the tC, even though a few people expressed distaste in the wheel well areas being too big for the stock rims. I think the rear looks.....nice. Not too orginal, but good enough. I think there is a bit of a lack of balance between the agressiveness of the front end and the lack there of on the back end. Nothing a lip spoiler and maybe some LED rear lams can't fix. I also noticed the exhaust tip is nice and big compared to what else is out there. Can't wait for the TRD exhaust to make it even bigger.
INTERIOR: Just like all the other reviews I found it to be very tight and fit, with sprinkles of the OCD of the engineers all over the place. Everything flows really nicely, especially the silver dash. Also the lack of the ugly passenger side airbag "compartment" is a plus too. It's integrated into the dash, which is an engineering accomplishment on its own. The glove box is huge too, and there's dampers all over the place that make the car feel way more expensive than it really is. The stock stereo is as good or better than most stereos offered in this car class, and I actually think it compares to some of the "premium" systems like infinity and maybe even bose...I may be going out on the limb when I say that, but I was thoroughly impressed after playing around with the setting to find "Alex" mode. I really like the gauge cluster, and how it's layed out, as opposed to the xA/xB/Mini/Saturn Ion center console. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned. The amber lighting of the dash is nice also, and who can forget that alluminum knob! This car is also one of the few in this price range that has digital a/c and heating controls, and the outside temperature sensor is great too. The seats are the most comfy I've ever sat in, and they offer very nice support and flexibility. I wish the passenger seat would have the same height adjustment options and "memory" as the driver's does. It gets a bit annoying having to adjust the passenger seat every time someone jumps in the back, but to me it really doesn't matter 'cuz I'm the one driving.
The rear seats are spacious compared with the others, and the leg room is impressive also. My dad and I are bigger than your average size joe, not by much, but he's 6'3 and I'm 6' and the both of us had no problem sitting in the back. The fact that the rear seats recline 45 degrees is just plain awesome, especially for road trips, which I take quite often. The trunk space on the other hand is a bit cramped, and if you put an aftermarket sub back there, fugghedaboutit. For a college kid like myself though, it's plenty. In terms of cargo area, I'm comin from a 2000 Jeep Cherokee, although not the biggest of SUV's but had plenty of room. So compared to that, the trunk seems small. Yeah, I know it's an unfair comparison, but whatever.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS: I think the factory set up of the rims and tires is as good as you're gonna get stock, especially for the price, and the car handles great and the steering is responsive and precise. This car is so much fun to drive, especially on the highway, and I really feel like I have to restrain myself not to speed, because it's just so easy to do. the engine provides plenty of low end torque, and then this thing gets up to about 3500 to 4000 rpm's I've felt pushed back in the seat, and was very impressed. I really think it accelerates no worse than your average v6. I really like the fact that they put the camry engine in this one, and not the 1.5L lawnmower engines found in the x's. The suspension is firm, but comfy, and I think overall the car is balanced very nicely between performance and comfort. It's a zero sum game, but I think the Scion/Toyota engineers did a great job. One negative thing I have to add though, is the blind spots. I know they're not as bad as some other cars in this class, like the celica, but still it takes a bit of guess work and double takes to merge safely on the highway, or makin u-turns. I guess I'm once again comparing this to the visibility of the Jeep I drove, which is imo the best...the thing is a big box with huge windows, you can't beat that.
To wrap it up, I now look forward to my morning and afternoon commute because of this car. It's sexy as hell, performs very well, and the monthly payments are really not that bad for the value that I feel i'm getting. I plan to mod a bit here and there, with "scion approved" accessories, hopefully doing most of the installation myself, but I really do feel that this car is great as is. It's definitely better than ANYTHING in the price range.
Hopefully you found this review interesting and not redundant, and these are all my opinions, which may be different from your own, so pelase respect that. I love this car, as I'm sure all of you that own one do too. I'm really glad I also came across this site to share my opinions and concerns and read about yours also.
As you can imagine I'm even more impressed with the car now that I've had it for a few days. I've driven other small size cars including the new civic, corolla, mazda 3, mitsu eclipse, vw beetle, mirage and a few others. (These are all just small cars, i'm not making any direct comparison to the tC so don't flame me) I'll try to go step by step in describing the different aspects and the pros and cons of some of the items.
EXTERIOR: Love the front end and the BMW-like head lights, also the front grille looks agressive, but not overly so. The mirror turning signals definitely adds some sexy point to this car, and I think is also good safety-wise. These do not come with any of the cars in this price range btw. The wheel wells are nice and big and offer plenty of room for modification (bigger rims, lowering springs, whatever). I actually like the way the stock rims look on the tC, even though a few people expressed distaste in the wheel well areas being too big for the stock rims. I think the rear looks.....nice. Not too orginal, but good enough. I think there is a bit of a lack of balance between the agressiveness of the front end and the lack there of on the back end. Nothing a lip spoiler and maybe some LED rear lams can't fix. I also noticed the exhaust tip is nice and big compared to what else is out there. Can't wait for the TRD exhaust to make it even bigger.
INTERIOR: Just like all the other reviews I found it to be very tight and fit, with sprinkles of the OCD of the engineers all over the place. Everything flows really nicely, especially the silver dash. Also the lack of the ugly passenger side airbag "compartment" is a plus too. It's integrated into the dash, which is an engineering accomplishment on its own. The glove box is huge too, and there's dampers all over the place that make the car feel way more expensive than it really is. The stock stereo is as good or better than most stereos offered in this car class, and I actually think it compares to some of the "premium" systems like infinity and maybe even bose...I may be going out on the limb when I say that, but I was thoroughly impressed after playing around with the setting to find "Alex" mode. I really like the gauge cluster, and how it's layed out, as opposed to the xA/xB/Mini/Saturn Ion center console. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned. The amber lighting of the dash is nice also, and who can forget that alluminum knob! This car is also one of the few in this price range that has digital a/c and heating controls, and the outside temperature sensor is great too. The seats are the most comfy I've ever sat in, and they offer very nice support and flexibility. I wish the passenger seat would have the same height adjustment options and "memory" as the driver's does. It gets a bit annoying having to adjust the passenger seat every time someone jumps in the back, but to me it really doesn't matter 'cuz I'm the one driving.
The rear seats are spacious compared with the others, and the leg room is impressive also. My dad and I are bigger than your average size joe, not by much, but he's 6'3 and I'm 6' and the both of us had no problem sitting in the back. The fact that the rear seats recline 45 degrees is just plain awesome, especially for road trips, which I take quite often. The trunk space on the other hand is a bit cramped, and if you put an aftermarket sub back there, fugghedaboutit. For a college kid like myself though, it's plenty. In terms of cargo area, I'm comin from a 2000 Jeep Cherokee, although not the biggest of SUV's but had plenty of room. So compared to that, the trunk seems small. Yeah, I know it's an unfair comparison, but whatever.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS: I think the factory set up of the rims and tires is as good as you're gonna get stock, especially for the price, and the car handles great and the steering is responsive and precise. This car is so much fun to drive, especially on the highway, and I really feel like I have to restrain myself not to speed, because it's just so easy to do. the engine provides plenty of low end torque, and then this thing gets up to about 3500 to 4000 rpm's I've felt pushed back in the seat, and was very impressed. I really think it accelerates no worse than your average v6. I really like the fact that they put the camry engine in this one, and not the 1.5L lawnmower engines found in the x's. The suspension is firm, but comfy, and I think overall the car is balanced very nicely between performance and comfort. It's a zero sum game, but I think the Scion/Toyota engineers did a great job. One negative thing I have to add though, is the blind spots. I know they're not as bad as some other cars in this class, like the celica, but still it takes a bit of guess work and double takes to merge safely on the highway, or makin u-turns. I guess I'm once again comparing this to the visibility of the Jeep I drove, which is imo the best...the thing is a big box with huge windows, you can't beat that.
To wrap it up, I now look forward to my morning and afternoon commute because of this car. It's sexy as hell, performs very well, and the monthly payments are really not that bad for the value that I feel i'm getting. I plan to mod a bit here and there, with "scion approved" accessories, hopefully doing most of the installation myself, but I really do feel that this car is great as is. It's definitely better than ANYTHING in the price range.
Hopefully you found this review interesting and not redundant, and these are all my opinions, which may be different from your own, so pelase respect that. I love this car, as I'm sure all of you that own one do too. I'm really glad I also came across this site to share my opinions and concerns and read about yours also.