I was working the port yesterday driving new Toyota's, Scions and Lexus's off the ship. Not many of them impressed me except one, it was a Scion tC. It was really a nice little car, very responsive and handled great. I even liked the looks of it. It was a cross between an Audi A4 and a Lexus IS300. What are your opinions of this car? Does anyone own one already? Talk to me, I need to make a decision soon.

I always got the impression that scion is to toyota what geo is to chevrolet. Besides that impression, I can't help ya.. never driven one or even looked at one up close.

a friend of mine got the scion a few months ago and loves it...it is a nice looking car, for a reasonable price.

Damn - not only do you have the chalon - now your job is to drive new cars.........

Can't help you with the choice - but I love Toyotas - reliable and long lasting cars - well designed.

M

Equipt the way I like it, it is only about 17k.

QUOTE (skline @ Aug 24 2005, 07:40 PM)

Equipt the way I like it, it is only about 17k.

We have an xB as a delivery car for the Quiznos, it is a well built small Toyota. I think that the tC would be the same and your right it looks pretty cool.

Good car for the money. Down on power though. Lots of aftermarket stuff for max bling. Resale is so-so but the car is cheap to begin with. At least it looks better than the Xb.

The tC keeps catching my eye. I like all the standard features like the 17" alloy wheels and the 160hp engine. And the price seems awesome for the features.

That said I've been thinking about a Civic or Prius Hybrid even though they are two least exciting cars on the planet just because they now qualify for the commuter lane with a single occupant. That would save me 100 hours a year. And on top of that it would save me about $600/year in fuel costs. I've had my last daily driver for 11 years now so $6,600 over the lifetime of driving the car isn't exactly chump change.

Nice look. Nice price and Toyota reliability. With gas prices the way they are, I'd say it's the right direction to go.

Scions are pretty much just rebadged Toyotas that dont get imported to the US. The Scion xA is the Toyota Ist and the xB is the Toyota bb. TC however is based on the Toyota Caldina platform with the 2.4 camry engine stuffed in the engine bay with completely differnt sheetmetal. Its a little hefty for a smaller 2 door car, but features, engine, etc make it a great value. Nice thing with that 2.4 is you have tons of lowend power that make driving the car easier. Its a little boring for my tastes however you have tons of aftermarket support for the car including superchargers. I have always felt Toyotas in lower end really ignore putting effort into their suspensions, TC is no exception. I also dont like heavy FWD cars. TC is bumping too close to 3000 lbs.

I love my Toyota Echo and the car is bullet proof. Cant see how you could go wrong if you like the car.

FYI I have driven a TC and have an A4. I dont get the comparison. A4 feels like it is milled from a single piece of metal and rides like a a solid German car. TC is great but I just didnt get German car feel from the TC I drove.

Here's a picture of the Caldina:

You could own a lot of 30 year old teeners for that much cash!

that said I like the look too.

QUOTE (Midtowner @ Aug 24 2005, 05:48 PM)

Down on power though

two words:

v8 conversion

Andy

The new Toyota Vitz will be imported to the US early next year under the Yaris Badge. Cool little commuter car.

My wife and I went and looked at them awhile back and the salesman told us that they have no power and trying to pass big-rigs over the grapevine was a challange, but that was the boxey looking thing and the little bitty one...

QUOTE (anthony @ Aug 24 2005, 05:51 PM)

That said I've been thinking about a Civic or Prius Hybrid even though they are two least exciting cars on the planet just because they now qualify for the commuter lane with a single occupant. That would save me 100 hours a year. And on top of that it would save me about $600/year in fuel costs. I've had my last daily driver for 11 years now so $6,600 over the lifetime of driving the car isn't exactly chump change.

I'd love to have a hybrid drivetrain in a 914... hmmmmm...

Well, personally, I wouldnt own an Audi, I know several people who own them and they all tell me the same thing, everything is expensive to fix and they spend a lot of time needing repairs after about 3 years. I just like the looks of the A4 which is where I was thinking the similarities were.

Nice way to get a dig in on the Audis. !

So, does your boss get nervous when your shift starts, and you go dropping cones?



I like that shitbox, I love Toyo stuff. $17k actually sounds a little pricey to me... no? Yes. What were the options?


M

Honestly, Buy a tow truck... For the Teener...

Clayton

QUOTE (skline @ Aug 24 2005, 05:31 PM)

Well, personally, I wouldnt own an Audi, I know several people who own them and they all tell me the same thing, everything is expensive to fix and they spend a lot of time needing repairs after about 3 years. I just like the looks of the A4 which is where I was thinking the similarities were.

50,000 miles 4 years not a single problem with my A4 1.8T Quattro and its chipped. Audi service is incredible at my dealer. I brought my car in for regular free service at 48,000 and they noticed my brake pads were getting close to minimum tolerence and replaced them all for free. I havent put a dime into fixing or even maintaining the car since I bought it. Nothing has gone wrong with it so far. ...And its been abused. Bought it for $27K new and would do it again in a heart beat. Its been the best new car expereince I have ever had.

But like I said you cant beat the TC. Its a great deal if your going to buy a new car.

you could always donate the money to charity and use the write off on this years tax return!!?? scions look nice

QUOTE (grantsfo @ Aug 24 2005, 06:50 PM)

QUOTE (skline @ Aug 24 2005, 05:31 PM) Well, personally, I wouldnt own an Audi, I know several people who own them and they all tell me the same thing, everything is expensive to fix and they spend a lot of time needing repairs after about 3 years. I just like the looks of the A4 which is where I was thinking the similarities were. 50,000 miles 4 years not a single problem with my A4 1.8T Quattro and its chipped. Audi service is incredible at my dealer. I brought my car in for regular free service at 48,000 and they noticed my brake pads were getting close to minimum tolerence and replaced them all for free. I havent put a dime into fixing or even maintaining the car since I bought it. Nothing has gone wrong with it so far. ...And its been abused. Bought it for $27K new and would do it again in a heart beat. Its been the best new car expereince I have ever had. But like I said you cant beat the TC. Its a great deal if your going to buy a new car.

That is the first positive thing I have heard about the Audi's. I value your input also. But 27k? The options I looked at were 18" 7 spoke wheels, nicer sport wheel, moon roof, stereo delete as I will do my own and rear bumper protector. That was pretty much it. The color I picked was the one in the picture in the first post.

I had a 87 Audi CS Q .. put over 200 k miles on it - never had a probleM- maybe I was lucky.

In Jan of this year, I p/u an 04 S/4 Audi Advant..only 4000 miles - so far no issues.
T/w the Audi folks and they advise - should be and have not ever seen any issues with a S/4 - CROSSING MY TOES:)

Back to your question, great car the TC..but since we live in a
land of BIG SUV's I would not buy anything smaller than a CIVIC with a trunk for added protection.
It all comes down to what you like and what your hide is worth.

A Toyota might be a better car than a Honda, just without the same level of marketing success. That said, they've always been heavy cars.

I like the tC, they've been out for a year or so now, you should be able to find one used. Even if you want to buy a new one you should check out how they hold up to daily use

I also, for some reason, like the Hyundai Tiburon, though I would never own one.

At 17 g's I'd be looking at used WRX's or E36 M3's. But you can never go wrong with a toyota.

If I had to have a Scion, it would definitely be an Xb. Me thinks they're cool. My wifes parents have one and her sister just got one. Good on gas and lotsa room for hauling things.

Right after her parents got theirs, a guy in an H2 tried to buy it from them at a stoplight. They got it in silver with some Toyota custom wheels. It actually looks pretty sweet.

This the Scion tC that I'd like to have:

QUOTE

Christian Rado of WORLD Racing will debut his dragging tC in the Pro Outlaw Front Wheel Drive class at the June 4-5 NDRA Xbox Event at Florida’s Moroso Motorsports Park. The racing tC is powered by a 2.7-liter 3RZFE Toyota engine producing 1,200 horsepower on methanol. A second tC is in the works to run the All-Motor/Pro Stock class in 2006 to be driven by Leslie Durst. Let’s see if the tC can take the drag world by storm like it did the compact coupe market

QUOTE (jasons @ Aug 25 2005, 07:00 AM)

At 17 g's I'd be looking at used WRX's or E36 M3's.

I'll never buy a new car, because you can get so much more of a car for the same money by buying just a year or two old.

(of course if nobody bought new cars there'd be no used ones.. so don't everybody go and adopt this philosophy)

i would wait for next years civic. it will be all new.

hondas are allways in the top 10 in there class. alot of cars , out there

most are trying to copy hondas . you get more for your money.


robert

Scott, I hate to break it to you, but there isn't a chalon kit for the tC.... yet.

QUOTE (jkeyzer @ Aug 25 2005, 09:57 AM)

Scott, I hate to break it to you, but there isn't a chalon kit for the tC.... yet.

Oh contrare, they do have a body kit for it, from the factory even, but I just cant see the extra 1900 for it. Besides, I like the stock look. Accessories are mega bucks for this car, they get 395 for the little rear spoiler lip for the trunk, 495 for a set of fog lights and so on. Hell, the 18" wheels are 1595.00, The only suspension upgrade they offer is a strut bar for 295. I will pass on that. They even offer a modified exhaust system for 595. I just think that is a little high, I may just get one all stock and add the stuff aftermarket later.

Scott,

It is hard to beat the value for money performance equation of a WRX. I have been very happy with mine. Too many vehicles and too little time. I have modified it quite a bit, but it was fast stock out of the box......

Dan

I'm looking very hard at a hatchback Ford Focus as a daily car. They've been written up well in the press (C&D Ten Best more than once), and they're really cheap. A 2001 ZX3 can be had for as little as $6000 in like new condition and the 170hp SVT version is about $12K used. The Zetec engine is the darling of the UK hot-rod crowd right now. Oscar Jackson sells $2800 CARB legal blower kits for them.

I only wish they'd sell the Euro-spec RS version in the US. 4wd rally car for the street...

I'm with James above, SVT Focus's can be found with under 10k miles for about 14k. Brant, has a super nice one with the euro package, i've driven it, and given the chance, I would own one in a heartbeat. I'm kinda Ford guy though...

Ferg

Are you selling the truck?
Elliot

QUOTE (skline @ Aug 24 2005, 07:36 PM)

QUOTE (grantsfo @ Aug 24 2005, 06:50 PM) QUOTE (skline @ Aug 24 2005, 05:31 PM) Well, personally, I wouldnt own an Audi, I know several people who own them and they all tell me the same thing, everything is expensive to fix and they spend a lot of time needing repairs after about 3 years. I just like the looks of the A4 which is where I was thinking the similarities were. 50,000 miles 4 years not a single problem with my A4 1.8T Quattro and its chipped. Audi service is incredible at my dealer. I brought my car in for regular free service at 48,000 and they noticed my brake pads were getting close to minimum tolerence and replaced them all for free. I havent put a dime into fixing or even maintaining the car since I bought it. Nothing has gone wrong with it so far. ...And its been abused. Bought it for $27K new and would do it again in a heart beat. Its been the best new car expereince I have ever had. But like I said you cant beat the TC. Its a great deal if your going to buy a new car. That is the first positive thing I have heard about the Audi's. I value your input also. But 27k? The options I looked at were 18" 7 spoke wheels, nicer sport wheel, moon roof, stereo delete as I will do my own and rear bumper protector. That was pretty much it. The color I picked was the one in the picture in the first post.

At the risk of jinxing my luck, I have had zero problems with my A4. Daily commuter over Hwy17, 70 miles round trip for 4 years. The all-wheel drive is great for handling and Winter trips to Tahoe. Yes, they are a bit pricey but between the looks, handling, and low maintenance costs it has been worth it.

As for the tC, one caught my eye the other day. I really liked the look and was surprised it was a Scion. I also think buying used is the best use of your money. Let someone else pay for the depreciation.

-Jeff

Scott, drive one. My friend thought they were cool until he drove one. NO power, handle like crapola, they feel like a "new" car. He got a subaru 2.5 rs wagon instead. It cost him about the same and it still has no power, but its not as bad.

I don't think the 18" wheels are worth an extra $1800. You could get a nice aftermarket set of wheels and tires for that much and still have the 17" factory alloys. And the 17s are a good looking alloy IMO.

QUOTE (bondo @ Aug 25 2005, 08:11 AM)

QUOTE (jasons @ Aug 25 2005, 07:00 AM) At 17 g's   I'd be looking at used WRX's or E36 M3's. I'll never buy a new car, because you can get so much more of a car for the same money by buying just a year or two old. (of course if nobody bought new cars there'd be no used ones.. so don't everybody go and adopt this philosophy)

That is true, and I used to think that very thing. But I splurged and bought a brand new integra GS-R sedan 11/97, it was the sportiest sedan out there, aside from the A4, and I have similar sentiments to many when it comes to non air cooled VW/Audi products. I have beaten the living shit out of that thing for 125,000 miles and it drives better than it did new(because it came with crapola multimile all season tires) Thing about a new car, is you know how it has been maintained. I expect the thing to go another 100,000, which will be a long ass time, because my commute is only about 7 miles round trip now, versus 10 miles just to get to the supermarket when I lived in Conroe, TX.

That said, if you like it, but it is underpowered, have the dealer put on a supercharger. It will still have a factory warranty, but will haul some ass too. They are heavy, like 3000lb, and have kind of crappy seats, which would steer me another direction.

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Aug 25 2005, 05:52 PM)

I'm looking very hard at a hatchback Ford Focus as a daily car. They've been written up well in the press (C&D Ten Best more than once), and they're really cheap. A 2001 ZX3 can be had for as little as $6000 in like new condition and the 170hp SVT version is about $12K used. The Zetec engine is the darling of the UK hot-rod crowd right now. Oscar Jackson sells $2800 CARB legal blower kits for them. I only wish they'd sell the Euro-spec RS version in the US. 4wd rally car for the street...

I've got a 2000 Focus ZX3 as my daily driver that I have put 104,000 mile on so far. Repairs include replacing the TPS 2 months ago and thats it; nothing else done to it other than oil and filter changes. I should proably change the pulgs, wires, and rotor now though.
Also, I usually average just over 30 MPG with it.

scion is the Toyota tuner market brand. my brother sells them in VA. I drove one at a track event. I think you will like it. it is not a new car to Toyota