Scion Tc
The Scion tC had become very popular for a lot of high school and college students these days due to the fact that it can be easily modified without having to fork out extra money for things the car really does not need. Toyota had developed their aftermarket products from Toyota Racing Development® (TRD), so that both Scion and Toyota customers can customize their cars to however they please. A few examples of TRD products that customers can put on their cars are cold-air intakes (I am more of an AEM guy myself), lowering springs for the suspension, a sport muffler (I would rather go for a full cat-back on this one), 18-inch rims, front and rear sway bars, and a limited-slip differential. Minor things from TRD can be an oil cap, oil filter, a sport shift knob (for a majority of manual Scion drivers), and a radiator cap for your coolant. If you can afford a Toyota Corolla, but want a little more pep in performance, this car is the one for you.
The Scion tC is both a coupe and a hatchback that has the same engine derived from both the Toyota Camry and the Toyota Matrix S with the 2.4 liter inline-four which produces 161 horsepower at 5700 rpm with 163 lb-ft. of torque at just 4000 rpm. Acceleration is pretty adequate at just 7 seconds from 0-60 mph. The stock 215/45R17 Yokohama® are pretty good in handling at slalom speeds, but at high speeds they tend to get a bit noisy; besides, the tC is not really much of a rocket ship compared to a Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart or a Subaru Impreza WRX. Could the tC catch up to those guys? Maybe, if you put in a TRD supercharger and a cat-back exhaust with a cold-air intake; it will probably even blow my Civic out of the water, and my car even has a cold-air intake in it. But with that aside, the Scion tC has a lot of amenities that both my Civic and the Subaru Impreza do not have. Also, speaking of handling, the Scion tC has a front strut and a double-wishbone suspension along with a rack and pinion power steering with a turning radius of 36 feet.
Steering wheel mounted audio controls for the radio and the iPod integration are standard, along with the rear 60/40-split seats. Bluetooth, however, has to be purchased aftermarket by Blu-Logic® or you can even swap the stock radio with one with built-in Bluetooth and the rear-USB port for your iPod or iPhone. Sport front bucket seats are also standard on the tC, as well as your normal power windows, door locks, A/C, outside temperature gauge, etc. Six speakers for the audio system in the company of two tweeters are standard on all tC’s with a six-inch subwoofer.
Safety features can never be left out on the Scion tC when ABS brakes, a tire-pressure monitoring system, vehicle stability control, and seven airbags are all standard. The seven airbags include two for the driver and front passenger, two side airbags for the driver and passenger, and two side curtain airbags for the front and rear along with a driver’s knee airbag. Active front headrests prevent the driver and passenger(s) from whiplash in case of a rear-end collision.
So, now do you believe that the Scion tC is the right car for you? I mean, look at all of the things that you would get standard on this car, compared to its competitors. Like I have mentioned earlier, if you are thinking of getting a Toyota Corolla for fuel efficiency, but you would like to get some more space and performance, this car has the best of both worlds. The rear seats not only fold down 60/40, but also recline back for long trips. As far as fuel economy goes, the Scion tC can get 21 miles per gallon in the city and 29 miles per gallon on the highway with an automatic transmission and 2 gallons less with a manual.
