2014 Scion tC review notes

SENIOR MOTORSPORTS EDITOR MAC MORRISON: About 1,000 or so people are buying the Scion tC each month, and I imagine the majority of them are pleased with their purchase. For not a lot of coin, Scion provides a reasonably fun-to-drive car -- it's no FR-S, as you would expect -- with some racer-ish features that should appeal to youthful buyers while not going so far as to turn off potential older customers.

I was there for the launch of the entire Scion brand 10 years ago, and it's amazing to think so much time has passed. Certainly many in the automotive press snickered initially at the concept, as it seemed perhaps a bit too contrived, but the past decade has proven us wrong. No, it doesn't move hundreds of thousands of vehicles per year, or even 100,000, but it has brought a different kind of attention and, in some cases, buyer into Toyota's corporate fold. And other than the FR-S, the tC would be my choice.

Ride quality is good at the expense of ultimate sharp handling, and the six-speed automatic does a nice job of matching the driver's desires, be it cruising or kicking down under hard acceleration. At seven seconds or so, its 0-60 time doesn't move the goalposts in this class, nor does handling or braking; this is a solid car that does everything reasonably well and offers an outstanding sound system, Bluetooth, large display screen and easy-to-use controls. I always appreciate steering wheel-mounted controls, too, which are standard items here.

Scion says it revised the steering and suspension for 2014, but without an immediate back-to-back drive in last year's model, it's difficult to quantify just how much more lively the chassis feels. It's certainly not a revolution in tC dynamics.

Other than the well-bolstered seats, red-font gauges and flat-bottom steering wheel, the cockpit is relatively bland in a typically Toyota kind of way. Rear passenger room is a pleasant discovery and not necessarily expected in an entry-level coupe, though I suspect some will likewise be unpleasantly surprised at the rather average fuel-mileage ratings.

I much preferred the original tC's exterior design, but the new-for-2014 updates -- new hood, wheels, front fascia -- improve this version's presence, though I still can't quite get over the square-ness of it all. Equipped with the optional “high profile” rear lip spoiler, as this test car is, it reminds me of a shrunken Dodge Charger at times, which isn't quite what comes to mind typically when we're talking about small, sporty Japanese cars.

Frankly, the original tC was actually exciting on approach, and made me very curious as to how it drove. This car -- especially without any of the wide range of tack-on features and trim -- somehow reeks of the very blandness that Scion proclaimed itself to stand against. At this price range in this class, it's not too difficult for me to accept its generally average performance, but the last thing I expect from this lineup is average appearance.

Nevertheless, for not a lot of money you get a reasonably stylish, fun little car to drive, with some nice standard features that appeal to audiophiles in particular, and then there's always the Scion “aftermarket” parts cornucopia, both official and nonofficial, that has made the Scion range a case study in giving customers what they want, but only if they want it.

The 2014 Scion tC comes in at a base price of $20,965 with our tester topping off at $23,166.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR GRAHAM KOZAK: There was a guy I knew a few years ago, a little bit older than me, who was totally geeked about finally buying a Scion tC. Took pictures of the “assembled in Japan” origin/assembly plate on the door frame and everything. It was first-generation tC, and I was attracted to it -- it seemed compact, clean and sportier that its layout and powertrain would have otherwise suggested.

Anyway, last I'd heard he had totaled it, but I guess where I'm going with this is: This new Scion doesn't do anything for me. I'm able to remember a lot about an acquaintance's doomed tC several years after the fact, but I can't really remember much beyond the color and hard plastic interior of this one, which I drove a few days ago.

Mac is right it about doing everything you'd want a car in this price range to do reasonably well, and if the interior were a little better (and a little better insulated from mechanical and exterior sounds) I wouldn't have much trouble accepting it for what it is -- especially for $23,166.

Like the softened-up xB, though, the tC has just become a bland-if-not-terrible competitor into a crowded segment. I'm not seeing why this car really stands out at the moment, but it probably wouldn't take more than a medium-intensity refresh/interior upgrade to make me see it in another light.

Scion had a kind of cool, edgy thing going on when the brand debuted. I think they need to return to that -- at this point, I find Kia's Forte Koup and Soul and the Hyundai Veloster to be much more compelling oddballs. Again, Mac's certainly right about Scion's official aftermarket options. I just wish they'd given us a more interesting blank canvas for us to customize.

The 2014 Scion tC has an optional BeSpoke premium audio system that i

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ncludes GPS navigation.

ASSOCIATE WEST COAST EDITOR BLAKE Z. RONG: Gather 'round, kids, and let me tell you a story. Years before the “yoofs” saved up their pennies working overnight shifts at the White Hen Pantry for an FR-S, the only Scion two-door was the tC. It was the only vaguely sporty car Toyota made that was south of a Solara. For years, the brand dragged its enthusiast credentials on just that. And may God have mercy on the poor and benighted early adopters who ever thought the tC fit any skewed definition of “sporty motoring.”

Where to begin? In every function that defines a car's character, the tC seems dowdy and uninspired. Steering is devoid of any feel or weight. The brakes are spongy and squishy. The clutch and shifter on our manual-equipped test car in California are light enough for traffic but feel flimsy -- Toyota once proved on the MR2 Spyder that a manual transmission could be delicate but also have feeling, an essence that just isn't present with the tC. Rare is the moment when an automatic is preferable, but most Scion buyers know that, too. Perhaps most damningly, the 2.5-liter inline-four loathes to rev.

A few things that Toyota got right on the tC: the chassis is tight and responsive and never understeers. The ride is fairly comfortable. The hidden hatchback is clever, and there's decent room in the back -- though the omission of a standard tonneau cover reflects a uniquely American disdain for hatchbacks. Styling of this second generation tC's has really grown on me -- one of the cleanest shapes in contemporary car design gained weird angles, angry headlights and a huge, leering grille, but it also looks reliably sporty, like it's begging to be tossed around.

But thick C-pillars swallow up more cars than Robosaurus. A backup camera is not an option on any tC. Each door weighs as much as a high school football coach. The rest of the car weighs over 3,000 pounds. Is Toyota smuggling gold bars underneath the seats?

We checked. They're not. We were disappointed.

If you absolutely want a sporty Scion, save your dollars and make the $3K leap to an FR-S. The tC is a caricature of a hot hatch from around 1999, designed for a time when APC “carbon” wings flew off the shelves. (If your favorite car in the first Fast and Furious movie was that green, exploding Mitsubishi Eclipse, you might even be enamored with the exhaust note.) It must be working -- the tC has the lowest average buyer age in America, at 28 -- but as a 26-year-old, do I really need another reason to question my generation?

This is Scion's tC by Toyota. Despite the conspiracy theory that “tC” stands for “Toyota Celica,” there's little indication that this car could carry on such a legacy.

The interior of the 2014 Scion tC is equipped with well bolstered seats and a flat bottom steering wheel.

WEST COAST EDITOR MARK VAUGHN: My learned colleague Blake Z. Rong hated this thing. I think he called it a “pile.” And while I had it someone did, indeed, tuck into the outside rearview mirror support a business card that read, “I Buy Junk Cars!” Now this is not junk nor is it a “pile.”

I will admit at first I thought the shifter and the clutch were, indeed, cheap. I might have said “flimsy.” But there is a far stretch between flimsy and piledom. There is a TRD “QuickShifter” available for just $145 that sounds like a promising fix for this shifter vagueness. I would recommend it sight unseen. It would have to be an improvement. After a week of hammering the tC without the QuickShifter I more or less got the hang of it and really started wailing. It is fun to launch at maximum acceleration and listen to one of the front wheels spin, usually the inside one.

The 3,082-pound tC is powered by a relatively large -- for the class -- 2.5-liter four making 179 hp. That's 17.2 pounds per hp, which isn't bad for cars in this class, many of which have engines smaller than 2.0-liters. Combined with that manual transmission in our California test car, it looks like it just might get down the street. A few runs returned a 0-60 mph time of 8.1 seconds. More runs and more practice engaging the clutch just right would have meant a faster time. Published figures list anywhere from 7.3 to 7.8 seconds to 60, so, unless those guys are lying, you will probably get into the sevens. The trick is to control wheelspin to get a good launch. Just a little clutch slip then give it the rest of the throttle and you're off.

Once you get it sorted, you can wind it out to redline all day and generally have a blast. Scion should be commended for even offering this or anything with a manual transmission in this age of like-sized econoboxes with continuously variable transmissions. Those things could suck the life out of a 1999 New Years' Eve party with Prince headlining. So thank you, Scion, for giving us a manual, even if it was probably done to save a half a mile per gallon and you didn't have a CVT sorted out yet. Whatever the reason, I and maybe four or five other enthusiast drivers appreciate it.

I didn't think the electric power steering, added during the tC's 2010 total makeover to save another half-mile per gallon, was likewise as bad as BZR claims. How much steering feel do you want in a FWD econopile? Oops, I didn't mean to imply, suggest or state that the tC is in any way, shape or form a pile, as Blake has clearly stated.

And mileage? The EPA rates it at 23 city/31 hwy/26 combined. I ran through two tanksful, the first one returned 22.5 mpg and the second 23.8, but both of those were at high speeds and hard launches (good title for an autobiography). Efficiency would go up had this been a smaller displacement engine, but Scion's not about efficiency; it's about style and fun.

While the fun factor is pretty well laid out, the style, at least of this thing, is debatable. I never took to the look of this model, particularly the roofline, done at the last style makeover to provide more rear headroom. That rear C-pillar, which I took to calling the killer pillar, is huge. Why block so much vision with that extra-double-wide thing? It's not like it makes the car look good or anything. And there was no backup camera on our test tC to aid in not flattening cats when backing out of the driveway.

The tC starts at $19,965 with a manual transmission. With a couple options, the price of this test car went up to $20,543, while the automatic tester in Detroit rang in at $23,166. What else would the performance-minded buyer look at in this segment? A plain old Mazda 3 is a couple grand less, the Mazdaspeed 3 a few grand more. The Ford Fiesta ST and Fiat Abarth are about two grand or so more. I might save up and get the Fiesta ST, one of the best performance bargains in the FWD hatch segment.

But if you don't like the current tC, word on the street is that the new one is coming next year. So hold on and have a look then.

Base Price: $20,965

As-Tested Price: $23,166

Drivetrain: 2.5-liter I4; FWD, six-speed automatic

Output: 179 hp @ 6,000 rpm, 172 lb-ft @ 4,100 rpm

Curb Weight: 3,124 lb

Fuel Economy (EPA City/Highway/Combined): 23/31/26 mpg

AW Observed Fuel Economy: 23.1 mpg

Options: BeSpoke premium audio including voice-activated GPS navigation with touchscreen, aha ($1,198); rear lip spoiler high profile ($444); illuminated door sill ($375); carpeted floor mat ($184)

Mac Morrison - Mac Morrison is Autoweek’s senior editor for Motorsports covering racing at all levels, from club events to NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA and Formula One. He also contributes to Autoweek’s coverage and testing of new cars and the automotive industry. See more by this author»

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