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DRIVEN: Scion tC For 2011 Gets More Style, Power
Sporty coupe seems dialed in for enthusiast driving, but it lacks passion.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted August 31, 2010   Las Vegas, NV
The sharpened styling of the 2011 Scion tC fit in well with the stark scenery of the Nevada desert. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
Make no mistake, the 2011 Scion tC sports coupe is a cool little car with a stylish new body, accommodating interior and a great audio system. Just the things to draw the attention of the young target group.

And on paper, it seems that tC would be more of a performance car now that it has been upgraded with more power and better handling than the somewhat disappointing former generation. The 180-horsepower engine and sport-tuned suspension would be the tip offs.

The Scion's sporty profile should attract the attention of young drivers. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
Yet there is still something missing. What tC still lacks to be a bona fide sports coupe is the subjective quality of driver engagement. It does most things well, within the confines of its price range, but it fails to generate any sort of passion or excitement. There’s no edginess, nothing that reaches out and says, “Hey.”

The electric-power steering had little to no feedback, despite a very cool race-style steering wheel. The chassis felt stiff and the suspension well-composed, but the car lacks the sports-car sharpness that makes you want to toss it into turns.

Still, I was fairly impressed with tC’s balanced handling during a run over a twisting desert road near Las Vegas. The driving loop was so much fun that my driving partner and I zipped through it several times, enjoying the stark scenery and tight throws of the six-speed shifter.

The Scion absorbed it all without complaint, hunkering down through the turns and accelerating on the straights with a stirring exhaust note. All well and good, but there was never that point where the tC felt particularly sporty, where I felt that emotional pull of precision and response.

The coupe gets 18-inch alloy wheels with low-profile tires as standard equipment. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
I thought that maybe it was a generational thing, but the early 30s guy I was driving with was similarly un-enthralled. And during a loop of suburban roads that wound their way through a hilly neighborhood, the Scion just felt like any compact car, nothing more.

But let’s put this in perspective. The tC is a car with a base price of less than $19,000 with stickshift and under $20,000 with automatic, so no one at the recent media introduction was expecting a high-performance ride.

So as a car for a young male or female driver who’s more interesting in the styling, comfort, features and modest price tag, tC will probably hit the mark when it lands in showrooms in October. Since it’s fairly quick and corners well, it should suffice.

Maybe I’m being a little hard on it. After all, the drivability is there, just not the passion. You can’t have everything.

There are some enhancements available from Toyota Racing Division, such as bigger disc brakes, lowering springs and a TRD sway-bar set, which could achieve more of the desired sportiness. We drove a TRD-equipped version around Las Vegas streets, but we didn’t really didn’t get the chance to sample the difference.

The new interior is roomy up front and nicely styled, but it's let down by budget-car materials. (Photo: Scion)
From its beginning, Toyota’s Scion brand has mounted an unabashed assault on young drivers, with the goal of bringing them into the fold with hip cars so that they would eventually graduate to Toyota and, if they were successful in life, Lexus.

There was a time, many moons ago, when Toyota was a brand for young drivers who wanted something different from what their parents drove. Now, as the youth of the ’70s sinks into middle age, so does Toyota, and there’s a new generation of young individuals who want something different from what their parents drive. Which is, Toyota.

Scion’s greatest success came with the original xB, whose slammed-box styling hit the spot among urban youth. That it was also roomy and practical was an added bonus.

The look of the new tC has some of that DNA, retranslating the classic coupe form into a sharper-edged design. Scion says the California designers modeled tC after the strong appearance of the FUSE concept car, which they say “took inspiration from the athletic look of a racing helmet.”

But the designers could have made tC’s styling a bit more daring to attract more attention, maybe kept a little more of that stark FUSE in the mix.

Although Scion tC performed well on a twisting desert road, it still lacks the edgy response that enthusiasts crave. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
As well as being a sporty-looking coupe, tC is also a hatchback with a 40/60 folding rear seat that provides a decent amount of space, so there’s that practicality again. Its highway manners are smooth and competent, although there is quite a bit of noise and harshness from the low-profile tires.

The interior is roomy and nicely designed, and the seats are comfortable and supportive. But there’s too much hard plastic in here, and the headliner feels like it’s made out of cardboard.

The 180-horsepower inline-4, which also can be found in the Camry and some other Toyota products, has a solid and refined feel. It runs smooth up to redline with no thrashiness, and provides decent power for a 3,000-pound car.

There were some times when we wished the engine had a little more; a turbocharged four is promised for the near future.

Options are available to upgrade the already well-equipped tC, such as an Alpine premium audio system with satellite radio and navigation, plus such youth-oriented goodies as switchable seven-color interior lighting and carbon-fiber-look stick-ons.

Our one-day intro to Scion tC showed that the second generation is a sharper driving tool with a more-distinctive look and refined manners, yet it misses the mark for driving enthusiasts. But I’m sure there are plenty of young tuners already plotting ways to dial in that sporty edge.

Details

Vehicle type: Five-passenger, two-door coupe, front-wheel drive.
Engine: 2.5-liter inline 4, 180 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 173 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm.
Transmission: Six-speed manual or automatic.
Wheelbase: 106.3 inches.
Overall length: 174 inches.
Curb weight: 3,060 pounds manual, 3,102 pounds automatic.
EPA mileage rating: Not yet tested.

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson auctions. SPEED.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

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