The Scion tC is the general enthusiasts sports car, and was developed to appeal to the general sports car enthusiast, while keeping economical features in mind. The tC is an affordable solution for the mild enthusiast, where cool features can be easily and cheaply added. Compared to other mass market cars, not many tC’s have been produced, which has caused an increased demand for them. The base price for a new tC is around $17,000.

Being a compact coupe, the tC is a must for the driver that wants the thrills of an affordable fun to drive sports car. Check out the rest of the sections to get a better feel for how the Scion tC performs.

The Scion tC handles well, with very tight steering and a well designed suspension that keeps the car on the road. The vehicle performs well at legal highway speeds, but any faster than that, the car feels light and can’t handle the bumps as well. Cornering is fun, however the tC body “rolls” more than an expensive sports car would on the turns.

The factory tires that came with the tC are worthless. If the road is anything but dry, they don’t perform well at all. The 17” silver-finish rims are classy, and fit the car well (they aren’t gaudy).

Powering the tC is a 4-cylinder, 2.4-liter engine rated at 161 horsepower and 163 ft-lbs of torque. Our tC had a 5-speed manual transmission. The manual transmission proves well for zipping around town, giving the Scion coupe a sporty feel and drive. The manual yields great fuel mileage too, averaging 30 mpg if it isn’t driven rough. At highway speeds however, the engine is turning upwards of 3000 rpm, which shouldn't be needed to keep a car like this driving down the highway. The transmission could be geared a little higher or include one more gear. Highway fuel mileage could drastically increase, and engine noise could be reduced.

The engine provides plenty of power to bring the tC up to speed, and has the “get up and go” when it comes time to cycle through the gears. Speed shifting the car is easy as the synchronizers in the transmission work very well.

The braking system of the tC includes front and rear disc brakes, a necessity for every sports cars stopping needs. The ABS system works very well, stopping the coupe on demand while maintaining composure.

Many visual and performance enhancing accessories are available for the tC, including a spoiler, suspension upgrades, high horsepower clutches for the transmission, and engine upgrades such as turbo and supercharger kits.

The interior of the tC was designed to give the rider ultimate comfort while keeping a sports car-like environment. The seats are well bolstered and made out of a mesh, textured fabric. The back seat provides plenty of legroom, though headroom is limited for taller passengers. The back seats offer adjustable seatbacks with several positions. All the seats however have limited adjustability, the driver's seat only provides four different adjustments. To get into the back seats of the car, the passenger and driver seats tilt and move them forward with a lever on the side. The driver seat has memory of its settings before it was tilted forward, so it returns to that position when it gets pushed back.

The Scion's hatchback trunk area is large enough to fit most of your everyday needs. If that doesn’t provide enough room, the back seats fold down to make even more space. The spare tire and tools are located underneath the trunk area, an upholstery covered plastic piece covers them up.

The steering wheel features tilt capability, and is designed to be gripped with ease. The cruise control buttons are located on the bottom right of the steering wheel, very easily accessible, easy to understand, and easy to use. Looking through the steering wheel, the gauges for the vehicle are easily seen. Vital information for the car, such as the speedometer, tachometer, fuel level, and engine coolant temperature, is available at a glance.

Using the radio is easy in the tC, and provides many options but not so many that it is confusing to use. The buttons are big and easy to press, and the appealing layout of the buttons is easy to remember. I find it comfortable to rest my palm on the shifter to use the radio buttons. The LCD screen for the radio provides a nice visual interface, however lacks some contrast in bright daylight making it harder to read.

The climate controls are also big, easy to use, and easy to understand. A little LCD screen shows the settings, and also provides the time of day, and outside temperature if chosen.

Buttons for the sunroof are on the ceiling of the car in the center, directly behind the windshield. Again, large and easily accessed, they allow for operating the sunroof and interior dome lights.

There is no padding on the door panels, so your arm can feel uncomfortable after resting it there for some periods of time. Sitting in the back of the car, you feel confined due to small side windows and the car's tall beltline, about shoulder height when you are sitting in the back seats.

The stock sound system in the tC is a clean sounding Pioneer unit that is MP3, iPod, and Satellite radio compatible. The bass is responsive, and the speakers handle high volume well, without the annoying vibration that most stock speakers produce. Playing CD’s is a must to get the full experience of the system, the sound is crystal clear. It can only handle one CD at a time though, so changing CD’s while driving can get dangerous.

Climate control is handled with 7 speed fan and several different directions for airflow. The A/C system doesn’t perform all that well, and has a hard time keeping the dark-roofed car cool on a hot summer day. Heating however is very powerful even in temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

The body panels of the tC dent easily because they are very thin, and the paint will commonly chip. If you take good care of the Scion though, it will stay shiny and healthy looking for as long as you own the car.

The tC features front, side curtain, and side thorax airbags, and also warning lights to indicate that the passenger should put their seat belt on. The warning light is triggered by a weight sensor in the seat. The tC also gives a nasty beeping sound if the car is moving and the driver does not have their seat belt on, however it stops beeping after a while.

Braking poses no concerns, as the system was designed well and brings the tC to a stop drama free. More on braking can be found in the Performance section of this review.

The Scion tC is a basic sports car for the general enthusiast looking for a sportier ride and feel, yet still having the economy of a compact car. Some of the features are cheaply made, however the Scion tC is an affordable and certainly reliable vehicle. It's fun to drive at a relatively low cost.