Thinking about trading the speed 3 for a scion tc-thoughts comments?

Some background is, I love toyota and scion is basically a rebadged camry, but at least it looks good. In the mazda 3, I have good head room but my right knee is quite close to the wheel causing small difficulty doing full turns gripping the wheel the whole time. Conversely, in the TC I have much less headroom (to the point if I sit the chair straight my hear brushes the sunroof covers so i have to recline it more), but my right knee is much farther from the wheel. So each car takes and gives in opposing areas. The other issue is my speed needs full suspension replacement, and who knows what else will be coming soon, which a new scion would not need for many years (and the warranty would help if it required anything sooner).

Pros for TC:
-I love the glass roof effect
-more knee room
-2 doors for nice styling
-better gas mileage
-warranty

Cons for TC
-no turbo so speed-like acceleration will probably not exist
-less headroom that the speed, causing seat to need slightly more inclination
-very common car

Pros for Speed 3
-bright red
-very quick
-I like the engine/exhaust sound
-hatch is practical
-better seats than TC
-excellent headroom

Cons for Speed 3
-knee is very close to steering wheel
-many paint chips/etc from the years
-needs suspension replaced
-has signs of rusting on both taillight areas on hatch and along seam under hatch on car slightly
-has 205k km, so large maintenance issues are likely to arise soon

What are some thoughts from you guys reading this?
Naturally i was going to get an FR-S as soon as it came out, but that stupid little interior jams my knee into the wheel, and I could never, ever drive it. Why, when the rest of the car is so perfect, am i robbed the driving pleasure thanks to tiny interior proportions!!??

Anyway,
tell me what you think.
love,
eric

Is the tc the only option you're willing to entertain? Hyundai and KIA are excellent creators of interior space and styling. A two door coupé in mind is the Veloster or Elantra GT that may remedy your complaints, wait for the new Forte coupe to come out. :)

I love the TC, especially the glass roof effect as you mentioned. But it definitely is no mazdaspeed by any means speed wise even with the TRD Supercharger. But definitely less common then the Mazda 3 which is a plus.

And are you a bigger guy? I just ask because im 6'3 and I have 0 problems driving my FRS

Tozer, I'm a very skinny, athletic guy who stands 6'10", so my legs are too long it seems for the FR-S' footwell. I thought perhaps with an aftermarket seat and rail I could drive it, but I'm not buying a brand new car only to require a mandatory upgrade like that just to 'see' if it works. I actually haven't even driven one. I sat in 2 different ones, and never got farther than that! I've had 3 supras, and lusted after the FR-S for a long time until it came out, but this single issue has crushed my dreams haha. On a similar note; I think the 3rd gen rx7 is about the sexiest little number on 4 wheels within the past few decades, but the no-tilt steering wheel locks my knee against it, causing any hopes of driving to flush away.

r4mi5awi, I do like the kia Forte Koup's style, I just have a stigma in my mind about owning any hyundai or kia stuff. My girlfriend was a soul, and I am fine if she gets one, but me personally owning one, I just feel like it's less than other companies. One reason being re-sale, along with perceived quality. I'm old fashioned that way yes, but again, if I buy a new car I want to actually like my purchase for awhile. I remember buying a 2008 mazda 3 GS sedan brand new, and it only took me a few hours to become disappointed. I realized that I should have gotten the GT. That feeling stuck with me throughout ownership.

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Originally Posted by Stretch

Tozer, I'm a very skinny, athletic guy who stands 6'10", so my legs are too long it seems for the FR-S' footwell. I thought perhaps with an aftermarket seat and rail I could drive it, but I'm not buying a brand new car only to require a mandatory upgrade like that just to 'see' if it works. I actually haven't even driven one. I sat in 2 different ones, and never got farther than that! I've had 3 supras, and lusted after the FR-S for a long time until it came out, but this single issue has crushed my dreams haha. On a similar note; I think the 3rd gen rx7 is about the sexiest little number on 4 wheels within the past few decades, but the no-tilt steering wheel locks my knee against it, causing any hopes of driving to flush away.

r4mi5awi, I do like the kia Forte Koup's style, I just have a stigma in my mind about owning any hyundai or kia stuff. My girlfriend was a soul, and I am fine if she gets one, but me personally owning one, I just feel like it's less than other companies. One reason being re-sale, along with perceived quality. I'm old fashioned that way yes, but again, if I buy a new car I want to actually like my purchase for awhile. I remember buying a 2008 mazda 3 GS sedan brand new, and it only took me a few hours to become disappointed. I realized that I should have gotten the GT. That feeling stuck with me throughout ownership.

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holy shit 6'10?!? how did u ever fit comfortably inside a mazda3?

The beauty of the 3 is its seat goes down several inches! It also goes back decently far, and the steering column tilts up and comes out, so it's a true shape-shifter cockpit. I sit with the seat all the way down, all the way back, and reclined a bit and I have several inches of head room.

Model for model, is Scion's resale value really on par with Toyota and better than Hyundai? With resale being a factor, if the Tc is gonna hold its value better than a comparable Elantra coupe or Veloster then those are the facts I guess. I can understand it being better than KIA. I must be hiding under a rock :(

I've driven my friends tc and it's boring as hell.

I'm not sure how the TC resale compares to a hyundai to be honest, I just never cared enough about that brand to want to care. I grew up with it being cheap, and many people still see it like that which will affect the resale more than the car. The TC's resale according to BlackBook is somewhat bad I must admit. OH! The veloster is quite a hideous creature. I would not own one, nor accept one as a gift.

You could always try for the focus ST?

ya my boys tc is slow as fack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! really not as roomy as the speed... if your gonna go that route buy a frs

6'10" = suburban on 24's

lol

Haha suburban. Think of the gas money!

If you don't mind used, or actually still new. The 2013-2014 Honda accord coupés aren't bad for a guy your size who wants a coupé. There's plenty still on dealer lots and a bargain can be had on a demo or 2013 model. Your resale value won't tank either.

Niether, get the Focus ST!

I have a 2012 TC at home that my pop drives. We had it for a year now and its been treating him very nicely. No problems at all and just had to do oil changes. Heres the pros and cons about the car.

Pros:
- car handles pretty well surprisingly
- not too bad on gas
- AC blows very cold
- the 6spd auto gear box is amazing
- the pan roof is just perfect for the summer days
- lots of room to put crap in
- car is very inexpensive with the stuff you get
- traction control works perfect in winter

cons
- cheap plastic inside which bothers me a lot
- audio system sounds cheap as well (base package)
- loud inside the cabin of the car
- steering wheel feels too light for my like.
- small front windshield for my like

Overall with that price tag you can't really go wrong with this car.

Here is what my friends 2011 6spd manual did on 1 tank of gas with pure 100% hwy

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/3799/i401.jpg

WHOA! look at that!

and thats with a 2.4. How big is the tank?

double post

the TC is actually a 2.5L. The tank is a 55L tank. My friend drove from TO to Montreal and back in 1 tank crusing 100-110km/h

Wtf Mazda?! :mad: lol

That's it. I got a 55L tank an only drive 100kph. I'm going to drive to Montreal and try and beat that

Edit: I've been thinking, the TC probably has an awesome 6th gear. In my car, in at around 2400rpm, if that were around 2000, you would just sip fuel. I'm pretty sure that's how corvettes can get decent highway km's

I can get about half that with the speed, all hwy km. sheesh!

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Originally Posted by Stretch

I can get about half that with the speed, all hwy km. sheesh!

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You also have twice the horse power lol... should have got a prius :P

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Originally Posted by pwdunmore

You also have twice the horse power lol... should have got a prius :P

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Diesels are best if your goal is highway fuel economy. The new 6 diesel is interesting as is the new diesel GTD from VW.

Trading your MS3 for a Scion-TC?

What do I think?

I think you may as well just cut your balls off now and change your name to Amanda.

I'd rather cut 6" off my own legs so I could fit into my MS3 before I'd even consider driving any car from the company that is synonomous with the cure for insomnia.