BEAUTIFUL VIEW

Strong enough for a man, but made for a young woman.

SAN DIEGO

HE tC IS SCION’S biggest success. Yes, it’s the brand’s all-time best-selling model, but that’s only half the story. If you remember, the whole point of Scion was to lure younger buyers to Toyota—and the tC’s buyer is the youngest in the industry. At twentyfour years old, he’s about half the age of the average new-car buyer.

Or should we say, “she”? You see, even though the tC initially appealed to male enthusiasts, its buyers gradually skewed female, and the take rate for the manual transmission dropped steadily. So what? A buyer is a buyer, right? Not so, say the marketing folks. As it turns out, you can design a car for guys, and girls will likely buy it, too. But if a model is branded a “chick car”? Well, guys will run in the other direction.

For its second-generation tC, Scion wants to get the stick-shift-buying enthusiast dudes back into the dealerships. And to do that, it put its sport coupe on an emergency lesstrogen program. With styling cues taken from the hypermasculine Fuse Coupe Concept unveiled at the 2006 New York auto show, the 2011 tC looks decidedly less cute and more aggressive.

It remains instantly recognizable as a tC, which is a good thing, because it

means that Scion learned its lesson from the xB, which alienated its young buyers

when it grew substantially for its second generation. The new tC matches its

predecessor in every exterior measurement except width, which has grown by a substantial 1.6 inches. No one ever complains about a sporty car being too wide—and the increased track (up 1.3 inches in front and 2.1 inches at the rear) helps give this tC a more substantial presence.

Standard eighteen-inch wheels don’t hurt, either.

The increased width also helps the interior feel more spacious. The contoured seats are still supportive but are an inch wider than before. A glass dual sunroof is

standard, and—with the exception of a red LED clock that looks straight out of the 1980s—the cabin is modern and attractive.

Unfortunately, the dashboard is a mishmash of hard plastics with three completely di erent grains, and the center armrest is rock hard. The steering wheel, on the other hand, now telescopes in addition to tilting and is a delightfully thick, leather-wrapped, fl at-bottomed a air with standard audio controls. It’s easily the highlight of the interior and is enough to make up for a multitude of material sins.

(Automobile Magazine)

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