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06' scion tc or 06' civic EX??

3K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  lookimliam 
#1 ·
hey guys,

I just want to know,
what do you guys think about the 06' Scion TC, compare to the CIvic EX...not the si.

price?
style/ exterior?
interior?
engine?
reliability?

Thanks guys..
 
#2 ·
mobius1civ said:
hey guys,

I just want to know,
what do you guys think about the 06' Scion TC, compare to the CIvic EX...not the si.

price?
style/ exterior?
interior?
engine?
reliability?

Thanks guys..
I did a test drive of both and here is what I think of the Scion TC:

The plastic cover that comes down over the radio seems really cheap, will break soon.

Price is good; but the old addage holds true, you get what you pay for.

Drove an autmatic and pick up and go was good. Good engine feel.

Interior head space was ok for front seats, but horrible for back seat. I am only 5'6" and my head was hitting the ceiling. :(

As for the 06 Civic EX, I currently have one on order! :) 4 more weeks to go.
 
#3 ·
mobius1civ said:
hey guys,

I just want to know,
what do you guys think about the 06' Scion TC, compare to the CIvic EX...not the si.

price?
style/ exterior?
interior?
engine?
reliability?

Thanks guys..
price? Scion
style/ exterior? Civic
interior? Civic
engine? Civic although scion has more power, its just damn loud.
reliability? DEFINATELY civic.
 
#5 ·
06Ex said:
price? Scion
style/ exterior? Civic
interior? Civic
engine? Civic although scion has more power, its just damn loud.
reliability? DEFINATELY civic.
Toyota/scion has great reliability...partly due to sharing it's engine with the Toyota Camry.


After having driven both now (manual transmission), I can say the exterior styling is a matter of opinion over whether you want clean classic lines or futuristic looks, but the interior looks a little cleaner, albeit less driver intuitive, in the Scion (Civic's Side Air-bags are standard; $650 option for Scion). The EX's backseat is actually useful versus the Scion's, plus, you just can't beat Scion's accessory department. TRD parts, including the Supercharger, covered under a factory warranty, would bring it to just about the price of an EX. Understeer and body roll is pretty profound without the suspension upgrades and the tires don't hold for crap. So it all depends on what you're looking for. They're both are good cars from great companies. I'd say look at what's available now, what'll be available in the future and go from there.
 
#6 ·
skittleslegend said:
...TRD parts, including the Supercharger, covered under a factory warranty, would bring it to just about the price of an EX. Understeer and body roll is pretty profound without the suspension upgrades and the tires don't hold for crap...


I'm just wondering how much is the supercharger upgrade for scion tc, including installation?
i know its a little bit off topic here, but hey,
i rather get the scion then if the price comes out to be the same...
 
#9 ·
Travis said:
I drove both. Bought a civic. Scion is ugly compared to the civic. I think the civic is faster, stops better, rides better, quieter, handles better. The scion does come with alot of options standard which is cool, but I have no regrets.
I wasn't advocating for the Scion. lol. The Civic is a much more refined car. Honestly, I think it's competition isn't even the TC, it's the Mazda 3. Those are the two most refined and well designed of all the cars in that entry to mid level car market, in which Honda would still come out on top, for various reasons, including reliability. Granted Mazda has some great cars, including the RX7 (FD) and the Miata but that's about it. In my own experiences, the RX8 isn't as great a car as people say it is. It's kewl but it's definitely not a step up from the RX7, in terms of performance. So now that I've gotten off topic, I'll state my original intent:

I was just trying to put things in a different light, and point out things people might consider buying the car for from a consumer-perspective.
 
#10 ·
skittleslegend said:
Toyota/scion has great reliability...partly due to sharing it's engine with the Toyota Camry.
I have no doubt that Toyota has a good quality record, but i have found in my many years that Honda's and Toyota's driven properly will have less problems than any other cars. However, my Honda's have significantly outlastted my toyota's including 2 - 4Runners, 1 Corolla, and 1 avalon.

My civic, S2000, Accord, and my new civic have my vote for reliability.
 
#11 ·
mobius1civ said:
hey guys,

I just want to know,
what do you guys think about the 06' Scion TC, compare to the CIvic EX...not the si.

price?
style/ exterior?
interior?
engine?
reliability?

Thanks guys..
I actually had a tC on order. I drove the demo (special edition in red) and loved it. It was a great looking car with Toyota reliability. Then the new Civics came out. I was on my way to the Toyota/Scion dealership to talk to my salesman when I spotted the new Civics sitting out front, they were so radically different that I stopped and test drove one. Well lets just say that I have an '06 Civic Coupe in Galaxy Gray sitting out in my garage. The handling and interior styling alone won me over. It is my third Civic and fourth overall Honda, so I know that the reliability factor is high.
 
#14 ·
skittleslegend said:
The EX's backseat is actually useful versus the Scion's,
Skittles, I think just the opposite here. I have a friend with an '05 tC and having ridden in that a few times, as well as having driven the EX, I think there is more room in the tC, at least from my knees to the back of the front seat. On the other hand if you mean the horrid height of the window in the rear of the tC I completly agree...if you are tall the back seat of the tC is NOT a place to be as your head will be bouncing on the hatch window.

The 'seat memory' on the drivers seat of the tC does not work worth a damn either; it seems to always be one or two notches off when you set the seat back in place. 5th gear is also too short. RPMs are way to high at 80mph. Fun little car though, feels like you have more bottom end grunt than you actually have, but fun to zing around corners nonetheless :) I think if you cold get the TRD springs/struts and S/C factory (options of course) and keep it under $22K ($21,995) it might be a good draw for the younger crowd.

On the EX I think my favorite thing was the clutch/shifting. Going from gear to gear the stick felt like it was floating in liquid.

Does the EX having the 'New Honda Smell' count as a plus also? Heh.
 
#15 ·
Go With The CiviC EX

I'm like most on here. I checked out the TC but then chose the civic. I've got an 06 EX coupe with nav in black. Tint, aero kit and 17" wheels. I gets heads turning all day long. It rides so much smoother than the older civic, I used to have an 01. Yeah the tc has 160hp but the civics 140 is a good base that you can build on once the aftermarket parts come out. The nav is really sweet. All my friends and coworkers always tell me how nice it looks. The neighbors even commented... I'll post pics once I get some good shots.

mobius1civ said:
hey guys,

I just want to know,
what do you guys think about the 06' Scion TC, compare to the CIvic EX...not the si.

price?
style/ exterior?
interior?
engine?
reliability?

Thanks guys..
 
#16 ·
Janizary said:
Skittles, I think just the opposite here. I have a friend with an '05 tC and having ridden in that a few times, as well as having driven the EX, I think there is more room in the tC, at least from my knees to the back of the front seat. On the other hand if you mean the horrid height of the window in the rear of the tC I completly agree...if you are tall the back seat of the tC is NOT a place to be as your head will be bouncing on the hatch window.

The 'seat memory' on the drivers seat of the tC does not work worth a damn either; it seems to always be one or two notches off when you set the seat back in place. 5th gear is also too short. RPMs are way to high at 80mph. Fun little car though, feels like you have more bottom end grunt than you actually have, but fun to zing around corners nonetheless :) I think if you cold get the TRD springs/struts and S/C factory (options of course) and keep it under $22K ($21,995) it might be a good draw for the younger crowd.

On the EX I think my favorite thing was the clutch/shifting. Going from gear to gear the stick felt like it was floating in liquid.

Does the EX having the 'New Honda Smell' count as a plus also? Heh.
That back window was a pain because when I stopped by the dealer, I had a friend with me, so the sales guy sat in the back. It was a pain to see anything because he was about 6'3...I know he was cramped back there, because he had long legs. I also sat back there when we got back and found that my legs/feet were comfortable enough for grocery store runs but around here, everything worth getting to is at least 30-40 miles away. For a 20 year old, I have terrible knees. I took the car over night and had my girlfriend drive us home and found that my knees hurt from the angle they were bent. She's pretty tall for a girl. But if you have a longer upper body and good knees :p it's probably easier to manage back there. And yeah, 5th gear is way too short. They could've gotten another couple of miles out of the car.
 
#18 ·
price :
scion tC is only $16500, and you can get s/c for another $3500 with factory warranty which is great. The price then will be the same as the new SI, but it's really your choice. tC has more torque, and SI has less.

style/ exterior
For style, I'd go with Civic, but tC is also nice.

interior
Many said tC's interior is crap, but hey .... you pay only $16500 and you're expecting to get more? Use your brain a bit more please. Civic is wayyyyy more expensive and of course! you get more. Some people just can't think.

engine
If you want more torque, then go with tC. If you want more milleage on the gas, go with Civic. Both are strong.

reliability
Both are great.

handling
Civic

I'm not one brand fanatic like some people.
When people have Honda, they tend to make fun of other car, but actually every car has plus and minus.
Not all Honda are perfect, and toyota are not either.
 
#20 ·
I agree with your opinion Chobits of the Scion t/C. This will be the first foreign car owned in my family. My brother leased an Accord about 3 years ago. I got to ride in that car a few times and loved it! That is why I decided to look at foreign cars when I finally decided to look for a new car for my own!
 
#23 ·
I was in the same situation about a month ago before I got my civic. Basically I just looked at all of the options. And it really just came down to price for my decision, because they were both looked good in there own way and both had unique appealing. I like the idea of factory performance parts, but also I like knowing that there will always be a market for my civic.

But heres the breakdown i came too. Taking a TC stock and trying to upgrade it to an Civic EX

TC manual
MSRP 16,200
Security +469
SRS and side Airbags +650
Lip Spoiler +380
Sub +449
Upgraded Radio +449
Aux Input+249
Total 18,846

While Civic Ex Manual is 18,200 MSRP

So they were about even until the dealer took $1000 off MSRP for the civic and gave me $500 more for trading in my 03 vic.

And just note that performance parts such as superchargers and CAI cannot be financed. So if you want them you will have to pay outta pocket. TDR CAI is around $500 and s/c around $3500. About the same as a turbo for the civic, if they develop one.
 
#25 ·
i drove both cars, i liked both couldnt really complain about them but then i also sat in the back seat of both cars and even though the scion has reclining backseats, it doesnt matter the way the window comes down, your still smacking your head on it, but when im in the civic 2 door i feel fine with a lil room to spare, i have sit a little low in my seat since im 5`10 but im not complaining. much better then my 98 integra, that back seat was horrid. i also felt the scion was unsafe. where it is a toyota which is a very respectable brand, the first thing i did when i saw it was knock on the sides of the outside over the rear wheel, it felt very tinney, not solid like when i knocked on the civic. the civic was thin to but felt safer to me then the scion especially with the side airbags. i check the sides because on my integra my friends 110 pound bf leaned against it and left a nice dent in the side so now its one of the first things i check. when it came down to my decision for the cars it came down to, mazda 3, tc, ion 170hp, civic ex. the ion interior i found boring, i thought it looked cool and had the 4 door coupe but that wa all it had going so that ws out, the scion i didnt feel safe in but the mazda was close, i could have gone both ways but went for the civic because it was 2 doors which was what i wanted, and something about 40mpg just cries to me.
 
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