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Honda Civic Coupe vs. Scion tC

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Comments

  • joem5joem5 Member Posts: 201
    I have to use the mirrors on My Type S alot due to high back seats and hate the blind spots.
    Are the Civic Si and TC the same? I think I noticed on the TC the rear side windows have a two piece design.
    Also, what's the difference beside no brake dust on ceramic brakes than semi metalic?
    I only have 40k,but want get away from Acura because of cheap leather and paint.Honda's seem to be noted for that,let alone low end torque :)
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    you are proably the only person i've ever heard comment on cheap paint and leather from the likes of acura! :confuse:
  • joem5joem5 Member Posts: 201
    No, the Type S is an entry model. So alot of people have told me to expect cheap leather on my car. I have had the front seat replaced under warranty,because it cracked open. My Integra's did the same. They have a kidney design that rubs when getting in and out. Go to some Honda forums and alot of people will tell you they'll give up the paint quality for the bullet proof reputation Honda engines have and reliability. :)
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    what type s do you have? they have never been 'entry models' usually better peforming and more expensive models of existing ones. i'm certain it an older one or an rsx (which is hardly luxury to begin with, but a great performance car), because that still would not suit the description of say, the new tl type s.

    their engines are amazing though.
  • joem5joem5 Member Posts: 201
    The RSX is the entry level into Acura,it's the base model. I have a RSX Type S, the next model up is the TSX
    The RSX is being discontinued this year.The RSX took the place of the Integra . :)
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    i figured this is what you were talking about.

    having said that i've never knew they were known for bad paint...they'ved always seemed fine to me.

    Actually the rsx was discontinued last year.
  • themistoclesthemistocles Member Posts: 95
    tough call, I have a Civic Si coupe, and Id take the Si coupe over the scion tc ANYDAY. Id still probably take the civic coupe over the scion tc, just because of reliability. Ive test driven the scion tc a couple times, its a decent car, with a 2.4 liter 160 hp engine over the civics 1.8 liter 140 hp, it will perform a little better than the civic. But i bet you the civic will last longer and get better gas mileage for sure. I also really like the look of the civic coupe, especially with the added front lip and side skirts. considering the 2.4 liter engine in the scion tc, i thought it would have a little more umph, but it really is pretty gutless. theres lots of mods you can do to the scion tc, readily available, but even with the supercharger, it really isnt all that powerfull.

    I would go the honda route, more reliable, last you longer, better gas mileage. I highly recommend the Si version though. Si will still get 30-32 mpg on the freeway, and has features a high end car has, but is only 21,000 or 24,000 if you get navi.

    good luck to ya :D
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    i guess it depends on what you mean by 'performance'. the tc's engine is geared horribly and not in a sporting manner at all; a civic with a manual could defintely hold its own.

    lets not even get into handling, roadfeel, or gas mileage.
  • dmac12000dmac12000 Member Posts: 4
    Hondas have a good reputation of being reliable cars. Honda has made the civic for yrs and SOOO many people are incredibly happy with their civics. People buy scions cause they believe toyota is the most reliable car company. The scion tC was set to target hondas market of customers.
    Honda has the customer service to handle issues with their vehicles. Toyota doesnt care about their younger customer at ALL and try to screw you anywhere they can. DONT buy a SCION tC!!! they forgot to assemble them and try to charge you for everything on the car that stops working. The tC rattles everywhere. By the time youre old enough to drive you dont want to think of your car as a toy that may fall apart and toyota doesnt warn customers that SOME ASSEMBLY IS REQUIRED. Forbes has rated the tC as #19 on their worst cars list. My SCION tC would have made #1 on that list.
  • mark19mark19 Member Posts: 123
    and somehow all those cheap, sleazy honda dealers actually care about the customer too? Don't let this post fool everyone, Honda dealers are NO better than the cheap Toyota dealers either!

    Honda customer dis-service, What happened to all those Accord owners who had to go and get class action lawsuit status before Honda even replaced all those defective transmissions? hmmm.. yes doesn't sound like "Customer service" at all! So don't be saying that Honda is so great, because they are not.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    the fact that you are grouping all honda dealers together is just as bad as him thinking that all tc's are bad.

    you are both the same.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    I thought this was a conversation about Civics and tCs, not their sales and service staff.
  • zazuzazu Member Posts: 1
    I drove my 1982 Toyota Celica for 20 years. I now have an 88 Honda Civic (no air, no power windows or power brakes or power steering, no cup holders, a stick shift, one side view mirror, unpowered) and want to get a new car. Toyotas are good, Hondas are good, as a whole. Dealers are dealers. I test drove an 07 Civic LX and loved the feel of driving it (and all that power stuff and air and cup holders!) and great brakes. I want to test drive the Scion tC next.

    My issues are: I'd like good gas mileage. I drive mostly around town (3 miles to work in So. Calif). I want to spend minimum money on my small budget. I want dependability and few repair bills. I want to drive up to Napa to see my mother once in a while. I'm 58 and don't need to show off or prove that I'm not afraid to go over speed bumps at 60 mph. I want a long-lasting, comfortable car.

    The Civic seemed like a big car to me. I couldn't tell where the front and back of the car ended - and changing lanes to the right was tricky. I don't want to spend so much time looking to change lanes safely that I run into the back of the car in front of me.

    Consumer Reports rated both cars as Recommended (but misprinted the EPA for tC as 22/40 when it should be more like 23/30 according to epinion.com). I read that paint is chipping, the plastic that lines the doors gets scratched up easily, there are problems with clutches, blind spots, uncomfortable seats, etc. I'm not sure what to think.

    How many test drives does it take to choose? I feel like keeping my 88 Civic until it falls apart at this point. Please advise. Thanks.
  • mark19mark19 Member Posts: 123
    zazu-
    Well I've noticed a trend lately, cheaper and cheaper are how the auto manufacturers are going. Your 88 Civic was a tank! I know that generation of civics and they are legendary! Lots of people will jump all over me for this, but I believe that Toyota and Honda have been cutting corners to make more money lately. The tC, yes you have heard correctly, the manual transmission has trouble, notchy gears, clutches dying before 12,000 miles, entire manual transmissions being replaced. The transmission in the celica had a lot of problems too.

    The tC paint issue? that was for 05, most of them have been fixed now. They even dropped some colors, I suspect because they were poor quality and chipping. The plastic inside the door? It's a surface that can be marred by shoes, but also can be rubbed out easily with rubbing compound if you can believe it! The seats are very comfortable indeed, just takes some time to tweak the seat, once you have it, it's very comfortable. Blind spots? Right rear, but you get used to it, it's because of the large C-pillar. The rattles can be fixed with foam tape, just have to locate and apply.

    I agree with you keeping your 88 Civic, I am sad to say that Honda continues to go cheaper and cheaper with their quality. Even going as far as to ignore owners, until a class action lawsuit showed up (accord). The 06 Civic had 6 recalls by the way, for things like the manufacturing plant forgetting to GLUE the side and rear windows in on the line! ouch! Then acelerator pedals that are faulty (it's drive by wire now, faulty sensors), air bags that aren't working, and some others.

    But if you're not satisfied with either car, I'd suggest waiting and seeing what Saturn has coming up. The astra is a new car they're bringing over from Europe. Comes in a 5 door (hatchback) and a 3 door hatchback. And yes comes in a manual transmission model. Not sure of the gas mileage, but if you can hold out, be something interesting to look into. Same horsepower as the lx civic, 140hp. I think the Astra is here in September or October have to ask your Saturn dealer.

    Thought I'd give you the truth instead of people who are clouded by the fact it's a "Toyota" or it's a "Honda".
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    ill offer you some truth, by being an actual owner of an 06 civic, and not some 'they got a recall!' reader.

    the only problem i had with my 06 was a sunvisor.

    anyway, back to the issue at hand, the quality in the tc is ok, the civic is better.

    if gas is the issue, stay away from the tc, the civic will own it all over town.
  • pd83pd83 Member Posts: 8
    hey..im gonna be buying a new car soon. i know this is topic for civic vs tC however theres no topic for my comparison .I am looking at the 08 tC and the 07 Accord coupe 4 cylinder(the 08 accord coupe is outta my price range) which car do u think is better? both have around the same hp (166 vs 161). the accord is a lil bigger. the tC does come with more features. what would u choose? ne advice/insight would be great. thanks!
  • eddie200112eddie200112 Member Posts: 2
    after 2 months of personal deliberation between the 08 tC the 07 civic ex coupe and the 07 accord coupe, i decided on the scion tC. and so far i couldnt be happier. i didnt buy the accord because i felt very cramped in it i am 6'1" the tC and the civic were the same feeling spaciously. i liked the exterior styling on the tC a bit more than the civic and the accord.and the extra horsepower was good too. all three cars have crummy blind spots in the rear, but i guess thats unavoidable with small cars. beleive me its hard to get used to driving such a smaller car from the boat i was driving before this(1994 dodge intrepid). The interior styling on the tc ill admit is a little bland. i do like the new civics speedometer styling but i think the way the shifter is placed and designed looks incredibly tacky on the civic. as off how easy the plastic in the tC scuffs up, well its a new car and honestly all cars under $30,000 nowadays have that cheap plastic even the civic and accord. there is no vibration on the tc except when u have the moon roof all the way up and u hit a big bump it will rattle for a second. overall i think the two cars are very similiar and i woulda been happier with either, but everyone has a civic and how lame is that so i went with my scion. ps and the insurance on the scion is cheaper tooo :)
  • jonipomz27jonipomz27 Member Posts: 2
    I just purchased an '08 Civic Si coupe.
    I DIDN'T purchase a Tc because i'm not a chick, and i didn't purchase an overpriced Type-S (even though i tested it) becuase it is now an antique :cry: . There is one reason for it's extinction, it's called the Civic Si. Checkmate :P .
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    I DIDN'T purchase a Tc because i'm not a chick

    brilliant. NO man can deny that the scion is a total chick car. (and a horrendously common one at that.)
  • eddie200112eddie200112 Member Posts: 2
    funny ive never seen a chick driving a tc, but ive seen a lot of chicks and old women driving civics hmmm..
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Let's just talk about the cars themselves and stop the sweeping generalizations about who drives them.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    sorry pat!

    (but its totally true! in my neck of the woods its more like 'whoa, a GUY driving a t/c! Wheres the camera!?) ;)
  • doan4udoan4u Member Posts: 105
    Nothing wrong with Tc Scion.
    Civic is more sexy than TC Scion. :shades:
    Here the proof...My friend won The Scion vs. Civic Meet in LA.

    http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k264/chinh4u/HoustonMeetJune2ndMeet066.jpg
    http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k264/chinh4u/Picture036.jpg
    :P ;)
    PS....The silver sedan Civic is mine :)
  • yoonakawrnyoonakawrn Member Posts: 7
    Sorry, but I find it hard to believe that ALL Honda customer service is handing all of their issues. As a matter of fact, I have a hard time thinking that any car company does. My experience with my TC has been nothing but superb. At around 40k miles, I have only had a loose side mirror occur. This mirror was replaced by Toyota service with no gripes, grumbles, or glitches. I paid NOTHING. So that ruins your "all Toyota locatins/service areas are thieves and trying to charge for repairs" rant.

    Facts are:
    Both cars are reliable.
    Both cars have good fuel economy (Civic is better).
    Scion TC insurance is cheaper.
    Scion TC maintenance is cheaper.
    Both cars come from strong backgrounds. (Honda/Toyota)

    I was on the fence with TC or Civic. I chose TC after going to check out the civics. Both companies are highly recommended car manufacturers. What put the TC over the Civic was it's "bang for the buck". All I wanted was a small, reliable car with a little bit of "umph". Both cars have it, depending on transmission. BOTH cars are good choices. I really don't think you could go wrong with either. And neither far surpasses the other in any situation.
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