2tone_xB

Ya'll are pimpin' then in the garage. :D

Kev_the_rev

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...hlight=#240966

old thread.. same topic

cad455

if it makes anyone feel better, i passed a brand spanking new mazda 3 being loaded onto a tow truck today. the owner looked bummed.

kyleb350

True, if you also look on caranddriver.com, they have a nice article describing the tC to competing cars, such as the 3. They also rate the tC performace better than the 3. Love the options on the tC for the price as well.

javastan

If you are planning to put any performance mods on the car go with the tC. My niegbor sells Mazdas and was telling me if you put a CAI on the 3 say goodbuy to your engine warranty. Scion sells the stuff to mod your car so they are obviously cool with the idea of some after market mods and not voiding the warranty. Plus the tC comes with a camry engine. It will run for a long time.

tcwannab

the ONLY reason i would get the mazda3 was if i needed 4 doors.... but if ya dont get the tC at least u didn't get a civic

DelayedTurbo

Get a MazdaSpeed 6...hehe...call it a day

bascelik

Drove both. 3 is sluggish on the low end, you'd need to rev it to get into the powerband. Not my cup of tea. With AC on, the distinction is even greater. If I was to add turbo to both, I'd like as much low end torque before turbo spools. So, for my particular taste, tC is an outright winner in both performance, amenities, and price.

bascelik

...oh, and to add, I doubt Mazda 3 will come out with FI solution that is warranteed. TRD supercharger for the Scion will put it way ahead of 3 in terms of performance.

Somnambulated

Funny someone should mention it... That exact Car and Driver article pretty much sold me on the tC!

http://caranddriver.com/article.asp?...&page_number=2

Mazda makes sporty feeling cars, but they don't always wear so well. I've known a few people who have been less than impressed with their overall 'value.'

Plus, if you're looking for any resale value, I would go with the Toyota. Toyota resale always stays high.

The tC feels solid, and if you expect to be driving around with your girl--or, shudder, kids--you'll feel a lot better about her slamming the crap out of your door in the tc than you will in the Mazda. The difference is like closing a safe versus closing a microwave door.

Whatever you decide, kudos to you for actually getting out and doing some research. Nothing says "live bait" like an uninformed buyer at a Dealership. Just remember: The tC is 17,800 comfortably equipped, with better features than a lot of sports coupes.

Personally, I test drove the Mercedes Benz C230 to compare to the tC, and even though I was offered the C230 for 20,000 through my dealership at the time, I still chose the Scion tC.

Blastedmax

I still am struggling between 3 and tC, and I did lot a research. Even though I didn't test drive any one of it, I believe tC has better performance overall.
For the price issue, even though 3 is little bit more expensive, you might save more money by getting 3.Why? first of all 3 has better mpg, and secondly insurance. While tC is counted as a sport car, 3 isn't. Also 3 has 4 doors, much more seating room than tC.
I would say Mazda 3 is a better car, but for some unknowing reason I would rather get a tC.[/list]

therotman

All you did was say the 3 will end up being cheaper in the long run.

Too bad you left out resale.

look up resale on a mazda, then do a toyota.

If you ever plan on selling your car the tC is a better deal.

You already like it better anyways

dante

plus the tC is a 2-door hatch, not a sports car (at least to State Farm).

sublime

I can accuratly compare the two because, well, we have both in my family. IMO the M3 has quite possibly one of the nicest interiors of any car in the 15-30k range. I love how the center console is arranged and how the buttons on the radio are setup. However with the tC the interior is almost bland. The one thing that Scion needs to do is add a much nicer standard shifter. Adding some silver to the shifter would help tie the whole interior together. I do like the flip down cover over the cd player, but it kind of feels plasticky and almost cheap. Maybe I need more time to play with the interior features on the tC when I get it, but I spent a lot of time just pushing buttons on both cars. However for sportyness and just pure sex appeal, the tC wins, hands down. I love the 17's, the headlights are bangle-esque designed, and the moonroof is freakin sick. All things considered the tC is a nicer car, not by much, but a nicer car.

zoltiz

I drove a coworkers 3s hatch couple of days ago - the Mz3's interior looked a tad cheaper than tC's. The shifter with chrome accent was a good idea, but the way they did it - it was tacky. They should have done like Celica GTS/Matrix/Rolla XRS are done - that's a nice shiftknob.

The doors on the 3 are light and tinny. tC feels like a Lexus compared to it. I did not like the gauges much either - font too big, gives it toy-ish look, but on the other hand tC's gauge color is not perfect either... Integrated CD player is kinda cool - nobody will try to jack it, and power/ suspension wise the 3 is excellent.

mredz

I'm also looking at the Mazda3 vs Tc. Essentially I can get them for close to the same price because I can get s-plan discount on the mazda. From what I've read the mazda 3 has better breaking performance and handling than the Tc. The other thing the makes a 3 more favorable is the 4yr 50k mile warrenty. Not that Mazdas or Toyotas break down much but its nice to know you've got a longer warrenty standard. I'm currently driving a Mazda Protege5. I like the look of the Tc more than the 3. So its still a toss up for me. I'm trying to figure out if my 17" rims will work on the Tc they have the 5x100 bolt pattern but they are a +48 offset, does anyone know? My P5:

ScummyMcOwnage

Its only a difference of about 3mm for the offset so it should be fine. What kind of wheels are those? I really like them.

dante

FYI, the Mazda is 4 year, 50k warranty for everything, tC is 3yr, 36k warranty bumper-to-bumper, and then 5yr 60k powertrain warranty. Sort of a toss-up, less b-to-b but longer powertrain.

I also looked hard at the A3, but chose the tC for the following reasons:

1) A3 has an integrated radio. didn't sound that good, and can't imagine replacing all of that area just to put in an aftermarket radio.
2) A3 more expensive. like 3k more, at least, possibly more for the same options as come standard on the tC (comparing 5-door). ties in with #3:
3) Sales guy was a complete douche. Toyota dealer on wed at about 8pm was packed, but we were asked 3-4x if we needed any help. At Mazda on thurs at 7pm, place was deserted and still had to flag someone down. didn't seem like they'd budge on price, even though they had a half-dozen 2004 5-doors in the lot ("Gee, we can't keep these in stock...")
4) Power MUCH better on the tC. While they're both comparable in high HP, the lower torque meant you had to keep the RPMs above 3500 or so to actually feel like you're getting anywhere. the tC just feels better driving at lower RPMs.

Overall, if the price had been similar, and we desperately had need of the extra space (cough cough, family, cough cough), I'd probably be driving an A3. But I love the tC, and haven't had any problems (knock on wood) so far, 2200 miles in a month and a half or so.

mredz

Go to my webpage to get a better look http://www.atcomdot.com/P5/. The Rims are RS Limited Elites in sandblack. They have a machined polished face, and the insides are a dark grey almost carbon fiberish in color. They really shine at night.

Synrax

I was on the fence for a Mazda3 and tC too. Initially I was leaning towards the M3 and only 1 dealer had the config I wanted. But the Mazda dealer acted like an ___ and that totally put me off. Another Mazda dealer had the car I wanted coming in the 2nd week of December. So I decided to wait. In the meantime I shopped around for another car. And by chance I came across the tC from web searching. Took a test drive and I was equally impressed.

So basically it came down to whichever car would come in first. And somehow the Scion dealer was able to pull through for me and got me one for the 3rd week of November. So looks like tC for me soon.