| 2011 Scion tC vs 2010 Kia Forte Koup | April 2, 2010 | AUTORIVALS.NET |
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| Six years is a lifetime in the auto
industry. That's how long it took for the tC to finally be
redesigned after a long successful run of the first generation.
The other recent budget compact coupe newsmaker is the Kia Forte Koup which has been getting its fair share of attention lately. The new tC gets a sleeker design compared to the bulbous first generation. The first generation had a more gender-neutral design where drivers ranged anywhere between pubescent teenagers to meno-pausal woman. Even though it was youth-oriented, both male and female drivers of all ages were attracted to the tC. The new tC has a more masculine, sporty feel to it that seems it'll go after the original demographic it was intended for. |
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| 2011 Scion tC | vs | 2010 Kia Forte Koup |
 While there's still a slight resemblance to the first generation tC, the new gen looks more modern and sleeker. Curves are replaced by sharper edges all around which gives the tC a more aggressive look. The tC sits lower than before and when matched with the pushed-out fenders, the tC looks wider and lower than the Forte Koup despite being taller. |
 The Forte still looks fresh and aggressive despite debuting a year before the tC. The hood is sculpted nicely by the fenders to give a unified look. The headlights could benefit from projector headlamps though like the tC has. The black cladding on the bumper is also a misfortunate design element on an otherwise very attractive car. |
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| The tC gets fitted with 18-inch wheels this time (an inch larger than before) but have the same exact design as the previous gen. That's good news though considering the tC's wheels are some of the best looking in this price range and outshine the Forte's black and silver wheels. | ||
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| The hatchback body remains thankfully for added space and convenience but the shape has become more rigid rather than domical. The augmented cabin is designed with passenger space in mind which creates an extruded roofline that has a slight resemblance to the almighty Nissan GT-R. The blacked-out A-pillar is a GT-R trademark as is the squared-off roofline. Scion calls the cabin shape "helmet-inspired," not exactly the sexiest description. The tC doesn't pull off the look quite as well as the GT-R with a tall height and short length body that makes the tC look disproportioned at first glance. It'll grow on you after awhile though if you let it. The C-pillar is larger than before and has more interesting angles than the Forte's large C-pillar but is larger than it should be. | ||
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| The tC rear deck remains short and
even though it's a hatchback, it still keeps the coupe shape.
There's some subtle but nice design elements such as the
indentations on the hatch next to the taillights. The taillights
look better than the 2010 tC but not as clean as the original
2005 tC. Let's hope Scion doesn't try and make the new ones look
like cheesy aftermarket pieces when the mid-cycle refresh comes
around. The squared-off corners help in giving the tC more
visual distinction than before. The Forte's rear has a sporty look to it with twin exhaust pipes and black diffuser. The taillights look slicker than the tC's with a simple red and white pattern and a wide, short shape. |
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| The tC's interior bears no resemblance to its predecessor which is a shame because even though the first gen wasn't the most expensive looking design, it was clean and attractive. The new interior is more driver-oriented with a V-shape design where the instrument panel and center console face inward toward the driver. The big news is the flat-bottom steering wheel but the rest of the design doesn't seem quite as polished as before. For instance, the HVAC controls and radio aren't integrated as nice as they could be. At least the tC doesn't disappoint with it's feature list which includes eight standard airbags, USB input stereo with eight speakers, and vast panoramic roof. | ||
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PROS +More masculine shape +Looks sleeker than before CONS -Oddly shaped roofline -Interior isn't as polished as the last gen |
PROS +Attractive all around +Sporty looking rear CONS -Black cladding on front bumper -Ugly wheels |
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| Video Source: Inside Line via YouTube |
| 2011 Scion tC | vs | 2006 Scion Fuse Concept |
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| The tC actually doesn't share many design cues from the Fuse concept debuted back in 2006 which the tC was suppose to be based upon. The only similarity is the roofline and side window silhouette. | ||
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