The new 2014 Scion tC marks the 10th anniversary of the brand.
For a youth-oriented brand, Scion is getting up in years. And it plans to celebrate its 10th anniversary with not only the launch of the 2014 Scion tC sports coupe, but also with the limited-production Scion 10 Series models.
Despite the strong demand for the new FR-S sports car, the tC remains Scion’s bread-and-butter model, accounting for a full 40% of its sales, according to Scion vice president Doug Murtha. No wonder the maker is putting such a bright spotlight on the introduction of the 2014 update.
The goal of maintaining that appeal “challenged designers to enhance the 2014 sports coupe in ways that keep it exciting to today’s drivers without losing its core appeal,” he said during the coupe’s New York Auto Show preview.
The 2014 model has a more assertive look, with distinctive new headlamps, a new hood and a more muscular grille. Lifting a theme its luxury sibling brand, Lexus, Scion adopts new LED accent lighting to set off the new tC’s headlamps. A few of the new design cues are borrowed from the FR-S, including the black-out valance and LED tail lamps. The 2014 Scion tC also gets new dark gray finished wheels.
Scion tC's new infotainment system with a 6.1-inch touchscreen
Inside the updated sports coupe follows industry trends with a more upscale interior that also is the first in the Scion family to adopt a 6.1-inch LCD touchscreen. That will be incorporated into all 2014 Scion models, in fact, making it the first non-premium brand to offer an audio system with touchscreen controls as standard equipment.
The base version will feature the Aha app and buyers can upgrade to full navigation and other features, including audiobooks, sports, news and social media apps.
The maker promises to deliver a sportier ride with the upgrade, which now makes 179 horsepower out of its 2.5-liter inline-four. The engine can be paired with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, which is claimed to deliver shifts twice as quickly as in the outgoing Scion tC.
The new sports coupe will reach showrooms by June.
Meanwhile, the Toyota youth brand plans to mark the start of its second decade by launching a limited-series version of each of its current models, the line-up to be known as the Scion 10 Series. There’ll be a unique silver paint, silver seatbelts, solar-powered illuminated shift knob and other features. Each vehicle also will get a sequentially numbered interior badge. The Scion 10 Series FR-S, meanwhile, will get HID headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lamps, dual auto climate control and a push-button ignition with smart key.