As in previous years, Scion's sporty tC coupe offers only one engine for 2010: Toyota's 2.4-liter 2AZ-FE engine, shared with the Toyota Corolla XRS, Matrix XRS, and Scion xB.
The 2AZ-FE is unchanged for 2010. As before, it is a 16-valve inline four with an aluminum block and head, cast-iron cylinder liners, and chain-driven dual overhead camshafts, with Toyota's VVT-i variable valve timing on the intake cam. It has a total displacement of 2,362 cc, with twin counter-rotating balance shafts for smoothness. In the tC, it is rated at 161 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque.
Despite the tC's sporty mission, torque is the 2AZ-FE's real raison d'être -- no surprise, since versions of this engine have also been used in the four-cylinder Camry, Highlander, and RAV4, as well as Japanese- and European-market Toyota minivans. Many smaller engines can match the 2AZ-FE's 161 horsepower, but not its mid-range muscle. With twin balance shafts, the 2AZ-FE is also very smooth for a big four-cylinder engine. The penalty is fuel economy; the tC's EPA combined rating is only 23 mpg with manual transmission, 24 mpg with automatic. That is slightly worse than Honda's 197-hp Civic Si coupe, although unlike the Civic Si, the tC does not require premium fuel.
In past years, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) offered a dealer-installed supercharger kit for the tC, boosting it to around 200 horsepower, but TRD's catalog does not list kits for 2009 or 2010 models. That may be because Toyota is phasing out the 2AZ-FE in favor of the 2.5-liter 2AR-FE engine, currently used in the RAV4 and Camry.
The current tC dates back to 2004, and there are rumors that Toyota will replace it in 2011 with a new rear-drive coupe, powered by a Subaru-designed 2.0-liter flat four with about 200 horsepower.
