| Test Driver Ratings & Comments |
|---|
| Acceleration comments | Reasonable amount of torque means the car stumbles off the line with traction control on. With it off, the tC leaves with authority, but can't maintain it. Loud-ish engine/exhaust, quick-smooth upshifts, and it went slightly quicker when allowed to auto-upshift in manual mode. Sporty, but not a sports car. |
| Braking comments | Reasonably flat, always straight and with little noise or tire grind. Medium-hard pedal. |
| Handling comments | With ESC off on the skid pad, the tC goes into terminal understeer state where there's nothing for a driver to do about it. With ESC on, a single brake application tucks nose in for slightly better result. Steering offers little to no info. Feels like a spring. With the tC's propensity for dramatic lift-throttle oversteer still intact, it's no wonder ESC is now standard (and can only be defeated at standstill with a lengthy button hold. Good thing, because what starts out feeling sporty and controlled quickly turns into a tricky situation where the rear snaps loose. Leave ESC on and it dabs brakes for safety. |
| Safety |
|---|
| Front airbags | Standard |
| Side airbags | Dual front |
| Head airbags | Front and rear |
| Knee airbags | Dual front |
| Antilock brakes | Four-wheel ABS |
| Electronic brake enhancements | Braking assist, electronic brakeforce distribution |
| Traction control | Traction control |
| Stability control | Stability control |
| Tire-pressure monitoring system | Tire-pressure monitoring |
| NHTSA crash test, driver | Not tested |
| NHTSA crash test, passenger | Not tested |
| NHTSA crash test, side front | Not tested |
| NHTSA crash test, side rear | Not tested |
| NHTSA rollover resistance | Not tested |
| IIHS offset | Not tested |
