Review of the Scion xB

So it has been about a week since I returned the xB.  It's given me some time reflect on my experience.  Also, being Christmas, I've been rather busy.  Anyway, time to sum up my time with the xB.

The car itself was a 2011 Scion xB in Sizzling Crimson Metallic.  It had a number of nice additions.  You may, or may not, be aware that Scions come from the factory with very few options - most anything you want is installed by the dealer.  As I understand it, the only two factory options are transmission and leather/heated seats.  This car fortunately had a manual transmission (5-speed) and the leather seats.  I was a little surprised to find that the rear seats were in leather, as well - and the fronts were heated.


Other options included the Alpine stereo, a TRD carbon fibre shift knob, TRD exhaust, TRD lowering springs and 17" Scion rims wearing 225/45R17 Bridgestone Potenzas.

TRD Exhaust

TRD Shift Knob

Overall, the driving experience was very pleasant.  The clutch was light and shifting between gears was fairly direct.  The location of the shifter was new to me, as it was located higher up - almost in a rally-type position.  Turned out to be comfortable and no cause for concern.  There is an optional quickshift kit, which is something I might invest in as this is a car I would autocross.


The lowering springs added a very nice level of stiffness to the suspension.  It was by no means "hard", but you could definitely feel that the suspension was tighter.  I quite liked it, but it may not be for everybody.  The springs also helped keep the xB level through corners.  It cornered much flatter than the boxier shape suggested to me that it would.  I might be inclined to add the optional front and rear swaybars, again due to my autocross intentions.


The manually-adjustable leather seats were a nice fit and I found them to be comfortable.  The heating function worked well, with its two levels of heat.  Certainly a nice feature in the winter months.  The steering wheel is adjustable for both height and distance from the driver (telescoping).  I've read that the telescoping feature is new for 2011, and it is much appreciated.

The optional Alpine stereo was a nice touch, though it doesn't add any functionality, as iPod/USB/Aux is all standard.  What it did was add a touchscreen, which made it easier to navigate through the iPod options.  The screen itself was very customizable, with different colours and patterns available.


The steering wheel also had audio controls.  The buttons controlled the volume, switched between audio sources and flipped through songs.  All very useful to have on the wheel.

The interior space of the xB was remarkable.  This is a small car, yet the space inside made it feel much larger than it was.  My wife remarked that it felt like "riding in a truck", there was so much space.  The sole backseat passenger had plenty of room for her legs - she couldn't even kick the back of the front passenger seat.  There is plenty of room back there for adults, even.

The dash layout was really my only gripe about the interior of the xB. The Scion features a centre-mounted dash.  What this means is that the instrument panel (IP) is located in the centre of the dash, rather than in front of the driver.  The theory is that drivers will spend more time looking at the road, rather than the IP.  Personally, I found that it took me longer to check my speed.  This was also in part due to the digital speedo, which I needed to focus on more to read the numbers rather than glancing at a typical analog speedo and getting an idea of my speed.  I did get more use to the layout by the end of my test drive, but I still would prefer the traditional location and analog dials.

Overall, the Scion xB was a very nice car to drive.  The suspension upgrades made a very nice improvement to the ride and handling.  It seems to perfectly fit my lifestyle at the moment.  It has utility, due to the hatchback design and folding seats.  It also has some sportiness, with the ability to upgrade the suspension.  The xB represents a very good bang for your buck.  This car starts at $18,270.  I've priced one out with the options that I would choose - lowering springs, sway bars, exhaust - and it is out the door for under $26,000, including your taxes.  That's pretty good value for Toyota quality.  So,  is it a car I would buy?  A definite YES.


PHOTOS:

Large rear hatch.

Integrated turn signal in the side mirror.