By Paul Niedermeyer
May 14, 2007 -
Having wrested the title “world’s largest car manufacturer” from General Motors, Toyota’s already committing some of the same mistakes that brought GM down. The all-new 2008 Scion xB is a blot on Toyota’s relatively unblemished copybook. It bristles with classic GM-think: dumb it down, fatten it up and cheapen it out.
The original xB was a brilliant design, an instant cult-classic, as iconic as the first VW Beetle. The box fresh box elicited the same emotional responses as the old bug: children, freshly-minted motorists and the young at heart all loved it. The xB was barely longer than a MINI and almost as much fun to drive, with the accommodations of a Tahoe and 30-plus mpg.
If the last gen xB evoked images of a lacquered bento box lunch, the new xB evokes a big, sloppy hamburger wrapped in greasy paper. Toyota’s drive to assimilate into the American heartland is relentless; its Texas Tundra brand BBQ sauce-stained fingerprints are all over this little porker.
The xB has gained 650 pounds, a foot in length, and three inches in width. Obviously, there’s a price to pay at the gas pump for that corn-fed heft. EPA numbers are down almost 25 percent for the city cycle (’06 adjusted), from 28 to 22 mpg.
That xB’s extra 12 inches are totally wasted; it all goes to making the hood longer. More room to mount a set of Texas steer horns? And since height is reduced, the XB actually loses usable passenger space.
The throne-like seating position has lost four inches of leg room. Headroom has also diminished. Ditto the back seat, where my 6’4” frame once sat in limo-comfort, with a good four inches of clearance to the front back-rest. Now my knees graze the horrendously cheap-feeling fabric of the front seats.
The xB’s front seats might as well have been lifted straight out of a 1971 Chevy Vega. Where the old thrones were nicely bolstered and contoured, with a nubby textural two-tone fabric, the new ones are molded blobs covered in a dreary monolithic black fabric. The Chevy Aveo’s seats put these to shame.
Toyota must have scored a volume deal from GM for vintage interior molds; the door panels are now harder than a trigonometry quiz. The xB’s lamentable polymerization also includes the upper arm-rest surface where my elbow likes to rest. At least the Vega had a little cushion there.
The xB’s interior package suffers mightily from the reshaped dimensions, the new seating position and the new model's higher belt-line. The xB’s superb view– favored by many of its elderly patrons– has been cruelly reduced. Now one sits deep and low, Hummer style, peering out gun-slit windows. And less of them: the rear three-quarter windows have disappeared.
The cute, perfectly positioned, oval-shaped analog instrument cluster that once perched atop the xB’s artistically shaped and textured dash has been replaced by four small oval, orange-lit displays. They're buried low and deep in the middle of the ponderous dash. The nervously-flashing digital speedometer is yet another 1980’s GM throw-back.
The new XB has the Camry’s 2.4-liter 158hp engine. It’s a competent and smooth mill that makes the new xB a faster vehicle, but a less engaging one. The old XB’s little 1.5-liter engine had an eager willingness and mechanical presence that made every trip to the pizzeria fun, especially with the stick.
In another GM-esque move, the Camry’s five-speed automatic didn’t make the bean-counter’s cut; the xB’s old four-speed slushbox soldiers on. Buyers opting for the manual tranny now row their boat with a shifter that protrudes from a large extension from the bottom of the dash– which enhances the perception of lost interior real estate. Equally annoying, the vague-acting clutch pedal sticks up higher than the brake pedal.
The new XB is faster, but the fun (and challenge) is gone. The new-found heft and softer ride takes XB handling from MINI territory right to into Camry Land. And we all now how engaging and exciting THAT is.
The xB’s electrically-assisted steering lacks the crispness and linearity of the former hydraulic unit. There were times I swear I could feel the electric motor on the other end of the steering column muttering at me under its breath– in a way that reminded me of my fifteen year old son.
Is there anything good to say about the new, ostensibly improved Scion XB? Yes. It now comes with cruise control and more air bags.
In short, the xB has become nothing more than a low-content five-door Camry. It’s Toyota’s el-cheapo ($16,230) version of the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx.
In fact, the new xB doesn’t deserve the Scion moniker, which established the brand's U.S. reputation as a provider of affordable automobiles with style, efficiency, quality, innovation and fun. Maybe Toyota could get a deal on the Oldsmobile name from GM.
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More Reviews131 Responses to “ Scion xB Review ”
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POWERED
May 14th, 2007 at 7:42 am
Brilliant review.
I’m not sure the old xB was a faultless as this review suggests–were many people fond of that 1.5?–but the new car certainly lacks much of what made the original special. Especially the high-mounted seats, huge windows, and airy cabin. All gone.
And yet the elimination of the C-pillar window does make one new feature possible: the first C-pillar storage compartment I’ve ever seen, complete with a little net.
Then again, when you can fit a storage compartment inside a pillar, that might be a sign that the pillar is way too thick.
On the plus side, the price didn’t go up much considered all the extra metal and features you’re now getting. As the review notes, how very American. It’s all about MORE. E.F. Schumacher can stuff it.
For price comparisons (and fuel economy and reliability info once these start getting into owners’ hands):
http://www.truedelta.com/models/xB.php
May 14th, 2007 at 7:46 am
I can only agree with everything in the review, with double emphasis on the loss of efficiency. The 2.4 is a good motor, but is a bit of a gas hog, especially in a vehicle of this weight. Maybe it will have better IIHS ratings, but the loss of the “fun/frugal” concept that surrounded the xB is lamentable. It makes me wonder what Honda will do when (if) they redesign the Fit… hopefully they’ll see the error of Toyota’s ways.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:02 am
It went from being a funky, boxy Echo to being a cheap, boxy Matrix. At least safety is improved.
This redesign should help keep the lines at Mini dealers long.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:02 am
shaker:
The Fit will probably just grow to be as big as a Civic. The Civic will grow to the size of today’s Accord. The Accord will probably get bigger and will get AWD to replace the CRV and Pilot because in the future truckly things will be totally unfashionable. Once the Fit grows, they’ll just have to introduce another all new tiny car to replace it.
Just my guess.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Oddly, I found the Daihatsu Materia (which is supposed to be quite equivalent to the xB) a pretty good car when I drove it a few weeks ago.
It had packaging and versatility that reminded me of nothing more than a Renault 16, a chuckable attitude to curves, a rough-but-ready 1.5L engine and a nicely verticle front screen. Perhaps only the U.S. version is fattened up, and dumbed down?
May 14th, 2007 at 8:16 am
There’s no comparing the potential sale of a Mini to this xB. The market segment is completely different. People looking at Mini’s will not consider this vehicle, or the line of Scions because of the image Scion has. Most likely a potential Mini buyer will look at a Beetle. Scion buyers will look at Hondas (Fit) or Hyundai (Tiburon). Or something used with bling bling already installed.
I have driven an original xB for a few days and it was fun with the manual. I’ve also driven a Mini. I’d take the Mini personally because it was much more exuberant to drive. But Mini’s aren’t cheap.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:19 am
Ah well, but “customers said they wanted more power”. Why would xB drivers want more power is beyond me. probably the old American habit of having your cake and eating it too.
Power was completely adequate, as long as you’re not driving 100mph and can use a little advance thinking and smarts to pass…
And therefore, thanks to the buying public and the marketing department of Toyota, here’s a perfectly nice vehicle turned into a fat blandmobile, as close to an SUV as possible, without being one of course.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Were people happy with the 1.5? Well, my last tank yielded 39.2 mpg with lightfooted driving. So yeah, I’m happy with that!
This review perfectly sums up the problems with the new xB. I was in the market for a car a few months ago, and had the option of buying the 1st gen. or waiting for this one. After reading about the planned changes, it didn’t take me long to decide. I’m just glad I got mine while there were still some left.
It also bears mentioning that the 1st gen. xB was a purely Japanese car, built overseas and shipped to America. Japan now has a 2nd gen. xB, but that’s not the car we get here. Our new xB is a purely domestic design built for the perceived American tastes. Thanks, Toyota.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Boy, talk about taking a timeless design with a cult following and instant recognition (that seems to get better with age), then overhauling it in a generic, soulless manner. Toyota appears to have completely changed the character of this model.
NICKNICK,
Comparing this to Honda, the Civic may be much bigger than even older Accords. However, in the last 20 years, it has grown only from a 1.5 to a 1.8 liter engine and improved its fuel mileage to 40 mpg. At least efficiency is a priority there. The Accord follows a similar pattern. If the Fit grows to be as big as a Civic, expect it to maintain, and probably improve, high fuel mileage ratings. Honda’s philosophy here is admirable. I have no idea what Toyota is doing with this one.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Ugh, just Ugh.
On the plus side, now that a new generation is out, used 1st gen xBs are going to get cheaper. So I can get a decent xB for less that I would have a month or two ago.