Peace!

My criteria? Reliability, price and room. I have a small PA I carry around sometimes, and yes, I could cram it all into the bug if I popped the top, rolled down the windows, and padded the dash with blankets. But that wasn’t very kind to the leather seats or my husband’s back, so I wanted something with room, but not an SUV!

I first test drove a Honda Fit, which was really cool space wise, but it felt like I needed to get out and push it when I was trying to merge with traffic. After driving the Bug I just couldn’t live with no zip…especially if the vehicle is loaded with equipment…doesn’t matter how many mpg you get if your car can’t get up and go.

Which led me to the Scion. Yes, I fell in love with the original xB the first time I saw it, but at the time I wasn’t in the market for a vehicle. Yes, I was hoping to find that original really square and quirky design when I went looking. I too was disappointed with the outside of the gen2 xB. But I went for a test drive. Then came back for a 2nd test drive. Then I bought it. Why?

Because it rocks! It’s got the power I need, most of the features I would want come standard (it was crap having to pay extra for the floor mats though – they should’ve been included), it has room for me, my husband, my PA equipment, AND another passenger. It seems to be getting about the same gas milage or better as my Bug.

I put my German tags on the front, and all I’m missing is the sunflower and the compliments I used to get in my Bug…small price to pay for all the features I got – especially at the price I got them!

Maybe they should come up with a new slogan:

“Toyota- moving backwards”

It is funny the reviewer compared the original xB to the Beetle. It feels just as thin and deadly. I doubt my mom would survive being T-boned. Yes the original has TONS of headroom, but how much of the population needs it? My cousin has an original xB and he, his wife and his boys are all over 6′. They need it. I am 5′10″ and I could still drive the new one with a Cowboy hat on.

I am looking at a Release Series 5 xB at my local dealership. 5mos of it sitting on their lot, I might be able to get a deal. I would never consider the original. When I look at a car I think about road trips. The Hamster 1.5l would struggle through the baby mountains in the Northeast US fully loaded and doing 70-80mph on the highways. And pass with the 1.5l? Maybe a cement truck going up hill. I am VERY uncomfortable with running an engine to 4000+ RPMs on a regular basis.

It is a Release Series 5 or nothing for me. I WILL NOT own a modern vehicle without a sunroof. The Gold Rush Mica is the only interesting color for 2008 (IMHO). Every other color is drab and depressing. Even the silver is blech and I love silver.

Hearing the comments about the Automatic, I will think hard about NOT going with a 5spd. I have a Highlander 2WD now with the 3.3l V6 and 5spd Auto. It is a wonderful but boring vehicle.

Some like the old, some like the new, some like neither. Toyota and Honda have learned, gentle tweaks ARE NOT a new model. Honda tried that with the Accord and lost a lot of sales. Toyota did that with the Camry way back and lost sales. New models need to be BOLD and Different. They are not designing the new models for the people who bought the old model. Those people are not looking to trade (for the most part they are 5-10 years away from a new vehicle). No, the new model has to attract the people who bought a car 5-10 years ago and are coming onto the market. Those people don’t want something that looks 5 years old. They want something edgy and fresh. The new xB is radically different from the old. The new xD is radically different from the xA. The new Camry is radically different from the old Camry. The new Highlander is radically different from the old. The Yaris is radically different from the Echo. The new Accord is radically different from the old Accord. The new Civic is radically different from the old Civic. The new Cr-V is radically different from the old CR-V. and so on and so on and so on.

The new xB is attracting buyers who didn’t really like the old. People who like the original xB…BOUGHT ONE! Now they are listening to what kept people from buying the original xB and making the new one fit their needs to attract new customers. That is NOT the way GM and Ford work. That is why Toyota is the largest auto manufacturer in the world.

My only fault with the new xB is that I think 1 back-up light is STUPID.

Tom

Yeah, well, you read it right in the title: “The TRUTH about cars.”

The old xB was too radical for the masses. Marketing was targeted at kids and sales were modest. Most of the younger people I talked to disliked the old xB anyway.

“Modest,” huh? Gen 2 xB’s, during their entire sales life, have yet to come CLOSE to Gen 1 sales peaks…by some twenty percent, despite a 5-20% increase in inventory. The old ones sold like hotcakes, the new ones sell like crap, because it’s sharing sales with the Matrix and the RAV-4.

Maybe you’re talking to the wrong young people.

I’m glad all you Boomers with your labrador retrievers and your retirement plans and your 2.4 children are enjoying your mini-CUV, but I’m still mourning the Death of Cool.

I am 49 years old and do not fit the you know what for scion targeting. But I am impressed at the amount of satisfaction I have derived from ownership. It has been modded out with a few suspension upgrades and it handles far superior to stock. I avg. 28 MPG with mixed driving and as far as these figures and the mileage given to many new vehicles this is not too bad at all.

Yes you can get better mileage from some other cars yet, for the features, space, power, and fun factor (yes, having driven both models, I feel my add ons have made this as much fun to drive.

Don’t hold back! Get one now. I feel in the future there will be several engine choices as JDM is now making a look alike corolla with a 1.8 engine. Most people will love this car if not looking to it as ruined rather what it is another generation.

Nothing Paul said really has any substance. All his gripes were merely directed at the differences between the old and new. As always, the fit, finish, and quality of Toyota shines through. A comparison to any of the big three is ludicrous. The big three rarely follow with a new design that is MUCH better than the original, like the new xB.

The old xB was too radical for the masses. Marketing was targeted at kids and sales were modest. Most of the younger people I talked to disliked the old xB anyway.

The new xB targets a much larger market share. Scion (Toyota) simply improved the flaws of the old xB as seen by a much larger market. The old xB had such an underpowered engine that it couldn’t even get out of its own way. If people still want that 30+mpg get a Yaris. It has the old 1.5L from the old xB and cannot get out of its own way either. Every other review I’ve read clearly mentions that the loss in mileage is a welcome sacrifice to that of the old engine and vehicle size.

The new xB is much more refined. Ride comfort and quality are superior to that of any competitors. There are too many other things that are also much better to list.

The new xB is simply a natural markedly improved follow up to the older model.

I LOVE MY 2008 xB!!!

Sorry to disagree, Paul.

This is my first visit to your site.

You ARE an excellent writer, and I DID enjoy your article, and you are RIGHT – the automatic transmission should be five speeds (overdrive), and in fairness, I never drove the earlier xB – although I fell in love with the xB the first time I saw one.

I would encourage your readers to consider the issues you raise and then test drive the new xB before making a final decision.

Is there anything good to say about the 2008 xB?

Yes!

New safety features – side air bags, anti-lock brakes, vehicle stability control, tire pressure monitor, turn signal lights on side mirrors, intermittent front wipers, rear wiper and rear windshield sprayer.

The instrument panel is a beautiful work of art, could not be located more conveniently, and doesn’t block your field of vision.

The Pioneer AM/FM sound system with CD, iPod jack, and controls located on the steering wheel – is standard!

Did you know that the 2008 xB automatic transmission has a built in paddle shift? Just click the shift stick to the left from Drive – now you can shift up and down through all the forward gears! Click back to Drive (automatic) whenever you want.

I think the new xB is basically a sports car – cleverly disguised as a van with a huge amount of cargo space.

I’m a 60 year old guy, 6′4″, 220 lbs, with painfully bad hips, and the ease of entry and exit, and the comfort of the seats are perfect – for me.

… and the incredible service provided by my Toyota dealer – I could write a book. Service ALWAYS done right the FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME – for 12 years. (Yes, you DID read that right.)

Since I bought my 2008 xB, I have yet to see another car anywhere that I would want to trade it for.

The 2008 Scion xB is AWESOME – I LOVE mine!!!

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to comment.

The criticism of the car is not really aimed at the car itself, but rather at Toyota for the decision to replace an apple with an orange but insist on still calling it an apple.

The original xB is a unique vehicle, an optimal city car, thrifty, nimble, immensely efficient. There is a need for such a car in the US market, and the xB’s success demonstrated that. Therefore, it was frustrating when, after three years, Toyota pulled that car off the US market (even though they still market an updated version of it in Asia) and replaced it with something that is less thrifty, less nimble, less efficient, and less optimized as a city car.

I agree than an objective review of the new xB should look at it without constantly comparing it with the old one, particularly because they are two entirely different vehicles aimed at different buyers.

Both project the same sleek but cold, unfeeling personality.

Now if only they hadn’t executed the original.

Did a ride and drive on Sunday for one in Portland. Other than feeling like the oldest person there (and I am only 34) it feels a bit more solid, even though its lost some of its edge.

Some ideas posed here asked things like how could an ICON possibly be replaced by another car that would possibly achieve the same iconic status… and other statements made talking about how the redesign is not Scion going off on a tangent but rather their response to the input from the community of buyers and potential buyers. The new xB isn’t really deserving of the xB or xB2 moniker. If anything, its like a mini-FJ… like Buck Rogers, yeah, he’s the man and he drives the FJ Cruiser… and Twiggy, his little gray robot pal… yeah, he’s in that xB2 over there.

Scion killed the xA, and they admit to that, and born in it’s place is the xD. They didn’t admit it, but they killed the xB, and came out with the mis-named xB2. It wasn’t an evolutionary change… it wasn’t really revolutionary either. They just reinterpreted the whole thing… and it came out way sucky.

Biddy-biddy-biddy-what the Buck! ~ Twiggy

To the extent that you don’t want those things, it’s no improvement at all.

It’s a matter of opinion. Nobody’s right or wrong. (And yes, I’ve driven both.)