2008 Scion xB: These Doors Don't Slam

Sorry, that interior is crap. looks like 90's nissan truck quality.

For door-slam satisfaction, nothing I've ever experienced beats either a Mercedes W123 (240D, 300D, etc) or W126 (300SD, 560SEL, etc.). The W463 G-Class comes close, though.

I've seen worse interior from other cars in that price bracket (i.e. Ford Focus). Also "Cheap" materials (plastics) don't always mean that it's inferior. My VW New Beetle had a better interior, but it sure as hell didn't hold up that well.

As for the door thing, who cares how it sounds when you slam it? IIHS said the car did very well in side impacts, one of best in class. So it sounds like Toyota didn't really do a bad job after all.

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr092508.html

Kinda funny how the sound of a door often has little to do with its actual performance in the event of an accident.

Still, I'm ticked with Toyota for taking the Gen1 car and making it fat and inefficient. So whatever sound the door makes, I'm going to hate it anyway.

Interestingly, Scions aren't for sale here in the Great White North (which is weird, because Canadians like their cars cheap and with hatchbacks.) But I've seen a whole whack of first generation Xb cars that their owners obviously bought in the U.S. Haven't seen ANY second generation vehicles. Even Canadians have some taste.

carmizvi,

By "fat and inefficient" you mean making it more refined? Safer? and more suitable for the fast pace American highways?

No he means fat and inefficient. For a compact econobox the xB sucks gas like a baby Hummer. There are plenty of compacts that are just as safe as the xB, comfortable on American roads of all types and much, much, much more refined, and they all get better gas mileage.

In this price range, I feel the Civic offers the most solid, well constructed door slamming feel.

stovt001,

I admit the gas mileage is not the greatest. But it's actually on par with other cars in its CLASS and/or cars with similar displacement (2.0-2.5 L) engines. Cars such as (Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Lancer, Volkswagen Rabbit/Jetta, Dodge Caliber, Mazda 3, etc).

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byclass/Small_Station_Wagons2009.shtml

But it's actually on par with other cars in its CLASS and/or cars with similar displacement (2.0-2.5 L) engines. Cars such as (Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Lancer, Volkswagen Rabbit/Jetta, Dodge Caliber, Mazda 3, etc).

Yes, but it lacks AWD like the Subaru, lacks the fun/style of the Mazda/Lancer (both of which can be had with 2.0l if you want better efficiency), and lacks the refinement of the Jetta. I will give you the Caliber, that thing is a turd.

@ mbtech208

I was going to say basically the same thing. You want a good door slamming car try a Merc. Preferably when they were still over-engineering them.

I havent seen a Toyota car with doors that close with a sound of quality. Even the Avalon's doors feel and sound like they weigh 5 lbs when you close them. Everything about Toyota's lower end cars is cheap in terms of the interior. The new corolla actually looks and feels somewhat cheaper than the older models inside. Scions and the Yaris are also cheap on the inside. Toyota doesnt make "premium" small cars, just small cars.

Wait, you actually own a Corolla? You're automotive journalist and such household appliances are beneath you.

That's like a butcher who doesn't eat meat. Yeesh.

I recently rode in a 2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited, and it had the same problem. When shutting the doors, it sounded hollow and just felt cheap. The door handles felt cheap too, like they could break off if you pulled too hard. Maybe I'm just picky, but these kind of details are important to me when choosing a car.

I NEVER comment, but I have to, because of misleading tinny sounds. I am an engineer, and have worked in the auto industry. Most doors sound tinny. Companies like Honda and Toyota realized that wimpier modern cars were being perceived as lower quality when compared to behemoths like 50s and 60s Cadillacs because of it. The older doors were just much heavier and had way more metal and thus sounded solid. The newer doors get tens of thousands of dollars of R&D spent on them in anechoic chambers. Nothing makes the door better, safer or stronger in any relevant sense. All they do is to make the door resonate at a different, not-excited-by-closing-the-door frequency, so the door sounds solid and well built. It has nothing... NOTHING to do with the strength or quality of the construction of the door.

Same goes for a lot of things. If you crawl underneath some modern cars you will see big weights bolted to various parts of the body and suspension for the same reason. Everything is a mass-spring-damper system, if you get an unpleasant rattle at a specific frequency, you get written off as low quality, so you raise that resonant frequency by adding mass, and tada, your Civic now weighs close to 3000 lbs but it sounds like quality!

-Brian

Brian - Great point. I beleive Edmunds had a post about an additional weight placed underneath the G35 for just that purpose.

Regarding Safety - Subaru Imprezas and Legacy's and Forester's have long been panned for their tinny, vibrating doors (especially on the frameless cars). My 2005 Saab 9-2x had doors that felt SOOO insubstantial it bothered me.

But everyone of them has phenomenal side impact ratings because they have very re-inforced B-pillars and passenger cells.

Door sounds like crap. Safety intact.

I still want my door to be satisfying to close.

Joe

I like my doors to have that solid thumping sound. My truck makes a nice solid closing sound, but my work van, made by the same company is 3 years newer, yet the design is 10 years older (figure that one out) sounds like a box of bolts rattling loose every time I close it.

I also remember the older Toyota trucks doors and especially the Nissan and Isuzu vehicles sounding especially tinny when closed. Even my mother-inlaws Hyundai and my bro-in-laws Hyundai have a less than substantial feel when closing them.

"I like my doors to have that solid thumping sound."

*A bit off topic*

Me too but not just in vehicles. As some of you may know, Im part owner of a renovation company that specializes in historic/old structures so in most cases Ive been spoiled by and exposed to high levels of quality, detail and craftsmanship that comes with (most) old houses. My younger brother (architect), uncle (craftsmans/contractor) are the other owners. I focus on type and quality of raw materials, color, detailing, trim, cabinets, flooring, appliances, windows. My main focus however is designing the landscape.

My house is 106 years of age and we completed a large renovation back in July. The front door was original but natures elements (and past owners) had clearly had their share in the doors condition. It was serving its purpose but was a bit flimsy, "light" and unlevel as the door itself had shifted mostly due to its age and neglect. A past owner tried "fixing" the door by cutting the door at the bottom so it would be level rather than repairing/leveling the whole door itself. My uncle took the door apart, had it dipped (to remove all the paint), leveled it and repaired the bottom so it was perfect....so I though.

That wasnt good enough for me (or the wife). Not that his craftsmanship was sub par but the door itself was still too light in terms of weight and substance. I shot that to my uncle and he came up with a solution. He took the door apart again and then drilled holes in various parts of the door (about 6 inches deep) and installed metal rods in the door (to give the door some weight). We reinstalled the door and now it has the feel and sound one would expect. I love it.

As for vehicles...I do prefer a solid thwunk over the tinny sound of some cars (some Hondas included) although the newer Acuras have came a long way in those areas, namely the TSX. The RDXs thwunk (or lack thereof) however needs some work. It doesnt sound tinny but there isnt much substance to its feeling or sound.

By far the most impressive thwunks Ive heard have come from the Germans...mainly Mercedes products. Nice weighty doors that arent too heavy but have enough weight to feel super substatial and that thwunk that could only come from a Mercedes. Mercedes keeps it consistent also regardless of model. My best friends 2005 MB C230 Kompressor Sport has nice meaty door that sound good when closed but suprisingly the 09 TSX matched it.

Higher end Lexus cars have similar thwunks also. Hell even my old 1995 Civics doors seem more substantial and sound better than the new ones.

I don't care how the door sounds as long as it doesn't wobble around in its opening. You all know it - it's that wobbly feeling that sends shivers through the seats and the steering column and rattles the dash. THAT is awful.