2008 Scion xB: Wrap-Up

I think it's ugly, the interior is ugly and cheap, and that it's for people over 45 who think it's Hip and "In". It's a porker compared to the first one, and I just don't like it. My money would be better spent on a VW Rabbit 5-Dr regardless of the fact that it doesn't have as much cargo space. It'a still not a Scion xB.

I think anything is an improvement in style over the old one. This seems like it grew up more and appeals to a lot more.

Anyway, one thing I don't get on it is the reverse light. I don't understand why they didn't put two on instead of one. I know it may cost less, but it looks kind of stupid.

By the way, where do you guys sell your LT Testers when they are finished with you guys?

The once cool and quirky XB of yore is now dead. The new generation is simply not unique in any way. It is basically a beefed up Corolla wagon. Scion owners love their first gen XBs because they were so different and small. The car basically has its own cult for Pete's sake! Sure it was underpowered and lacking refinement... but that's what made it so cool, so different, and so attractive to buy. Scion should go back to their roots and make the XB back into a subcompact Japanese city car. Not some bloated Camry wagon. I rest my case.

Ditto, ad nauseum.

I love how you emphasize over and over and over again that as a Toyota, it is without fault in quality and reliability, then just brush aside the bad wheels and broken sat nav. This notion that Japanese cars are perfect has been so blasted into everyone's heads that they totally believe it and recite it without giving it a single thought.

Awful styling with bad paint in a small wagon with the fuel economy of an SUV, a 4 speed auto and a non-functional GPS system that was ignored by the dealer for $20K. If this were a domestic car it would be flamed in every last post. Instead of the one post about the sat nav, there would be 20, and there would be no attempt to fix it, just continuous complaints.

They got ripped off on the brake job too, hahah.. it should have been $85 for labor tops. Less than a $200 brake job.

Previous gen scions did look cool. Not my style at all, but I could see why they were popular. Toyota like many auto makers assumes that we Americans always need bigger vehicles with bigger engines. All that they care about are sales figures. How can we sell 100,000 more of these? Of course! Make it bigger!

The xB's blocky build give it its biggest strengths: a high hip point and lots of space. That, combined with a low price and lots of features, mean that the xB meets some folks' needs quite well - better, in fact, than just about anything else out there.

If ya don't need the space and have the limberness and will to drop into some lower seats, then even for the money, I think there are better options out there.

@cx7lover

I don't know what metro/market you're in, but in Chicago, $80 will *at best* get you 1.5 hours of a mechanic's time. You think a mechanic can work these rotors and install everything in less than an hour and a half?

I love my '08 xB, with 20K on the clock, it hasn't had any issues, just the routine oil changes and a replaced air filter. I think it's great compact car, not the best fuel economy, but there is more to a car than that. It's reliable, safe (crash tests results), and roomy enough for a small family. I think it's a great car for a small family on a budget (I paid $17 w/ auto tranny).

The styling isn't for everyone. but the layout is efficient. it has as much interior room as a mid size sedan, but the overall body length is shorter than a Toyota Corolla (they have the same wheel base), for easy urban parking. there are a few minor things that could be improved, but that would just be nit picking. I have no major dislikes at all.

It's a solid car.

As for the brake job costing $80 for labor....that's insane. dealers in the Philly area charge $65 on average for labor. Much more for luxury brand cars or sports cars.

No issues at 20K is pretty much standard fare these days for just about ANY new car. (Except for maybe Edmunds LT fleet, whose driver's seem to delight in finding new ways to break stuff and bitch about it.) A PT Cruiser or HHR could be had for even less, as well as a Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix for about the same money. All would have served about as well in functionality. Again different styles for different folks. And yes, I too think the xB is butt-ugly.
I also agree with stovtoo1. If this HAD been an LT test of either a PT Cruiser or HHR then we would have had to read an endless set of bitching from both the Edmunds drivers and all the Toyota/Honda/BMW fan boys about how crappy domestic cars are compared to their favorite brand. (Check out the Saturn AURA test, where Edmunds found every little nit to pick, nearly all of which had NOTHING to do with functionality and/or safety.) Yet bad paint, lousy gas mileage, busted wheels and sat nav system problems are just brushed off.

$85 includes a front pad change, and resurfacing. You don't need the resurfacing if you're getting the same pads so it's $70 for labor. YES you can change pads in under an hour, And machine the rotors.

rlg86,

"If this HAD been an LT test of either a PT Cruiser or HHR then we would have had to read an endless set of bitching from both the Edmunds drivers and all the Toyota/Honda/BMW fan boys about how crappy domestic cars are compared to their favorite brand."

I do think domestic "cars" are crappy too. so does the rest of the world.

I don't mind the look of this xB but I definitely prefer the previous generation in and out. I love cars that are deliberately quirky (Cube, Soul) and the old xB fit that nicely. I'm not sure this new one does. As for the interior, I don't care for the gauge cluster or its central location.

The exterior styling doesn't really bother me, and the functionality rules. However, the interior styling & materials are a turn off. As a shopper, I'd pick something else.