Hey, everyone. Newbie (gasp) here. I've been following scionlife.com for about 6 months now and just wanted to say that I love the site (save for CyberGypsy's puerile and idiotic comments) and express some opinions on the xA.

I had had high hopes for the xA, but sadly, it is my opinion that Toyota has made some pretty poor decisions. I rented the car for 2 days, so I got to spend a lot of time with the car. I am at a point in my life where I will be able to afford a brand new car (under 15K, lol) and not commit financial suicide. Anyways, I was disappointed...

The seat material is awesome, but the dash material absolutely sucks ___. It feels like an egg carton and it looks perpetually dusty/dirty. Not to mention it nicks way too easily. The AC on my rental car worked perfectly and was ice cold. I'm not a speed demon, so the 108 HP was adequate enough for me. The freaking lame ___ Aveo hatchback has more trunk space with the seats folded up and it also has flip foward rear seats (which I think in a class of cars this small only works miracles). The center mounted guages annoyed the hell out of me at night... it either should have been more "embedded" like the Echo's or not feature a white background. When I drove it at night, that ____ was all up in my grill piece and was mad distracting. Also, I've never seen this issue addressed... but has anyone noticed that the the air vent left of the stereo head blows right into your right fist on the steering wheel??? MAJOR DESIGN FLAW in my opinion.

That's not to say I hate the xA completely... I absolutely love the way the car looks and it's what the Matrix SHOULD have looked like. The front end is gorgeous and it's the best looking sub-compact in my opinion (next to the Mini, that is). I'm saving my money for the second gen Honda Fit/Jazz that is headed for America... that is, unless Scion decides to bring the UK Corolla Verso hatchback to the U.S. as its next model.

Sorry this post was so long! :)

I agree about the vents. . . both sides! I find the right one to be more annoying than the left. . . but I find that pointing all the vents upwards stops this, and actually gives the best cooling (bests distributes A/C to rear as well, instead of a cold front and hot rear).

The trunk space does suck. . . But I manage. For everyday stuff it is fine. . . but I can't imagine taking 3 other people and their gear for a long trip. . .

I didn't understand what you meant by fold forward rear seats on the Aveo. Do they fold down and out, like on a Minivan or? The xA seats fold forward/down, and I use that all the time.

Finally, I think the dash and gauges are awesome (opinion). After about a month, I got used to the gauges, and don't want to go back. I think it IS easier to look to the sides. . . but that's opinion. And I've never had the dash get excessively dirty/dusty. My previous car was MUCH worse. . . oh and the scratching materials. Yeah got that problem too, but I don't expect much from a $12k car.

AND WHY THE HELL IS EVERYONE PICKING ON CYBERGYPSY? Are you guys stupid? She's calmed down. . . you're only going to fan the flames. Whatever. . . I'm not gonna get involved in that sh!t storm. She stopped guys. Relax, unless you want it to start again.

In the Chevy Aveo, the rear seats fold down... and then they flip foward so that the entire rear bench is pressed up against the back of the front seats. This creates a massive (relatively speaking) load space. It's just a very nifty feature to have especially when a car is so small. The PT Cruiser has it as well... except they come completely off!! The Honda Fit will also feature this.

The xA is a subcompact. If I want to travel with a crowd I will pop for a Suburban.

about the dash material... I put some Armor-All on there, and it made it nice and dark, with a little shine. It doesn't get "dusty" or "ashy" like it did when I first bought it (i got the xB, but same dash material).

Now I use Zaino Leather Conditioner on all the vinyl, and it looks AND smells great.

Put some Mother's Preserves onto the dash and it is good for a month and looks shiney and awesome. My dash is in need of it's second coating of that stuff.

Yeah, wait for the Fit.