I drove an xB last week and loved it....seemed much quieter than my Matrix and very easy to drive.

here's my question: how is it on long drives? it seemed to gobble up bumps and pavement seams and stuff, and seemed fairly quiet on a short span of highway....how is it after a few hours of steady highway travel? do you wish for better lumbar support/different chairs? anything else you'd tell a friend about the xB on the highway?

thanks in advance for any and all insights. since discovering this forum, I've learned a ton! what a great resource...

best

tm

 

I can drive mine all day and all night, I have done so many times. Mine is lowered with 19's and it's still pretty darn good. I live in Houston texas where road conditions are ignored.

 

I find the ride a little jittery, but nothing too bad. Long trips are decent, but seats get a little uncomfortable for long drives. I don't have much of an issue, but it just depends how sensitive you are?

 

I've taken mine on a 4 hour drive and I'm in my early 20s. To me it feels firm, you do feel imperfections in the road but it's not overly harsh like bouncing you around. This is no soft cruiser but on par with other cars in its price range in ride quality.

 

Right after I got mine, I drove from Wa to Vegas for United...It was actually a nice drive...Then a few months later I went to Sonoma for Formula Drift...For the first trip was on stock tires and the second was on 18's...Smooth either way...

 

I've driven mine from Knoxville to D.C. (about 8 hrs) and to Atlanta (3-4 hrs) It rides very good on the highway. Firm but not harsh. It just feels solid to me.

I drive to see my parents in Wichita, KS once or twice a year, and I've driven several different vehicles...'91 Firebird, '96 Grand Prix, '03 S10, my wife's '03 Civic, and a couple '06-07 rental Corollas. I've not made the long haul in the xB yet.

My only problem with it is the reach to the steering wheel. I find myself adjusting seating position frequently. If I sit where my legs are comfortable, my arms are stretched too far, unless I sit straight up. I can drive with the seatback upright for a while, but I like to recline a little...I don't hide behind the b-pillar, gangsta-style though.

I guess that's not so much a gripe with the xB, but almost any sub-30k car without a telescoping steering wheel. No matter what I drive, I find myself moving around alot. I like the xB better than the Corollas I drove to KS.

Believe it or not...the most comfortable car I drove was the old '96 Grand Prix I had.

 

I just moved back to CA (where I grew up) from Houston, TX. He's right about the roads there... totally ignored... potholes everywhere! The car was great in Houston though, and still great in Orange County, CA! I advise to invest in some sound-deadening for the doors and the rest of the car (I got the trunk lid and base to the sides, all sound-deadened). The ride is much quieter that way.

 

Ride quality is very nice overall. Seat comfort is a purely personal thing. I have a screwed up back and the seats are pretty good for me. My future wife's yaris kills my back in 10 blocks, yet she can sit in it for hours.

-JB

 

mine is still on stock springs for a little while longer but with the stock springs and 18 inch rims i have no complaints at all daily driver with a few looong trips and it is fine

 

have 30K on mine and put on 150 miles a day making deliveries. seats are a personal thing but a little soft for me. sheapskin seat cover helped.