I'm looking for a new car, my old '92 chevy corsica is rusting out and the electrical system keeps crapping out on me. Wanted some feedback from people who have used the xA for a while to see if this car would be for me.

The Scion xA is what I am leaning towards. Main factors that drew my interest are the low price for a new car, the looks, the size, Toyota's reliability, the gas milage and the stock sound system. My other choice is the VW new beetle which I also like physically and size wise, but is also close to 10K more in cost.

A little about myself. First, I do not like driving. I'm the type that has driver's anxiety everytime I am on the road, especially on the freeway when big trucks get too close or people tailgate. I hate driving at night, especially on roads unfamiliar to me as I tend to lose site of the lane dividers and such. I tend to drive defensively and am not a hotrod, so performance or speed over 80 MpH does not matter to me.

I'm not really all that great at parallel parking or judging distances, thus I prefer smaller cars because they are much easier to get around in.

My biggest fear is driving in icy conditions. There is nothing worse for me than sliding all over the road or going into uncontrolable skids. Even when I am going like under 15 MpH here in Colorado, my corsica can do this in many places and it is a pure nightmare for me.

I have heard heavy SUVs with all wheel drive are better for icy conditions, but I would not want to drive anything that big. I was wondering how the scion xA handles on icy conditions with the stock 15 inch wheels. Concerns here are the light weight of the car and the stock Toyota tires. I had some bad experiences hydroplaning with a new toyota camry back in 1986 that had those stock toyo tires, the car would go into a skid on a wet road even at low speeds. Hoping the tires are much better quality now as I do not want to spend 15K for a new car and spend another $500 right off the bat replacing all the tires. Most I would consider would be having the tires cut in a autoshop to give them better ice traction. Wet road conditions are also a concern as well. This is my main question and concern with this post.

While I am posting, I might as well ask a few other questions that I had which I could not find answers to in some of the previous postings.

As far as ad ons, I was wondering what dealer add ons I should consider and what kind of prices I can expect to pay for dealer installation for these. I do not under any circumstance want to self install anything on a new car or go through any 3rd party sales people. I built a scion on the official scion website adding automatic transmition (a must for me), side curtain airbags (also a must) and a few other options that took my price to around 15.5K. Wasnt sure if I even need some of the stuff though. The air induction system for instance, from what I read here adds 3 HP to the car. Since I am only concerned with acceleration for lane/ramp merging and not hot rodding, I take it this would be totally un-needed for me? Also the engine strut add-on I was debating. Better handeling is a must have for me, but only of it makes a noticeable different under normal driving conditions. The other add ons were cosmetic, blue LED interior light, cargo net, maybe the illuminated cup holder. What can I reasonably expect a dealership to charge me for installation of each of these items?

Last, probably least important is about the sound system. I like loud heavy metal type music. My first toyota in '86 came with a stock techiques system which literally kicked A. It was loud and sounded pretty nice for a stock 4 speaker system in that year and model of car. Later I got a expensive set up with a punch 150, kenwood 500 amp for subs, high quality 6X9s and tweeters, crossover, ect. Sounded better than the old techniques and was louder, not by much though, but I blew the speakers like every month and it kept killing my car battery. Finally, I just pulled everything because of the cost and hassel and now just use the stock corsica system I have which is total crap with no CD or cassett. I still got the old sterio gear but do not want to bother with the hassels. How good is the stock system with this car? Sounds like it can get loud, but does it tend to blow out the stock speakers after a while at close to max volume? Think I could just add in my punch 150 to the system to give it more juice and keep everything else stock? Is the 5 CD changer option any different from the stock system besides having a carosel and color options on the illumination?

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to cover the bases here with what my needs are. I know most of you love driving and are hod rodders at heart, so wanted to explain how I was different here to get some feedback if this might be the car for me. Anything other info you might want to add or any other car recommendations you may have would also be appreciated.

demoth---

Whew! Bro, if you drive like you talk, it's a wonder you ever get anywhere....

Firstly, I drive an xA with stock wheels and tires. Mine came with Bridgestones, which are excellent in my climate (Virginia) where we get a little bit of everything: rain, snow, sleet, hail, floods, hurricanes, draught, deep mud---you name it, we have to drive through it. I've been driving mine about six weeks, and the car is probably one of the most sure-footed vehicles I've ever driven. If you want to skid, you're going to have to do some work to make it happen.

As to mods, the only additions I made were the cold-air and satellite radio. I don't recommend the cold air for you if you get the automatic---you won't notice the difference. I test drove an automatic before buying my manual. I found it peppy enough to handle highway mergers, but I like the extra punch of being able to downshift.

The 160 watt sound system that comes standard really thumps. At level 45, with SSP set to "Feel", the entire vehicle vibrates---you can feel it standing next to the car, without even touching it. A WARNING, HOWEVER: if you like to play your music full blast, you probably WILL blow out the speakers, because the Pioneer is not filtered, and there are no delimiters on it. Do your ears and your neighbors a favor, and don't use your xA for aural terrorism....

C.F.

For handling upgrades I would recomend the TRD springs if you want them dealer installed. You will notice the difference all the time. The air intake is a waste of $$ on a Scion.

As far as SUVs go, the weight makes them get moving a little better on ice but makes them harder to stop (more important...), it's that physics thing..... The Xa has ABS and the stock tires are ok but I would get real snow/ice tires for the winter- "all weather" is a relitive term and they are NOT intended for winter use. Wet pavement is not a problem, I live in northern CA where REALLY wet winters are normal and have had no problems at all, even during a major storm.

If you are intimidated by semi trucks and other large vehicles while driving in traffic you may want to consider a larger car. I have found that some of the drivers out here will try and push me around because it's a small car. It doesn't work but I will install a louder horn soon. Semi drivers have not done this and the Xa does pretty good in the turbulance they generate but it is a pretty small car.

I hope this helps,
ken

my experience in Tahoe on icy roads with the xA was great, only downside is no matter what tires you have on the right conditions you will skid, but I will say that for a long 3 day weekend in Tahoe and the way back I only had trouble braking once on a noticeably snow covered road and even then all I had to do was turn the wheels and I was golden (under 20 mph). Granted I run on after market wheels and tires, but even stock I never had an issue in the heavy rains that occassionally hit us in the Bay.

the small car issue is one Ken hit upon and I'll reiterate it, it's something I had to deal with coming from a somewhat larger 5.0 mustang. I have learned though that my air horn mod does wonders for what cars who don't see you think of you :wink: it's the best $30 I've spent on the car yet.

springs like Ken suggested are a no brainer for handling, since you don't want 3rd party the height of the TRDs is a bit much, but the handling you will like. Some dealers will install (for a price of course) third party springs (I think Ken will join me in recommending the Eibach Pro Kit springs)

stereo wise, if you follow the recommendations your golden