I have an xA 5 speed manual.
I get alot of hesitation with the engine on a normal take off, I'll try to describe it.
When I first got the car, I could take off from a standing start fairly quickly and get up to speed to shift to second with some smooth acceleration. Lately tho, when I take off like I normally do, the car seems to bog for a couple of seconds and then I get a big ramp up of acceleration. I have not changed the way I drive over the past year since I got the car, so I'm not sure what the problem is.
I practically have to peel out to get the same kind of response out of the car now, where before it was a smooth and fast take off to get me to second gear. What kinds of things should I be checking on the car?
Of course, if I need to take off slowly and use alot of clutch to get started, then there is no problem. I only encounter this when I need the car to accelerate quickly. It has happened in second gear, but I mainly encounter the problem in first gear.

Any ideas??

Have you changed your oil?
Had your Air filter cleaned/replaced?
sounds like the Air filter to me tho.

It might be the flux capacitor. If it doesn't get all 1.21 jigawatts of power it will cause an engine bog. I replaced my flux capacitor with a Mr. Fusion. It did mervels for my gas milage. :P

maybe its the clutch slipping
it would be nice to replace it with racing clutch

I had the same problem. It started when the cone on my AEM intake got destroyed by the fog lamp housing ( lame install error by toyota). Its probably having problems passing air thru a dirty filter initally, so id go with air filter 1st. If it was oil it would lag through out all gears.

Yeah, my impression was a dirty air filter. But wouldn't a clogged filter affect the acceleration of higher gears as well? So far the car performes beautifully in 3rd, 4th and 5th. It only seems to be in the lower gears where I get the bog.
I would love to upgrade to a racing clutch, but things like rent prevent me from spending the money. :cry:
It has only been 2.5k since the last oil change, and I would have THOUGHT that since I took it to Toyota they would have checked the air filter as well...but I could be wrong.
I'll have to try and remember to check it when I get off work.

Maybe it's the heat of the ambient air? It is summer. . .