I'm making my decision (4WD Matrix XR or xA) this week and would love to hear about your experiences with the xA in any adverse weather conditions, especially ice, sleet and snow.

Thank you, thank you!!

-Carrie

P.S. In case you couldn't tell, I *really* want to get the xA but need some reassurance on its bad weather performance!!

LOL my friend has one in NY and said he loves it in ice....I have one here in Ft lauderale and its great in the rain....good luck :)

Well I was just driving through a tsunami last night.

It handled well through the rain, only downfall is the CAI is fairly low on the vehicle and I think it had been drowned out a few times because the water was so high.

The weather is far too nice right now for theother conditions :)

Hello, Carrie.

I’m in the same situation. Been working up the nerve to trade my AWD Subaru for a FWD xA. I live in Alaska, where we deal with snow 6-8 months of the year. And I live in the mountains, which makes things even more exciting.

Scions just arrived here this summer, so no one has tested them in winter. But for what it’s worth, I can tell you this:

Last winter I drove a manual Echo. It felt great. I took it up a long, slick, and very steep hill, and it flew up there just as well as my Subaru. Maybe even better, since my Legacy sedan is heavier and less agile than the Echo.

I know that an xA is not exactly an Echo, but I am hoping that they are comparable in this regard. Most folks up here run studded tires in winter, and that’s something I can always do if needed. However, the Echo I drove was bone stock with all-season tires and had no trouble in winter.

I have read that FWD can be almost as good as AWD if the car is balanced right. The xA’s weight is balanced 60/40 front/rear. I’m not sure how this compares with the Echo, but I imagine it’s close. I’m guessing the xB and the tC are less similar to the xA than the Echo is.

You might try a forum search at http://www.echodrivers.com. There are lots of Canadian drivers there who might know more about Echo/Scion and winter driving.

Also see this thread:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15715&highlight=snow

Good luck!

I think I'm gonna start calling my xA the Hydroplane the way it's been with water. I was in the same tsunami system driving to work Sunday morning and boy was that fun! It's usually only the really heavy rain and lots of standing water all over the road that results in the hydro action.

I've had no problem with rain in my xA and we have been subject to 2 flash floods in about a week.

I was in a flood situation last week with my car in Delaware (over 11 inches fell in a very short time in my area). I ended up having to drive back roads to get home and went through a lot of water. I wasn't stupid to take on water higher than my wheels but everything went fine just the same. Handled fine and when I needed to stop fast (downed tree in the road) the xA had no problems. So far it's been one of my best car investments.

Interesting. Thanks for all the responses. Going to the dealership tomorrow for the final test drives. :D

What's that like... driving in bad weather? All we get here is sunshine.
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/28/28_1_10.gif

My xa doesnt ever hydroplane i think it depends also on what kind of tires and rims you got.

I live in sunny CA, not braggin, I actually miss the humid rainy weather. . .

but anyway out here my only complaint would be these damned all season tires! I drive hard and these things just can't hold up. The car feels well planted, but the tires moan a LOT when I take turns hard or brake heavily. . . I'm not quite used to that. My Lexus's tires(many different sets) never really moaned, and if they made noise, that meant that I was about to understeer/oversteer hard.

I think grippier tires would enhance the xA's performance a lot. . . but considering bad weather, these things better do their job! I don't want to be sacrificing performance for nothing!

There was only one time the car did NOT feel firmly planted, and that was during a swerve maneuver, avoiding road debris. I had the car fully loaded, and was cruising at about 85mph (this was nothin for the Lex) but the car felt fine until the swerve. I felt the rear of the car dive hard(roll), and it seemed to be at a faster rate than the front. And then in a typical fashion, it sprung back hard. The spring back is what caught me off gaurd, and it felt as if the car was going to oversteer.

Other than that one time, the car itself feels well planted, the suspension is perfect IMO, and with proper tires for dry or foul weather, this set up should be fine (unless you're talkin off road). That's my $.02 essay!

Hello, Carrie.

I’m in the same situation. Been working up the nerve to trade my AWD Subaru for a FWD xA. I live in Alaska, where we deal with snow 6-8 months of the year. And I live in the mountains, which makes things even more exciting.

Scions just arrived here this summer, so no one has tested them in winter. But for what it’s worth, I can tell you this:

Last winter I drove a manual Echo. It felt great. I took it up a long, slick, and very steep hill, and it flew up there just as well as my Subaru. Maybe even better, since my Legacy sedan is heavier and less agile than the Echo.

I know that an xA is not exactly an Echo, but I am hoping that they are comparable in this regard. Most folks up here run studded tires in winter, and that’s something I can always do if needed. However, the Echo I drove was bone stock with all-season tires and had no trouble in winter.

I have read that FWD can be almost as good as AWD if the car is balanced right. The xA’s weight is balanced 60/40 front/rear. I’m not sure how this compares with the Echo, but I imagine it’s close. I’m guessing the xB and the tC are less similar to the xA than the Echo is.

You might try a forum search at http://www.echodrivers.com. There are lots of Canadian drivers there who might know more about Echo/Scion and winter driving.

Also see this thread:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15715&highlight=snow

Good luck!

put some chains on that car :lol:

Actually I was thinking about a set of these:

http://www.spikes-spiders.com/

Pricey but much easier than chains.

i haven't driven through to much bad weather, but it sux in lots of rain. it hydroplanes pretty easily. but that's when it's been raining a bit.