Well I just went out and test drove an xB and was fairly impressed. For the money it really is a nice car. nowhere near as tippy as I thought it would be by looking at it. It's a little gutless but i cant say I mind with the extra 10mpg over my current ride. how do they react to an intake and maybe the TRD muffler. What would theese do to the power and the mileage? they only had an auto and it's passing power on the interstate was almost nil. Is the 5-spd any better? i would definately be getting the 5spd anyway. I'm thinking about either a white, cherry or blue. how are each of theese colors for staying clean?

 

5-speed is much more peppy. I wouldn't expect to get much power from $300 in engine mods, because, after all, it's a tall echo. It wasn't meant to be fast.

Good luck.

 

my dealer said the air intake alone
could add 5-15 hp
and you could really feel the difference on the highway
thats prob one of the few eng mods i will do
to make it breath easier

 

The 5-speed feels TWICE as fast!. And adds alot to the "fun to drive factor".....A 5-speed is a must!

 

I have a 5 speed with the SPFR Intake...the thing is a blast to drive. Much faster than stock, although it will never be a "fast" car. A joy to drive and I don't regret getting it in any way.

 

dang, twice as fast?

 

LOL. I wouldn't believe anything your dealer says than! 15hp from the intake

 

i'd believe 1-5 but sometimes the overall help to the power curve can really be felt in the overall driveability. i will definately get the 5-spd my only question now is white or cherry.

 

White. I've owned a white truck and now a black car, and white is about 300x easier to keep clean. I don't mind owning a dark car because I do detailing, so it allows me to show my work.

The choice is up to you, you're paying for it.

 

Get a white manual, they're much much faster.

 

I originally wanted the black cherry pearl, but wound up getting a white one instead (5-speed of course!). White really is the easiest to keep clean, and that bcp is probably just as hard as black to keep clean.

As for engine mods, the dealer is blowing smoke with a claim of 5-15hp with the intake. Probably the same claim for the TRD muffler option too. Don't believe them! Most of the cold-air intakes (CAI) I've seen for the xB just reposition the air filter to a different part of the engine compartment. IMHO, it'd be better to get more of a "ram air" intake going. Cooler air is definitely better than the hotter air in the engine compartment. On mine, I removed that section of hose that goes from the bottom of the airbox to behind the left-side headlight. I replaced it with some 3" aluminum ducting, and routed it around to the middle grill, right next to the horn. That way, it's being force fed cold outside air. Next will be to replace the stock airfilter with something more free flowing to take advantage of the hose.

I replaced the stock barrel muffler with a free-flowing chambered oval muffler (Flowmaster knockoff), and a 3.5" chrome tip. It sounds nice, maybe good for a hp or two, and the tip fills in the bumper cutout quite nicely.

I got some 18" wheels from the dealer, and I've decided to get the TRD lowering springs instead of the fog lights. I'll get more use out of the springs, to cut down on the 3" wheel well gap I have now. The springs should cut that gap in half, without making the ride too bumpy. We'll see...