The September Motor Trend magazine has their new car section where the do a very small review on virtually all new cars. They only gave the xA two stars (I think out of 5) and they said it "wasn't as cool as it used to be" or something similar. The good thing they said was it has alot of features for a bargain price.

They gave the Honda Fit four stars and said it had "sprightly performance." However, they said the 0 - 60 time for the xA was something like 8.8 - 9.8 seconds and the 0 - 60 time for the Fit was like 11 - 12 seconds. I don't remember those numbers exactly, but it was close to what I listed and the xA was substantially faster to 60. If those numbers are true, I don't know how they can mention sprightly performance for the Fit and not mention performance at all for the xA. If those numbers are true, the xA's acceleration is OK and the Fit is just slow. I still have never seen a review comparing the performance of the xA and the Fit. The Fit is supposed to have decent handling, but that is what I've heard of the xA as well.

My guess is that Motor Trend only really cares about new models and significantly changed models and since the xA hasn't been updated lately, they don't bother with it. I can't imagine the xA could really deserve two stars in their ratings given that is below what most other cars are rated. For the money, the xA is definitely not a below average car.

 

Not to mention they probably had a bone stock 06 xA and the sport model of the Fit, which inherently has more oomph. It's all about who's got the money and where the trend is going. I always find it funny when they test drive an xA and hold it to the standards of a Corvette.

 

The xA is a fine little car. If it wasn't I wouldn't have bought one. But the reality is, it's an aging design that's about to be replaced with something fresher.....and none to soon.

Is the xA a good buy? You bet. But cars like the Fit, Yaris LB, Versa, ect. have caught up to it....or even passed it up some. In fact, if I had to do it all over again, I might have held out for a Yaris LB myself.

Hey though....they still said "the Box rocks."

 

I never bought motor trend mag.

 

I ran into that issue too. It was kinda disappointing to see two stars next to my car, but I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Just because an opinion is published doesn't mean everyone agrees with it, and I'm sure Motor Trend didn't take a poll to conclude their ratings for the xA or the Fit.

 

I was at the movies seeing "miami vice" and they had a a scion ad they ran that only had the xB, and the tC. Talk about feeling left out.

 

Yeah, I saw that same commercial while watching Super-Ex Girlfriend (ugh). And when the commercial came on, I told my brother "Hey cool, wait for the xA, it's pretty tight!". Then it never came on and I looked like a fool

 

The irony is, Toyota orignally thought it would be the xA that was going to be the real seller and the Box was thought to be a gamble. They were truely surprised that it was the opposite.

Still though, with gas prices as they are, xA sales have done quite well in the last few months.

The bottom line is, the xA is considered the most "economy-car-like" of the three. As such, it just doesn't quite have as much of a "cool" facotor as the Box and TC.....which means it's been pushed to the side a bit....at least in terms of marketing, which is why you don't see it in the Scion TV ads.

 

Yes and atleast they aren't going to discontinue it, that would definitely suck. I'm still just patiently waiting for specs and pics of it's successor to slowly leak out.... hopefully soon....

 

I think all the rivals of the xA are still behind the flare and sleekness of the car we love so much. If they do re-invent the xA, i don't think they should get too crazy with it.

 

That's my biggest concern with the redesign. Will they get the styling right? I'm sure they will improve the interior, add a little horsepower (hopefully not hurting gas mileage much), and increase the cargo area. For me, the question remains whether it will still look good.

I'm also a little concerned with it being supposedly (as many people have said) a US-only model. I really like the idea of sharing the car with Japan and other countries. Sharing the platform increases the chances if it being a good value, improves aftermarket parts availability, and improves quality. Having the xA out in Japan a couple of years before it hit the US seemed to be really good from a quality standpoint. We didn't have to deal with alot of early-year model issues.

 

Personally, I think the Xa is, by far, the best looking car on the market for the price. If you get the nice rims for it, which I didn't do, add the wing, tint the windows, the Xa is a damn good looking vehicle. The Honda Fit is fugly - I considered buying one but I honestly couldn't get past the looks - it looks worse than the Chevy Aveo.

My other car is an E30 325i, which has a lot of miles on it, but still runs great. The reason I bought an Xa was for mileage and reliability. I've dumped quite a few $$$ in the BMW lately and I couldn't justify dumping more $$$ into it, even though I absolutely love driving it. This morning I took her up into the mountains for a nice drive and did some hiking.

That said, I honestly can't see any reason for ripping the Xa. Like I said, it's a great looking economy car, has adequate power considering the price, and has quite a few features. Someone in another thread mentioned that they thought the stereo was poor quality, my stereo is outstanding.

So far I'm pleased with my Xa. I put 5k miles on her in 2 months and I can't really complain about anything.

 

Well I think the main reason they were ripping on it is because after all it is 'Motor Trend'. The xA is kind of behind the 'trend' compared to the xB and tC. Besides, I've never needed a magazine to verify how much I love my xA.

 

Honestly, I didn't really see where they "ripped" on it. They said it was a good value with lots of standard features.....only that it wasn't as cool as it once was.....read "fresh".

 

I agree the text of the review wasn't negative. The thing that surprised me is they gave it only 2 out of 5 stars. Below is how they describe their ratings:

1 star = Beats walking, 2 stars = For your neighbors, 3 stars = Right on the Money, 4 stars = Fuel for your soul, 5 stars =Drive before you die.

2 stars basically is a car not worth buying by their rating system.

For comparison, they rated 170 cars and the following are the only cars w/ below 2 stars:

Kia Amanti (1 star), Lincoln Town Car (1 star), Mercury Grand Marquis (1 star), and Saturn Ion (1 1/2 star)

The following are the other cars rated w/ 2 stars:

Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Focus, Hyundai Tiburon, Jaguar X-Type, Kia Rio, Saab 9-5, Suzuki Aerio, Suzuki Forenza, Suzuki Reno, and Toyota Solara.

So 152 out of 170 cars were rated higher than the Scion xA. When the Chevy Aveo gets 2 1/2 stars, the Toyota Corola 3 stars, Toyota Yaris gets 3 stars, and the Honda Fit gets 4 stars, I think Motor Trend was in a way cutting down the xA by rating it towards the very bottom.

 

How did the Solara only manage 2 stars?

 

okay, I'm suuuure a Chevy Aveo is TONS better than an xA

...sarcasm.

 

So, our xA is on the same desireability level as a Jag X type? I can live with that...and I read Car and Driver. I give then 4 1/2 stars...hehehehe

 

Yeah, when I saw that little review in MT I felt bad for the xA... But I think the ratings were based on "should I buy this new car?" and not based on the car itself. That's why you see lower ratings on cars that will be redesigned or discontinued soon. As well as higher ratings on brand new bodystyles.

I don't think they were being too harsh by saying the xA is "not as cool as it used to be." I mean c'mon, Scion itself barely even supports the car. Like you guys said, there are big screen Scion ads showing only the xB and tC. It sucks, but companies follow the money, and tuners follow the trends. I'm sure xA owners love their car, and that's all that really matters, but in the Motor "Trend" world, people want what's trendy and fashionable, and the xA(even though it's great) is losing that.

Don't worry, when the new model buzz wears off of the Fit and Yaris, and the '08 xA (or whatever they name it) comes out, you'll see a shift in what's trendy. And in a few years when they review the unchanged, vanilla bland Yaris again, I bet they'll comment on how it's "somehow, just not as cool anymore"

Oh, and look for the new xA to have a 1.8L motor, 30+ more HP, and still get BETTER gas mileage. Eat that, Honda Fit!

-THE DON

 

Motor Trends sells ads. I don't take reviews in those magazines seriously. Consumer Reports gave the xA very high marks all the way around, except for body integrity, acceleration, and ride quality. So there have been lots of complaints about bad paint. You can expect any car with this MPG rating to not accelerate well- that comes with it! And for ride quality, it's a tiny, economical car, that's what you get. Pretty fair review if you ask me. All other marks were Excellent.