Hi Everyone,

I bought my xa in July in Miami and I just moved back to Boston....I have 2 questions:

1.) How does it drive in winter conditions? I've driven it in strong winds and I can feel the wind pushing on the car. Has anyone ever felt this or is it just me?

2.) I was thinking of trading it in...How much do you think I would get? She's a 2006 xa with about 3,700 miles on her?

Thanks!!

Allie

 

I've had mine since 04, have driven it to california and back, and it drives nice in all types of weather.

 

I've had the same problem when driving in strong winds. One of the drawbacks of having a light car with broad, flat sides, I guess.

Can't help you with trade-in value though. Do the Edmunds, KBB, and NADA sites not have 2006 trade-in data available?

 

Hmm...I just checked. See I thought I was the only one having that problem. Like I really like the car but the fragile paint issue and the way I get knocked around in the wind don't really encourage me to keep her.

How has yours been with snow/ice? I'm far from an expert driver so I guess it scares me to be driving her in the winter. My brother-in-law said it would be easier to control a small car if you happen to skid but I don't know about that....

 

with the snow and ice, i haven't had a problem with it, it is pretty easy to control when skidding. As long as you use common sense when driving on snow/ice, you should be fine.

 

pretty sure it handles like any other light fwd car

 

It does.....no better, no worse.

Driving skill, common sense, and tires make the real difference.

 

Ok, Ok....I live in Buffalo, NY.

The stock Brigstone Potenza tires I got with the car were really bad in the winter. When they wore out I replaced them with a more all season radial and have no problems since. I gave up a little handling to get better winter traction and longer tread life. Just call me old on this one. Snow tires would really do the trick if you can't handle snow driving. I also don't like the ABS either it really sucks in the snow.

 

i go to school in boston and i have my car here with me on campus... my car is lowered 2" and i put snow tires and 15" steelies on for the winter, and i think it handles great in the snow. granted, i have traction and stability control as part of the RS 1.0 package, but i think that the xA is very easy to control in the snow if you get snow tires. i definitely reccommend a set, as i have 4 blizzak's on right now. i live in syracuse, NY when im not here at school, so im used to the winters here in the northeast. this will be my 3rd winter with the xA... hope that helps!

 

Yeah, I'd get winter tires. I just bought 4 of them for my tC. I'm sure the xA will be fine in snow (only with the right tires, though).

 

My 06 xA drives great in the snow! Just not other people drive as good as me! Cleveland Ohio 6" of snow here!

 

Buck up son....the only way to learn to drive in snow is to DRIVE IN SNOW. The more you do it the less it will scare you. Just remember, go slower than the speed limit and start to brake a lot earlier. Drive like your grandma does and you will be alright.

I love to drive in the snow more than on straight ice. A good set of winter tires would be a good step to help you. I prefer more of a challenge, that is why I run on bald tires all winter.

 

Last winter my friend and I were driving to the local Buffalo Wild Wings in the middle of a Minnesota snowstorm. I was in my 2005 xA, and he was driving his 1999 Mercedes ML430 SUV. As we were coming up to an intersection, the light turned red, and we both started to slide. My Scion stopped with the nose about about 2 feet over the line, which wasn't bad at all considering the conditions. His Mercedes, with electronic stability control and AWD, slid right on through. We were lucky it was late at night and the roads were empty, but even he was impressed with how well my car stopped.

 

i love my xa. yeah it handles like any other fwd car in the snow.

I've drivin this thing through tons of conditions. Just like everyone is saying, just use common sense.