I initially looked in to getting an xB in February of 2004, before they were available in my area. I test drove one in early 2004, and was not overwhelmed - but nor was I unimpressed. It struck me as a fine, dependable and unique car. By June, I decided I did not really have the opportunity for a new vehicle, so I dropped the concept. January 3rd, I decided I needed a new, dependable, efficient and functional vehicle, so I ordered an automatic Camo xB- no options other than mats and charged the deposit. (I will probably be putting aftermarket rims on, found some cheap graphite looking one, but that is it as far as modifications.)

I have driven trucks for the last 15 years, and my current other vehicles are an Expedition and a full size 4WD Pickup. Neither of these vehicles lacks for size or power. They do lack for decent fuel economy...

As I said above, I placed the order at the dealer January 3rd, and wanted a green auto. The dealer tried to locate one around the area, and tried to persuade me to look at other colors, etc. I just said order it, I can wait a month before thinking about payments.

January 10th it was in port. January 18th the dealer called with it detailed and ready. 5 PM on the nose on January 18th I drove it off the lot with ODO=3. I told the dealer I could pick it up around 4 if they could have me out in an hour, because of a previous commitment. Sales rep said no problem. The final paperwork etc. took an hour and 15 minutes, and could have taken 15. The process was relatively painless except the "closer" who insisted on explaining the extended warranty and "LO-Jackish" thing in painful detail, even though I explained again, as they knew, I was on an extremely tight schedule and very well understood the implications of purchasing a warranty, etc. I have a finance background and made an actuarial decision already not to buy the warranty, so I just wanted to save some time and effort on both our parts. What was probably normally some what of a hard sell on his part was simply going through the motions, albeit in precision, scripted, fashion. The only thing that annoyed me about this was the comment "Do you not care about taking care of your vehicle?".

The Odometer now reads 37, so my opinions truly are first impressions:

I asked the sales guy if he knew what TSBs would need to be applied, specifically if the A/C and Gas Tank Filler cut off ones were 'corrected' at factory. He said "What is a TSB?". Never mind ....

The sales guy also told me that xBs do not have remote keyless entry. I said I thought they did, and looked it up in the manual (and window sticker). He said "Oh, I didn't know that!" and I found them in the glove box. (Seriously, you DO work here right?)

Doors, especially driver side seem to want to be slammed in order to close, I will have to find the correct tolerance for this. Also, the "gasket" on the rear doors sort of sticks out all the way around. IS this normal? It looks like poor fit, but I have nothing to compare it to.

My friend who dropped me a the dealer is a tall 6-2 or 6-3. He sat in the passenger seat, and I must say I was a little surprised at how little leg room was there. I recalled it being cavernous, and instead it was "adequate". Reclining the seat helps. I have no trouble with leg room as the driver, and I am 6-0. The kids sat in the back and had PLENTY of room.

The location of the center instrument panel does not bother me in general, in fact I mostly like it. However, the speedometer's lack of 10, 30, 50, etc. will take some getting used to. What does annoy me about the instrument panel is the turn signal indicator lights are located there, so even if you signal left, the light is blinking on your right. This is of course a nit which I won't notice in 2 days, but it made me pause every time i signaled left to make sure my right "blinker" was not on.

For a non audio guy that is used to driving a truck with a bad tape deck that does not work, the stock CD player in the Scion is great. I am sure auidio experts will laugh at that statement...but I bought an economy car, and the stereo is above average....

IMO, this is NOT an underpowered car, even in the auto. It IS an economy car, and performs as such. Even being gentle on the throttle, I was able to merge and accelerate "ok". I am not going to win any races, but hopefully I will get there with more gas than the other guy. Bear in mind, if I have 3 passengers with me, this may quickly become an underpowered car.

I am still being gentle on the engine of course, but I have not gone above 3100 RPM even accelerating as I recall. Car seems to like going about 55.

It has been a little windy, and I passed several busses and Semis as well. I never felt that the xB was being moved any more than my full size trucks. Again, that may change when we get some big gusts.

The ride is farily quiet. Less wind noise than my truck, but more road noise maybe. This is surely a function of being 6 inches from the ground, rather than 11. Driving a 'car' will take some getting used to, but all in all the ride is pretty quiet.

Where do I put my CDs? May have to look in to an after market arm rest, but despite all the best effort, I just think they all look like what they are: afterthoughts. Maybe the boomerang ......

Overall, after 37 miles, I like it. I'll check back in 100,037 and let you know how it is going...


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congrats on the new ride.....

 

Yeah, that bugs me too. I figured "at least I won't leve them on since they're right there, even though it feels like I'm always turning right" But, I still leave them on

 

130,000 miles on the ODO. Scion Still plugging right along.

 

156,000 miles. That was a fast 26,000 miles after 130,000.