Hello everyone, I've been lurking these forums during the past month as I contemplate a purchase of an xB and I have one question that I could not find an answer on...

How is parallel parking in the xB?

I current drive a Cavalier and I can parallel park very well, is it difficult in the box?

On a similar subject, what are the blind spots like?

...any other tips / comments for a new buyer are welcome as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

almost no blind spots, compared to driving a cavalier it's like driving a glass car. Parallel parking is fairly easy, minus having to relearn the corners of the car and sometimes use of mirrors. I think my biggest disappointment when it came to overall ride, were two things
1. no power, yes it is an economy car but so were the old civics and they felt like they had more oomff
2. turning radius, not so great. My last car I could uturn on a two lane street. In the xB I have to three/four point turn. . .ha ha ha.

it's forgivable though, once you get used to it.

 

I test drove one on Saturday and I was suprised it wasn't as small as I thought.

I did not get to do any highway driving during the test run, but the power did not seem to bother me too much.

Thanks for the response.

 

Because the wheels are so close to the actual corners of the car, and because you can see out so well, you'll probably find the xB to be the easiest car to parallel park ever. I know I did.

RichC

 

^^^agreed. with the xB on three lanes, I can turn from lane 1 and 180 degrees later, I am in lane 2. On a residential street, that's curb to curb with no issues whatsoever. There's a nearly mandatory u-turn near my house, and i've never made it so cleanly.

The xB might not have the best turn radius (however, i think it's great) it is very nimble in tight situations.

 

I think it's cake, especially since learning where the rear corners are is nothing.

I am very happy with the turning radius.

 

It's a small footprint car on the road, with very easy to see corners. It's also obvious where the ends of the cars are, so parking is easy.

I had a 2000 Altima before, and it had bumpers that extended way over the ends of the hood and trunk, parking was a pain. I'd have to guess where the end of the car was.

And 180 turns are pretty simple too

 

It's like driving a frickin fish tank. Unless you could make the rear wheels turn too, I couldn't imagine anything easier to park.

 

when parking, you have so much unexpected room left over compared to most other cars, even the compact cars. it's almost scary.

 

I can tell you one thing. Dont be fooled by the XB's height. THe car's length is short. I've been able to park in spots other people have given up on.

 

same here!

 

There is a couple of blind spots due to the size of the pillars, but you get use to them. Not much parallell parking around anymore--but is a breeze in the xB.

 

easiest car ever.at least for me

 

I used to live across the river from NYC in Jersey, so parallel parking was ALL I had...The box is very easy to park - like others said above, it's easy to see the corners of the car, and the box fits into spots that most other cars won't (except maybe a Mini or an xA)!

And with so much vertical glass around you, there is not really any blind spots to speak of - yes, it's like driving a fish tank!

Get the box, you won't be disappointed!

 

If all else fails, just get out and push it into place.

 

lol, or get a bunch of friends to lift the car and and "place" it in the spot. At 2400ish lbs, you just need 16 guys to lift the car,...assuming they can each lift 150lbs.

 

Great responses! Thank you!

I'm one step closer.

 

It is tempting to stand beside the open door and push on the A pillar. However, the only place to push the A pillar is on the plastic pillar cover. The cover will push off long before the car will move. The more this cover is removed, the easier it removes, and pretty soon I think the plastic snap thingy will stop snapping, or even break off. I hear a new cover is $75, so I don't push the car any more.

 

The clips are not part of the cover. You could get replacement clips for a couple of bucks from the dealer.

 

It's a CITY car (CITY!) so it's EASY to park; you sit up tall, surrounded by glass, and the car's short with its wheels out on the edges, so visibility is about as great as it could be without the whole vehicle being made of glass. You want a hard - to - parallel - park vehicle, consider the Camry SE. I love that car, but it plain SUX as a parallel parker. So it's the Camry for long road trips with lots of hiway driving and the xB for running into town and getting things done . . . .