urbancowboy

I am seriously considering the xB but I am also not sure about the power. Does it have enough to get you out of the way of traffic? Will cross winds blow you off the road or blow you over? Do the col.d air intake & the turbo charger (ram jet or something like that) increase power of the 4 cyl? At what price? Do you really get 30 & 34?

sjsulilmil9

I have no problem with power in mine when i am by myself when i have my fat friends in the car it takes a little bit longer to get up but i havent gunned it in my car yet......I havent had any trouble with winds of any sort although i just got my car and out here in california the rain season is over so its nothing but blue skies...but as for the MPG out of my first 2 fillups i have average 2 MPG and 27.5 MPG all city driving.......I have read that your first 10-15-20 fillups will give u the worst milegae and it will only get better....but the box is where is is at.....

cjastacio

I love my xB, just got it in Jan. My favorite thing I love about it is how customizable it is. I have plenty of plans for it but power is seriously lacking. It's my only pet peive. I used to have a Civic and that only had about 20 more horses. It's seriously noticable but able to move around in traffic just fine. As far as getting blown over, I live in Cali so we don't have any major winds but when it is windy I definitely can feel it on my ride. I'm not sure how much of a difference engine mods would have, I never have been one to toil under the hood. But I'm sure some of the peeps around here can give you a good answer on those. Best of luck on your choice!

smeg

Don't be fooled. it's not a powerful car, but thats the point.

Yes, you really can get 30 - 34 mpg from it. It's a trade off

I can't tell you if you'll get much better performance with turbos or something, I've not done it.

I can get the box up to highway speeds (70 / 80) without a problem, it's not always as quick as everyone else. i don't have any issues.

Big_Kill

In my 11 dayus of ownership, it's my feeling that the xB gets into and out of the flow of traffic VERY well. Just don't plan on racing anyone - to the gap in the traffic, or to the merge point where the two lanes merge into one. The best you can do is get there at the same time and play chicken and that's no good. So I actually drive much more sensibly in the xB (if that is possible for me). The testosterone of driving the '95 Impala SS makes me a totally different driver since it WILL beat most other cars to the merge point.

But again, to answer your question, the xB is perfectly capable of keeping up with traffic. (I have a manual, BTW).

Tim

Max

Mine does great in traffic, even with an auto. It's not fast, but I never have a problem getting it up to speed, unless I have 1000 lbs of people in it.

I live in Illinois and oh man we got some wind, and yes it gets blown around a lot.

I like my CAI. It helped power, throttle response and sounds good.

30 and 34 are completely normal.

jsigone

I've only had mt XB for 2 days and LOVE it. not as fast as my S13, but pretty good. I had the same feeling about the 103hp until I drove one, the close gear ratio really helps getting up to speed w/o a problem. I'm still breaking in the car, it came with only 10 miles on the clock so I have more to drive. First tank went empty today and it came out to having 29mpg w/ mixed driving, driving 80mph on the freeways and lots of AC. Pretty impressive and only cost 32 bucks to fill up. My S13 is about 43-45 bucks to fill. I'll see in the future if I need a CAI.

Big_Kill

29 mpg is what I got on my first tank as well. I filled it to the first click and we'll see where we go from here.

Tim

tlewy

Averaged 33 mpg for first 6,000 miles. Got a little better than 36 on last tank. This car is a "nimble darter". It is not under powered at lower speeds. Because it is light, it accelerates pretty well, and because of its size, you can dart in and out of traffic. The place you miss the power is passing at speeds above 60....but this car still gets the job done. As far as wind. Imho, its not as bad as a van. or truck with a canapy. You can feel the wind, but you don't get blown around the road.

rdclark

People used to typical quiet but powerful American cars are sometimes hesitant to push a small engine like the xB's but it doesn't hurt anything, and if you goose it, it will go. I've never had any trouble merging onto Interstates or anything like that.

On the other hand, once you're going 70 or so it takes a LONG time to go much faster. Don't expect to do a lot of high-speed passing.

No problems with wind (but I'm used to driving tall vehicles).

30mpg average, 34 on trips, typical with our automatic.

RichC

2NRMOM

I have an 04 XB and have intake, header and exhaust... it makes a significant difference with the horsepower and doesn't take away from the MPG. What matters is how often you have your foot into it.. If you drive conservatively you can reallly squeeze the milage out of it. I get 27 for mixed driving and 32 for Highway.

PhillyCamoBox

my xb rides greatseating at least 4 cross winds for me are overwhelming at times but not dangerous....

Jhhnn

My xB handles strong crosswinds just fine- but I never encountered any until after the rear swaybar was installed.

Merging into traffic is no problem, so long as I anticipate properly and hold it down in the gears long enough to move up onto the power band.

Passing is similar- sometimes the smart move is to downshift to 4th, depending on the velocity... mine has a 5 speed.... and the short gearing helps it hold velocity on hills...

It's not a fast car, but the engine is pretty highly tuned and wants to rev.

urbancowboy

Wow! Thanks guys for all the feedback. I hope to sell my 05 Tundra double cab soon so I can get into an xB. My boss has also offered encouragement to me this very morning. It seems my job is being supressed 12/31/06. If they had given me only 11 more weeks I could have had my full retirement & 30 years. Nice people! Oh well, gump happens!
At age 60 I'm not a speed freak. For the past 20 years I have driven small trucks & the Tundra doublecab is just huge to me. Other than that, it is as nice a truck as I have ever driven.
What is a CAI? I'm also not hip to "peeps". Can the back seats be removed? I would like to pull them out and cover the floor with oak flooring. I only need to seat 2 people.

Max

CAI = Cold Air Intake. It's generally a longer tube which reaches down in front of the drivers side front wheel.

The back seats can be removed. The floor is somewhat flat from the front of the back seats to the rear, but it is fairly lumpy, and the spare sits above the floor, not sunken into it. Keep in mind I am talking about the steel floor, and not those covers in the rear.

Sorry about your job situation.

urbancowboy

Thanks Max. Bear with me. I'm still venting!!!