Is the xB the best sub compact SUV ever?
 

I know the hot new car market now is the sub compact SUV's. Looks to me Scion xB was way ahead of it's time and to me it's still the one to beat. The HR-V is vastly underpowered, the Mazda's and Suburu's simply miss their marks. The Kia Soul really isn't all that practical, basically a girlie car.

xB to infinity and beyond!

Don't get me wrong, I'm on my second 2006 xB and I absolutely love them. But to say the xB is the Best sub compact SUV ever might me pushing the definition just a bit.


First of all, generally speaking, a compact SUV is a four or all wheel drive unibody construction vehicle. The xB never offered four or all wheel drive although it does utilize unibody construction. And most compact SUV's will simply walk away from an xB in the snow.


Second, you state that the new Honda HR-V is "vastly underpowered." The Honda has a 141 HP / 1.8 liter engine. My first generation xB struggles to gain momentum with only 105 HP on tap. Even flogging the snot out of my 5 speed toaster, a fully loaded city bus gives me a run for the money. I kind of doubt I'd beat an HR-V in an episode of Pinks.


As for the Mazda, I've driven one and it was actually the best driving small SUV I think I've ever been in. In fact a Mazda may be what replaces my xB someday if it ever dies.


Finally, the first generation Kia Soul was a raging POS. The second generation Soul addresses almost all of the weaknesses and is actually a pretty decent car - if you can handle the way it looks.


As for me, I love my xB and will drive it until the wheels fall off. Is it the best compact SUV ever? Nah. I might say it's the best small front wheel drive wagon ever though.

If only . . .

. . . the xB had come with available AWD.

But still, I'm not ready to trade my Stubby ('06 xB) for anything else. I recently had Stubby reshod with brakes and I got a RAV4 as a loaner, so I got to do a back-to-back comparison.

The RAV4 was nice; well appointed, smooth ride, quiet, handled well, yadda, yadda, yadda. And the AWD was much appreciated 'cause we got a pretty heavy snowfall overnight so I drove in stuff that Stubby would've had a hard time in (a morning that I'd have taken the Highlander with AWD that is Stubby's stablemate, if I'd not had the RAV4).

BUT I was really glad to be back in Stubby! The outside is smaller, the inside is bigger, the MPG rating is better, and he was just more FUN to drive! AND (probably part of the fun factor ;^) can you even get a RAV4 with a stick??

If I HAD to replace Stubby, the RAV4 would decidedly be a candidate . . .
. . . but I'd probably look for another gen-one xB first[*].
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[*] there is NO way I'd ever consider a gen-two "xB" abomination

Peace

The xB classic was never an SUV. It was a City car and does that job quite well.
I still love xBs after all these years and would not want to replace it with anything on the market now.


It is amazing how Scion/ Toyota corporate has lost touch with the youth market.
Isn't that why Toyota invented Scion in the first place???:doh:

.......could be better if they were originally offered with factory installed roof rails making it cheaper and easier to mount cargo boxes on the roof (I recently bought a long cargo box for right around $500.......the box itself was only $125, the box rails were $85, and the xB specific mounts were $275........if the xB came with factory roof rails, the cost would have only been slightly over $200

The heater/defrost system could be better......when I use the defroster, hot air would come out at the base of the windshield AND still would be coming out of the side dash vents.I used to think that the side vents were broken because air would still be coming out.....then I realized the vents are supposed to be pointed towards the door glass to defrost. Once the glass is cleared up, I switch to dash vents for 5 minutes then have to switch back to defrost (this is while dropping off 4 kids at school on cold mornings.

Would have preferred a different rear door design. (Thought of this one while shopping for my roof mount cargo box). I had a "clam shell" type of cargo carrier already which I used atop my old Toyota Forerunner but, because the rear door of the xB rotates upwards, this was not an option. The Toyota Forerunner rear window could roll down and the rear door/gate lowered........perfect platform for standing on while loading junk into the rear facing clam shell shaped carrier........now I got the side load cargo carrier on the xB and I hate standing on the plastic door sills while loading it up..

American Tires called it a Micro Mini Waggon when I bought my first tires for my xB back in the day.

its not a SUV , its a small wagon , that's how it's classified by kbb, insurance, Toyota, etc

Technically, it's a "small" wagon. But I have loaded her down with ridiculous amounts of cargo that many medium sized SUVs couldn't fit. Things like a complete 4 camera switcher package or my 25 foot camera jib with a doorway dolly have people's mouths agape when they realize all this stuff came out of "that little car?" Perhaps it was my college days packing trucks at UPS that helped? 😂

I was a original owner of a 2006 TCM for 9 years before I traded in for my 2015 tC RS9. Best car I ever own.

I would love to see pics of your 25 foot camera jib with a doorway dolly INSIDE your wagon.

Perhaps also of your removing your rig so we all can have our mouth's agape :tongue: :eyes:


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I call my Xb a "URBAN UTILITY VEHICLE"
 

I bought a 2005 Xb in November 2004, and I still drive it every day. It was sometimes called then an URBAN UTILITY VEHICLE and I use it for that purpose. It is the best car I have ever had, and I have been driving now for 56 years.