I'm sure I'm an old fart compared to many of you in this forum (I'm in my 30s with a wife and kids) but I'm curious why every new xB owner is talking about making various mods to their xB.

Granted, I plan to put new wheels on my xB, but I'm not planning to change much (if anything) else.

I liked the new xB as soon as I saw it and fell in love with the new xB as soon as I test drove it. I can't imagine buying a new car that I plan to immediately rip apart and "improve" it. If I didn't like the xB the way it is I would have purchased another vehicle.

So, are there any new xB owners who don't plan to mod their xB?

 

I plan on changing the wheels and maybe getting a few upgrades and that is it. Its a great car the way it is.

I do like that it is built where its easy to modify. Who knows maybe years down the line I will refresh mine with some of those mods.

Since you mentioned wheels. Is it better to just buy the upgrade or should we start with the base and by the RIMs some where else. That is assuming we stick with 16 inch versus going bigger. Is 700-800 about the right price ? What do you think of the wheel upgrade option that they provide ?

 

as another old guy, I bought mine with wheels and am working on my stereo. Then, the sway bar and a few things to integrate my cell phone, but that's about it

 

I'm using the car for Business.. I travel about 40,000 miles a year and needed cruise control so I waited for the 2008 XB. Mine will be white and other than a Sirius radio I don't plan to doing any mods

 

If you like the upgrade wheels available at the dealership and are willing to pay for typical dealer markup then buy the upgraded wheels when you buy the xB (or take it back to the dealer for the upgrade).

$700-$800 should be fine. A few years ago I bought a great set of 16-inch wheels for a VW Golf on sale for $99 each. Not the best wheels, but great for the price.

I personally didn't like the look of the upgrade wheels at the dealership. I'm actually debating whether to buy a $900 set of wheels from a local store or go super cheap and get a set of stainless steel "disc" style wheel covers like these:

http://www.hubcapmike.com/images/scion_slv.jpg

The reason I'm considering the stainless steel wheel covers is that I had to replace a $400 wheel on my Volvo S40 after an accident last year and it made me question how "practical" really nice custom wheels are ... particularly as a parent.

Also, I like the clean look of those disc style wheel covers.

 

I don't plan on modifying much. Like you, I'm probably intrested in upgrading the wheels. But thats pretty much it.

My bro's into the whole euro thing and is already suggesting all these things for it. I just smile and thank him for the suggestion. =)

 

De taping the pillars and probably a few other things. Thought about Paint but not sure yet on that. Not the whole thing just a custom accent look. Brake packagge for sure. Rims (All 4) now have more dust than used to. More cleaning time.

 

Im looking at getting an Xb in the near future and other than maybe exhaust, I dont think I will mod it much.
I think its a great little vehicle in stock form and I dont plan on showing it, so I dont see much sense in investing a lot of money in bling-bling.

 

I love the rims mine came with, but I did see a new vw with those rim disks and it looked really suave I thought. I got the spoiler, and I got the illumination kit, which I really enjoy at night. It is subtle and doesn't show in the day but I think it is very elegant at night. I have been thinking it would be cool to lower it, but I don't know. I love the look, but then again, I'm a 50 year old teacher, and I don't want everyone to start thinking I've decided to be gangsta. (Well, now that I think of it, maybe that would be good.)

 

Im honestly amazed at the number of older people who drive Scions. Considering that Toyota claims to have designed Scions for the under 25 crowd I just find it very surprising.

 

I guess Scion needs to realize that older people don't all want to drive f-ing SUV's or Cadillacs. Older people are still baby boomers and some of us are still wearing tye dye and are attracted to iconoclastic concepts. Enter Scion xB.

 

Bottom line:
A high quality practical car at a good price appeals to a certain type of person that is not determined by age alone.

There are also a lot of people who just don't want to drive what everybody else is driving that are not limited to a certain age group either.

 

I am 42 and will get an XB2. My brother is 44 and has an XB1.

When I was at the dealer, the two groups looking at the cars were in their 30s and/or 40s.

Just because you get older does not mean you have to be stale. Your requirements change but your taste does not have to. The modifications between the XB1 and XB2 were just enough to meet those extra requirements. The car is still cool.

Talking about older. There was a couple in the 60s that were looking at corollas and matrix for the gas mileage. I told them to take a look at the XB2 and the first words out of her mouth was "funky". They went back to the corolla but I thought it was funny that she described it as funky.

For my age group, Scion provides a cool car for folks like myself that want something that matches my style. Many in my age group are followers and want the big expensive SUVs to try and fit in and say they made it. I could easily buy several of those but prefer to lead instead and go with what meets who I am.

By the way, I have tried to push the XB to younger engineers in their 20s but many of them prefer the expensive SUVs or power sports cars.

 

We lost a bunch of leg room in the back seat on the new xB. My 6'4" son can sit very comfortably in the back of my xB1 but this second generation, he can't fit back there at all.

 

That seems very odd. I wonder if there was something strange about the back seat in the new xB your son sat in. The official numbers from Scion for rear legroom in the xB1 were 38 inches. The official numbers for rear legroom in the xB2 are also 38 inches.

Although I'm not 6'4" I am 6'1" with long legs and when I went to the dealership to test drive an xB2 I sat in the back seat with the front seats back all the way and still thought it was reasonably roomy.

 

Well, with the front passenger seat all the way back, my son's knees were crammed against the back of the front seat making an indentation. In my other Scion, his knees touch, but not uncomfortably. The specs may be right, but I just watched my son get in and out of both my Scions, and the first gen has more room for his legs and feet with the seats all the way back than the second gen. He was kinda ____ed about it. That was his favorite thing about my first gen xb although he doesn't have anything else nice to say about it. Now he has nothing nice to say about my second gen. He's happy for me though because I'm so thrilled with it. He drives a Jeep anyway so what does he know? -)

 

This is just temporary until I hit my mid life crisis in 3 years, then my wife will get it

Mid life crisis+ New corvette

 

i wouldn't be too worried if you're not going to mod it. i'm pretty sure the other billion boomers who wanted quality but were too chicken to be seen in the original won't do anything to theirs, either.

Just like the first one, which seemed to attract its fair share of old people (and I don't mean 30 and up, I mean like 60 and up; the demographics of the original were much more bipolar), i'm sure a healthy number (like 90%) of new xB drivers will just buy them because of the value. i'm beginning to wonder about scion's marketing division, since the brand is allegedly for young people but has now been made to look more like the PT cruiser - a vehicle firmly entrenched in the 40-and-up category.

whatever, i got my original, and GOD HELP anyone who hits me.

the backseat thing isn't a myth - that's what i've heard from every single person who has seen both-gen cars. somehow, the bloating "upgrade" from first- to second-gen has reduced the size of the backseat. don't worry, it's got a bigger engine, though

 

I didn't say it's a "myth" I just quoted the official numbers from Scion regarding front and rear leg room.

Again, I am 6'1" and although I wouldn't say I had a ton of room in the back seat with the front seats all the way back, my knees weren't digging into the back of the front seats. Maybe my legs aren't as long as some people's.

By contrast, if I sat in the back seat of my wife's Camry and she pushed the front seat all the way back in one swift motion my legs would be broken ... or at least hurting badly.

I probably would have purchased a new xB this year regardless of whether it had the original body style or the new body style. I was about to purchase the original xB back in 2004 but my wife and I bought a new house so I could only afford a used Golf. A year later I got a new job and a new car (Volvo S40) and now I've just taken another new job and I'm using the huge salary increase to justify a new car (xB2).

One of my friends purchased an xB1 early last year and I love that box. The things that made me uncomfortable about the xB1 (not much power for merging and passing on the highway, rear drum brakes, and a few other minor issues) have been resolved by Scion in the new xB.

Sure, there's a loss in mpg, but if you factor in the fact that the original xB was using the old exaggerated mpg estimates and the new xB has to list the mpg under the new strict guidelines the lost fuel economy is minimal compared to the increase in power.

That doesn't make the new xB "better" ... just different. And that brings me back to my original point: my attitude is that Scions are "different" enough from other vehicles onthe road that you don't really need to make a ton of mods to make yours unique.

 

Dang it...I must be ancient being that I'm 39 with a wife AND (4) kids...I have just a few mods...

Ok, maybe more than just a few...By the way, the MOD addiction started after adding new wheels...Once you start, it is hard to stop!

Congrats and enjoy your new ride...