CNET review of 2008 xB - UPDATED w/ VIDEO
 

http://reviews.cnet.com/wagon/2008-s...&tag=pdtl-list
They will also have an accompanying video in a few days.

Also, in their latest CarTech podcast the "on the road with Wayne & Kevin" segment is in the new xB.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-13249_7...1.html?tag=txt

love it.

cool

Just wondering, how many cars in this price range have BT integration?
Something that made me laugh (I was considering buying one) was that they listed an Audi A3 below in the Similar Products category. Um, NO, but they're both great cars in their respective niches/price ranges.

I somehow don't see cnet as an authority in the motor-vehicle arena LOL but always good to see a review

Good point. Not many. 2008 Nissan Versa SL offers a package that includes Bluetooth integration. A Versa SL Hatchback with CVT and ABS and Bluetooth has an MSRP of $17,285. That's right in xB territory.

However, adding the optional iPod interface requires the addition of several interdependent options bringing the total to $18625.

The new Lancer ES, which is also in this price range, also offers Bluetooth as a $187 option. One nice tech feature on the Lancer is an optional Nav system with a 30GB HD.

How many sub $20K cars do you see offering a HD? :D

Here's the new updated link to the review with the video:
http://reviews.cnet.com/wagon/2008-s...-32471254.html

Here is the new picture gallery:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4326-10863_7-6584578.html

I thought the same thing lol, but their focus seems to be on the vehicle tech which they would be more qualified to discuss. It also kind of explains their BT opinion.

I found that the xB with a Parrot 3200LS added for about $180 including the harness a pretty good fix for their BT integration concern. :wink:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/...Xor/parrot.jpg

Nice install! It looks great in that location. Covers up some of that blank plastic that there is so much of.

LOL @ cnets' test xB costing close to 23k! muhahahahahahahahahhaha!

I was ____ed because I paid $16,700 in cash ($1500+ which was taxes) for my brand new 06 box!

sure, you get navi, dvd players, etc, but if you did those mods yourself, you could easily save thousands. this is a no-duh, no sh!t sherlock sorta thing but it just makes me wonder why people are willing to spend thousands instead of spending a few hours doing these mods themselves...?

I totally agree. I couldn't believe they paid $23K for their xB and then still called it a "bargain wagon".

There are some people who never do anything themselves and always pay someone else to do it. And there are some people who do everything themselves and never pay anyone else to do it. Most people fall somewhere in between.

Convenience, know-how, time. I used to do all my own stuff, now I do some, I "outsource" some lol I look for the parts for better prices and get someone to do the installation. Time is my constraint, I'd rather spend it with my family than on the car.

^ very g00d point, i see what you mean. i guess it is worth it to pay the premium for mods when you dont have the time, plus the learning curve is steep, etc.

I modded my VW 1.8t, I modded my 600RR, from large hardware pieces to fiddling with electronics and the ECU. I have the know how and what I haven't directly done I can pick up.
BUT, I now see it as a function of time over money (or rather, time is money? lol).
Another prime example is doing things for our townhouse. I've painted over 15 houses thus far in my lifetime(mom, family, friends), I've even run A/C ducting. I have yet to paint my first property, I paid for it all. What little free time I have, I feel it's best invested elsewhere. Yes, I know I'm paying a premium, and I'm totally fine with that.
For the xB I'll tackle things as I see fit. I still love working on my vehicles and with my hands. I think you get to know your vehicle very well when you work on it, and the insight that offers is invaluable at times when diagnosing something (small rattles sometimes are easier to track down when you're not afraid to open and/or re-open something up).
The way I see the CNET review is the parallel in the way I see the the xB has "evolved". 1st Gen folks very much did their own stuff, 2nd Gen folks will pay others (dealers especially) for it. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of xB2's rolling off the lot with over 20K price tags. I'd love to see the sales numbers and have them break it down by groups 18k, 19k, 20k, etc. and features sold. NAV is the one high ticket item I'd like to look for followed by DVD headrests.
My approach will be just Premium HU from dealer, everything else from TRDSparks, even mats :P I'm also eyeing the DVD headrests somewhere down the line, so I'd say I fall in that group of "in between".

I agree with that 100% - it makes sense to me now after the other comment about spending time with fam. =]

and, ps, yeah, the navi on the 08's looks bananas ;]

It looks good, agreed, now why no pre-amp outputs!?
In my logic the NAV being the top of the line HU should have everything from the "lesser" models and then added features. I thought this was an oversight IMHO.