I had the Same feeling when I traded in My 07 Avalanche, As cool as I thought the Box is It was really hard to let go of the big truck feel. After about a week of driving around the box and having a good time with all of the features I like it Alot its easy to drive and Pretty good On Gas mileage.. A couple of exterior mods depending on what your buying it with and its looking Fresh, Add a Sound System and you will forget about going Fast... I would guess that if your not going to SuperCharge Or TurboCharge Not to waste money on performance mods.. your just going to hurt your MPGs..

 

Just picked it up. I'll post pics as soon as I get my camera back. Not bad so far. Really needs new wheels though.

 

Congratulations! see, you're satisfied already

 

I went from a loaded 04 G35 Coupe to a base model 06 xB. It sucked up until I filled my tank for the first time. I only did it because I had joined the Navy and couldn't afford my G anymore. But, I'm glad I did it. I've saved tons of money in the process.

Now that my 06 xB is deaded, and I'm rolling around in my 09 xB, I'm even more happy that I made the switch. Like you, I also have a motorcycle to get my speed fix, so the xB is just fine for my commutes and people hauling. I've got 19" wheels and a bunch of other TRD add-ons coming. Just waiting on the dealership to get the parts in. I'm pretty sure my xB will be my first 100k mile car.

Hope you enjoy your xB as much as I enjoy mine.

 

I'm looking to trade my 05 xb on a WS6 or Camaro Z28 fairly soon. You will miss the speed... I really like my xb but for my short drives to work and not really driving much in general, I miss the power.

 

I sold my '04 WRX for an '09 XB and I couldn't be happier. The WRX is more fun to drive, but I enjoy driving my xB as much or more because it's more comfortable, rides better (comfort-wise), is tons more roomy, has the ipod hookup, and gets better gas mileage. Oh, and there is no turbo lag which is nice for entering traffic. In the WRX the suspension was somewhat harsh and the seats weren't comfortable plus the gas for the xB is cheaper and it gets better mpg. I don't miss the power because the xB scoots plenty well enough to do what I need it to do. Hauling ___ sucks a lot of gas in a Subaru anyway.

Did you have an STi? Because the regular WRX doesn't do 0-60 in less than 5 second and you should be getting 27mph on the freeway at least. Going 65mph I was able to get about 33mpg on the freeway.

 

No, I had a WRX. 0-60 time was exaggerated, I'll admit. Just trying to get my point across. Actual time was right around 6 seconds. It was a 2007 with the 2.5L. Crappier mileage than the 2.0L you had. On one all highway trip (filled up, jumped on the highway, 15 miles worth of city streets when I got to where I was going, highway trip back, filled up again) I got 23mpg. Best I ever got. I was driving 80 the whole time, but it was a cruise control 80 on very flat roads. I'm in freakin' Oklahoma. All the roads are flat. EPA estimates using the less accurate (read higher) old system were 20/27 for my car. I NEVER got better than 19mph in the city, even when I stayed under 3400/no turbo.

I don't know where the ECU was set in the '04's, but 3400 to 5500 was all turbo in the '07's. Very little lag, especially if you knew how to drive it. Just keep the tach needle near vertical and you were in the meat of the power band. From a stop, rev to 4300, fan the clutch a little, and you were a rocket. Before anyone freaks out on me, I didn't do that very often, three times I can remember.

'06-'07's had an iPod hookup. I agree it's nice not sitting shoulder to shoulder to my passengers though.

I really miss the suspension. Yes, it was a little harsh, but I like the feedback from the car. My xB feels like riding on a marshmallow. I've already decided to order the NF tanabe springs which should help a bit. I'd like to go with the DF but I don't think I could get into my driveway with them. I don't have the money for coilovers right now, but we'll see how the NF's do. I also really miss the seats. I took a right-hander pretty fast today and I though I was going to slide into the gap between the seat and the door!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the swap now. I fill up every 10 days instead of every 5/6, and it costs about $45 instead of $57-$63. Averaging 24mpg mixed driving. I've been told it will increase slightly after the car breaks in a little. Plus, no mustangs or civics/integras try to race me anymore. Seemed like every stoplight I was at, there was some moron revving his engine at me. Insurance is way better. I called to switch cars on the policy, and with only two months left of my six month premium, they mailed me a check for $100. Getting the windows tinted 15% tomorrow morning. Switching the gauge/HVAC/HU leds soon, probably next week. Green with red needles; guess where I got that from?

It still really needs new wheels, but that'll have to wait. I have to pay the TTL first.

 

The NF's will help a lot, but I don't know what wheels/tires you're on. If you're on the stock steelies you should also step up to 18" tires and wheels.

Another mod that will greatly help the handling is the Hotchkis sway bars. They will really help the roll resistance, without sacrificing much in the way of straight line ride comfort. It won't be a WRX, but it will feel and ride a lot more like a 3 series BMW. I'm actually not a big fan of German cars (I don't like spending all my time at the shop), but few cars ride and handle like a BMW, and you'll be as close as you can get with a solid rear axle.

Don't ask or 2nd guess, just do it.

 

Thanks for the tips cionide. I might try to scrape up the money for the sways, just so I can swap everything at once.

I'm still on the steelies. I've got my eye on a few sets of 19"ers. Dream set is Advan RCIII's, but at nearly $700 a piece I just can't make myself do it. lol Wheels will come soon enough though.

 

18's or 19's are great, but unless you're rich and money is meaningless, I'd say that $700 wheels (each) on an xB are a waste of money. Find some other wheels at half the price and put the rest of the money into other more useful mods. Maybe TRD shocks & struts, and really high end tires.

Have you looked at the Five:AD wheels by Five Axis yet? REALLY SWEET!

 

Definitely a waste of money. I want to go with a gold painted multi-spoke wheel, and those are the top end of wheels with those specs. Weight really doesn't mater a whole lot with the xB so I'd never buy them for it.

Five axis AD series are cool. Bronze on black would look ok too. It's the subaru brainwashing pulling me towards the gold though.

 

Do you mean 27 in your xB or WRX.

The xB has better steering to me than the WRX. WRX has a slow steering ratio and slow turn in. teh xB felt sharper as well.

 

TX WRX; At first I thought you were crazy. The steering ratio in my wrx seemed better than my xB. So I did some research.

'08-'09 Scion xB: steering ratio 16:1
turns lock to lock 2.9

'02-'05 Subaru WRX: steering ratio 16.5:1
turns lock to lock 3.0

'06-'07 Subaru WRX: steering ratio 15:1
turns lock to lock 2.6

You had an '02 if I remember correctly. When subaru when from 2.0L to 2.5L they upgraded several different things I guess.

 

I meant 27 in my WRX. I imagine the slow turn-in might have something to do with their rally heritage.

 

yep that is true. The 06 are better in the regard. The other factor is that the steering wheel on the 02-04 WRX is rather large with thin grips. So even though the steering ratios are close between the xB and WRX, the smaller xB wheel requires less arm movement and thus feels even quicker. But the other thing is that WRX have a pretty big dead spot in the middle. Teh xB does not have as much feel being electronic but i was pleased with its feel as compared to my WRX. Swap bars and summer tires and i imagine the xB would feel very responsive. Oddly though the xD has an even faster ration (14.8 i think) and it feels fast but not that much more than the xB. Both xD and xB feel more powerful at very low rpms than the WRX because of the turbo choking the engine below 2500rpm. So in every day commuting there is not much difference between the cars performance feel. (from what i gathered from test drives). But i will miss that occasional rush of acceleration, even if my wallet doesnt miss it. ;)

 

I never noticed a dead spot in the middle of the steering, but I imagine that over time the steering bushings would wear so that's probably where your extra play came from. No such problem with the xB's electronic steering.

My xB has more get-up than I thought it would. I'd been babying it to break it in but got on it entering the highway a couple of days ago. Average mph gauge went from 24.7 to 24.1 real quick, and I was on the bottom third of the tank!

 

dont go with those expensive wheels. I found the Kosei K1 TS series to be attractive and light and cheap.
17" for $150 weighing 14lbs
18" for $225 weighing 16 lbs
from tirerack. I have not purchased these before but they are on my list. will save you $1600 over the others

 

I put every suspension upgrade i could find on my XB and I love it. I can throw it in to a corner with recless abandon and have no fear of roll over. The front end will push a little on concrete, but in general it has a very balanced feal in a slide and takes a real effort to get all four to break loose.

Also, now you can use all of the throttle in all of the gears.

 

^ do you have the Tanabe underbrace?