I traded in my 06 XB last night. Just driving home.... I already have fallen in love with this thing. What a difference. It's like night and day. I have to say I won't miss my 06 1 bit.

 

Ha! Funny, I just did the same thing yesturday, too.

If nothing else, the standard cruise control does it for me.

Improvements:
Horsepower: As someone who drives in the mountains of central Oregon, sometimes hauling heavy server equipment, this is a wonderful boon
Leg Comfort: I had to build a custom leg rest in the '06 in order to not get a numb spot on my leg from it leaning against the shift ****
Adjustable seat height: Very cool, will be playing with this a lot to get it juuust right
Louder stereo: '06 stereo was good sound quality, but not nearly loud enough.. now it's perfectly booming
Sports shifting: I really look forward to playing with this on some windy, steep curves.
A/C: Almost immediately blasting cold air rather than the lengthy delay the '06 had (May've just needed servicing, though)
Gauges: Yes! A heat guage! Call be weird, but I like that. Plus the digital spedo looks much cooler than the reading light the '06 had
Lock Beep: I always ended up turning around and pushing the lock button again, just to be sure, now I just listen for the beep
Ride Noise: It's so quiet! I didn't mind the noise of the '06 at first, but after a few hours it does get a bit oppressive, esepcially if I have passengers I want to talk to
Ride Comfort: Noticably smoother.
Safety Features: More is definately better
And, of course, Standard Cruise Control: I drive between Portland and Eugene quite often for work, and holding down the pedal for 2 hours straight at the same speed was driving me crazy... very, very cool


Issues:
The larger size is very noticable and I'm not sure I like it as the compact nature of the '06 was great for easy parking.. I'll get used to it, I'm sure
The shorter windows lend for less visibility, esepcially at stoplights, where I need to lean over my steering wheel even more than in the '06 to see anything slightly above the horizon.
On the same note, the rear view mirror takes up that much more of my view and gets in the way when I turn right.
The side mirrors shrunk
The arm rest is utterly worthless
Less MPG is a bummer, but the dash display was showing 32 MPG on the freeway where I was getting about 35-37 on the '06. so it's not a major loss
I miss the oven, but the better placed cup holders, the storage to the left of the steering wheel, and the giant cup holders on the doors make up for this fairly well.


I will say this: Doing trade-in at Toyota dealerships is painful, though I'm pretty sure this holds true for any car dealership. In the end I did okay and got the deal I wanted, as well as a new 2nd-gen xB to play with! Whee!

 

Am I the only person who gets 23 mpg on a regular basis?

 

I was getting a bit above that on my '06 when I was mainly commuting through downtown Portland on a daily basis, so imagine I'd get 23 mpg or so in my '08 in the same situation.

Long, straight freeway driving, however, yields much better economy, which is what my current job involves.

 

I'm getting just over 19....

I have a 1.8 mile commute with...erm...1...2...SIX traffic lights...which destroys my mileage!!

 

1.8 miles?

My recommendation: A bike

 

I get 26

 

Pojodan. I pretty much feel the same way about the new one. I was only getting 22-23 mpg in town with my 06. So the gas mileage is no big deal for me. I do have to say I don't care much for the drivers arm rest. That's pretty much my only complaint so far. You can not even compare the 1st gen to the 2nd gen. 2 different cars completely. 2 different concepts all together. I am glad they listened to their customers when they built this one. It has everything I _____ed about fixed that I thought was wrong with my 06. I just wish they could have kept the 1st gen body and added the new motor and features to it. But it's all good. I am happy with what I did.

 

same, pretty bad mileage 22-23ish

 

For me, it all depends on how I drive. I was able to get up to 31.7 mpg on the way back and forth to work, which is half suburban/stopsigns and half stoplighted highway. That was when I was driving as smoothly as possible, staying in the highest gear possible, etc.

When I started driving like I normally do, which is very aggressively, with heavy accel and frequent brake use, my mileage dropped to 24.8 mpg on the same route in the same conditions. Because of the larger and more powerful engine in the new xB, the gas mileage drops more dramatically with aggressive driving then it would with the old xB.

 

I love this car more and more each day (It's My baby! ) And I feel that, just like a baby, it lets you know what it likes. One thing I found is that it craves highway and responds with a goo goo and better gas results. Seems quite the opposite of the 1st gen. I am trying to adapt to its ways. 4.5 miles or less to work and elsewhere is not making her happy. about 23.8 mpg w/little highway and 28.5 when I feed her urge.

 

Definately agree there. On the 45 mile trip from where I bought my baby back home (I got my 1st gen in Salem as my parents live near there and they helped me pick it out, and I liked the staff there, so I decided to have some loyalty and bought from them again) she felt ever so pleased to be on the freeway for the first time and rode smooth and silk the entire way.

 

Congrats, I love my xB since I got it back in May. And I also have a 1.4 mile commute to work and school which kills my mileage cuz of the stop lights.

 

I had the same issue at first as well. Have you tried moving the mirror upwards at the hinge closest to the glass? This will move the mirror upwards and provide more view to your right....

 

Just drove it off the lot, 88 on the ODO.

 

Oooh.. I'll try that, thanks!

Mine had 4 on the ODO and 9 after I test drove it, at which point I drove it off the lot.