Originally Posted by Andyman

Well, I finally got the armrest that should be available as an option from Scion! A friend in Japan did the legwork, and after some minor hassles at the Toyota dealership there, he bought an Ist JDM armrest (10,500Yen = US$105) and shipped it over here. Shipping cost for the ~2.5kg armrest alone would have cost about $55, for 3 day "express/EMS" delivery. (Or about $30 for 2-3 month "surface" delivery). I got some other stuff too, so express shipping was $80 for a 5kg package.

So the package showed up today, and I got it installed this evening. To summarize, it looks very nice (clearly OEM), feels very sturdy, and is pretty straightforward to install. It took me about a half hour to install, but I was taking my time and snapping lots of pictures. It is held in place by sturdy steel brackets that mount to the seat rails, which seems much more durable (and cleaner to remove) than screws into the plastic. No drilling or modification is required; just inserting and tightening 8 screws. Based on my very limited experience so far, it is comfortable while driving, despite a lack of padding. So if you have any contacts in Japan, I'd highly recommend pursuing this option!
Scroll all the way to the bottom for pictures of the completed installation.

And now if you're still interested, I'll share some more detail and lots of photos of the installation process.

The box contained the armrest/console, instructions in Japanese, a plastic base, a piece of felt/carpet to line the bottom of the compartment, and various mounting hardware:



The console has a lid that slides back and down into the interior, and a cupholder that folds down from the back. This replaces the cupholder that's covered up when this is installed:



Even though the directions are all in Japanese, the pictures/diagrams are easy enough to follow:



The armrest/console screws onto a "saddle", which straddles the cupholder area, and in turn screws onto brackets which mount on the seat rails. The pictures show it better than I can explain it, so here is the driver's side seat rail before installation:


Same seat rail with bracket in place:

(BTW, the brackets don't interfere with movement of the seats.)

Same seat rail with the base of the "saddle" placed on top of the bracket, not yet screwed in:

(Note in the photo above that there is a second set of holes, so there are two placement options, about an inch apart forward and back. I slid the saddle back, and used the rearmost placement option as pictured below).


And a broader view of the saddle mounted in place, before the armrest itself was added:



There are 4 screws that hold the armrest compartment on to the saddle: (After these are screwed in, there is a little piece of felt/carpet supplied to line the bottom of the compartment).



And that's it! Once the compartment is attached to the saddle, it's done. Here's a view of the whole thing, with the seats slid all the way forward, so you can see the saddle:



Once the seats are slid back, you can't see the brackets or saddle at all - it's surprisingly unobtrusive. The sides of the saddle fit very close to the existing parking brake/cupholder assembly, so there's still room to store your road atlas or whatever, and still room to lose stuff that falls out of your pockets ;) .


And here's the final product!




The storage compartment in the console is small, but very functional, and I find it a VERY welcome addition to the limited interior storage in the xD. The compartment is just big enough to fit a few CD cases, or it definitely has room for an ipod, sunglasses, phone charger, and other odds and ends:

(Also, you can see that the little storage nook (where I keep some keys) is still accessible.)


Well, that's my description of the process - hope it was helpful or at least moderately interesting!

As for my opinions in use, I haven't taken this on any long trips yet (ask me after Easter), but after a brief test drive, it feels great. The height and placement is just right to rest my elbow while driving, and I can reach the shifter with my elbow rested on the front of the console. It's obviously not padded as well as the Zeta armrest, and that might become more noticeable after a long trip. But at least so far, it doesn't feel hard or uncomfortable at all.
The openings (main compartment and cupholder) both slide easily and feel solid, with little to no play or slop. There is no flex at all in the armrest itself - the mounting system is extremely solid.
It clearly looks OEM (and there's a reason for that...) - the plastic matches perfectly, and it lines up well with the parking brake and the little storage bin next to the parking brake. There is enough clearance to use the parking brake easily. Overall, a very nice system - why in the world isn't it available on this side of the world?!?

Please let me know if you have any questions or if you'd like more pictures,
Andy