The Square Peg that Fits Just Right

INTRODUCTION AND INTERIOR

I test drove a 2006 Scion xB, a.k.a. the TOYota BOXy car. It had the automatic transmission and the big, expensive wheels with low-profile tires.

My first impression was that the interior space was vast. I drove several other compacts and subcompacts that day, and the xB was the only one that didn't make me feel a little claustrophobic. The cars all had enough head and leg room for my 6 foot tall frame, but driving the others was like visiting houses with ceilings 2 inches above my head. They were technically spacious enough, but still felt a little cramped. It would be nice to have an inch or two more elbow room in the xB, but it didn't feel at all confined, and the high roof and large glass areas were enough to make it feel large and open.

The speedometer was moved for the new models, and is now is far from the driver and a few inches to the right of the driver's line of sight. It sounds like it'd be difficult to see, but it's actually well-placed and easy to read.

The audio controls on the steering wheel allow the driver to adjust volume, cycle through presets, and alternate between CD and radio mode. I think it'll let the driver cycle through CD, FM, and AM, but I didn't check. This is a great feature for audiophiles who love to frequently change stations but don't want to take their attention away from driving, and is rarely found on cars this inexpensive. If you're considering buying used, keep in mind that some earlier models don't have audio controls on the steering wheel.

The Scion xB also includes a privacy glass. Aside from its obvious intended purpose, it can also be useful when you are driving alone or carrying one passenger. Closing the privacy glass isolates the front area of the cabin from the rest, so that the heating/air conditioning only operates on the air in the front of the cabin without altering the temperature in the rest of the vehicle as much. This is beneficial because it allows the front of the xB to be heated or cooled more quickly, without wasting so much energy heating or cooling the rest of the vehicle.

STANDARD FEATURES

There's a lot in this little box! Check out the sprawling list of features:

Steering wheel-mounted audio controls
Traction control
Stability control
Anti-lock Braking System
Power windows, mirror, and locks with remote keyless entry
Privacy glass
60/40 folding seats
5-speed manual transmission
Much more

If the Scion xB isn't the cheapest car sold in America to have these features standard (or optional for that matter) it's pretty close. In fact, of all the cars I researched, the Scion xB is the only car in its price class to offer all of the first three items optionally or standard. I haven't researched the other items as closely.

OPTIONS

The only option is the 4-speed automatic transmission. There are also a bunch of accessories available, most of which are frivolous and silly as far as I'm concerned.

There are only two interior color choices: dark gray and black. If you find light interiors more inviting and attractive like I do, you're out of luck. This is the one aspect of the Scion xB that just doesn't make sense to me. If they're going to tool up to make two different colored interiors, why make them such similar shades as dark gray and black? They should offer one dark shade and one light shade to appeal to a broader spectrum of consumers.

The exterior color selection is better, yielding nine options. There's a color called black cherry that looks like dark purple to me, a somewhat dark salsa red, a really dark blue, bright yellow, black, white, silver, dark gray, and camouflage metallic. Even with all of these options, if you want your xB in a bright color, you're stuck with school bus yellow.

STYLING

O.K., there's no way to discuss the Scion xB without bringing up its quirky, unique styling. Personally, I admire Toyota for daring to be different, rather than just making another cookie-cutter car.

I find the xB's straight, confident lines and clean, unbroken surfaces visually pleasing. Contrary to popular belief, the Scion xB is not a perfect box. Many of its surfaces are curved slightly, and most of the angles are close to but not exactly 90 degrees. The front end has High-set rectangular headlights and grill, and a tall bumper/ground effects piece that stretches to the ground from the great elevation of the lights and grill. These styling cues emphasize the xB's height and hard angularity, while the ground effects around the vehicle make it look paradoxically sleek (at least as sleek as a tall box can look).

By the way, don't worry too much about scraping those ground effects due to its apparent low ride height; it actually has more ground clearance than many other compacts, including but not limited to the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Yaris, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Nissan Sentra, and the Chevrolet Cobalt.

It'd be nice if the wheels could be bigger to better suit the tall vehicle, but with the short overhangs and the locations of the doors, there's really no room to expand the wheel wells for bigger wheels. I guess one must either lift the xB's suspension or opt for low-profile tires to get bigger rims. Oh well.

For some reason, many people dismiss the Scion xB as an ugly car and never consider owning one. These people really miss out. Is the Hummer H2 ugly? Do you cringe when you look at a Jeep Commander? What about the revered Mercedes-Benz G-Class? Few people seem to find those boxy cars unattractive. Sure, the Scion xB is a box on wheels, but there's no reason that has to be a bad thing.

The shape of the car gives it a small, easy to park footprint and a ton of storage and personal space. It has a footprint of only 155.3 x 66.5 inches (within 0.2 inches of the Honda Insight on each dimension, 23 inches shorter and 0.4 inches skinnier than a Toyota Corolla), yet it can comfortably hold five full-sized adults and a little cargo or two full-sized adults and a lot of cargo with the 60/40 rear seats folded.

ON THE ROAD

I wanted to test drive the manual, but all the dealer had was an automatic. An unexpected behavior I noticed is that the transmission would hang onto the first gear or two, then shift up several times when the xB was up to speed (that is, when the acceleration stopped). I figured out that this is to make the best use of the xB's power band, which isn't much in a car with a meager 103 SAE horsepower at 6000 rpm and 101 pound feet of torque at 4200 rpm. (It's not as bad as it sounds, though, since the car only weighs about 2400 pounds.)

The engine was very audible under acceleration, but based on the other small cars I drove, that's par for the course. The sound is deep and not disconcerting or irritating, just very noticeable. Despite these observations, the xB felt solid the whole time, and I never felt the need to mash the pedal to get the acceleration I wanted. After the transmission finished upshifting and the xB was traveling at a constant speed, the engine noise was slight to inaudible, perfect for enjoying your favorite music. Wind and road noises were minimal, and didn't detract from the driving experience.

I've read many reviews that complained of the xB's rough ride quality, especially with the low-profile tires like the ones on my test car. I took the xB over some rough terrain of busted concrete in a parking lot and it really wasn't that bad. It was a little rough, but not enough to really bother me.

I've also read that the xB with the automatic transmission lacks power on the highway. My test drive route only took me through 40-45 mph speed limit zones, so unfortunately, I couldn't test this personally. However, a Toyota sales person told me that it hauled 4 full-sized adults at 80 mph with no problem. Also, as I stated earlier, the power seemed adequate throughout my test drive.

AWARDS

The 2006 Scion xB won many honors, including but are not limited to the following awards from Intellichoice:

The Best Overall Value of the Year, Small Wagon
Top Winner for Highest Retained Value
Top Winner for Lowest Depreciation
Smart Choice Lowest Fuel
Smart Choice Lowest Maintenance
Smart Choice Lowest Operating
Top Winner for Lowest Ownership

and the following awards from Edmunds:

Editor's most wanted
Lowest True Cost to Own

It looks like it's hip to be square! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

THE VERDICT

The 2006 Scion xB is an excellent people mover for those who want great gas mileage, maneuverability, storage space, seating capacity/passenger space, and a plethora of standard features in an inexpensive and neat-looking package. It's a great vehicle for those on a tight budget and a good one for those not on a tight budget.

If you want to win heads-up drag races or blend in with the crowd, don't bother with the Scion xB. If you just want a great car, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to take one out for a spin.

UPDATE

I test drove a different Scion xB. This time it was a manual shift, and I got to drive it on a 65 mph highway. Engine noise on the highway was the loudest every car I have reviewed, although it could be sufficiently drowned out by the radio at a comfortable volume. The dealer said that something could be bought to supplement the insulation for a quieter ride, but I don't remember any of the details about it.

The clutch was smooth and easy to work, rivaling that of the Chrysler PT Cruiser. On the downside, the shifter was quite possibly the clunkiest, sloppiest I've ever operated (although I haven't operated many). By contrast, while the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Dodge Caliber had very different shifters, they were both easy to manipulate. I had to fight to get the Scion xB's shifter into the desired gear, and when I did, sometimes I was still uncertain that it was completely in the right gear.

I'd have to say that the shifter this was the biggest disappointment of the whole experience. After prolonged driving of the xB, one may (or may not) grow accustomed to this shifter, and the clumsiness of it may become forgivable or even forgettable. Feel free to comment if you have driven a manual shift Scion xB for an extended time.

Overall, I still think the xB has a certain charm that simply can't be matched by any other car available. Whether you want an xB would depend largely on your enthusiasm for rowing the gears on winding roads, your tolerance for shifting difficulty, and most of all, your level of infatuation with the boxy styling.