May 3, 2007
First Drive: 2008 Scion xB


The box gets bigger.

On the trip from the airport to the hotel at Scion’s recent press event, we spotted an old Scion xB with the bumper sticker that says “you just got beat by a toaster.” Of course, there aren’t many cars that the xB could beat in 103-horsepower stock trim, but that’s beside the point. What’s important is that Scion owners are so enamored with the boxy shape of the xB that they affectionately compare it to an appliance. So it’s no surprise that the new 2008 Scion xB is still boxy, but everything else has changed.

Youth-brand Scion itself hasn’t changed. Potential buyers still visit the Scion showroom section of a Toyota dealer to order a base car with no options. All of the accessories, including stereo and performance upgrades, are done at the dealership. The customization is a big part of Scion’s marketing image, to the point where the brand is selling a lifestyle as much as a car.

Exterior and Interior: Bigger in Every Dimension

The xB rides on an all-new platform similar to that of the Auris, Toyota’s funky European hatchback. This platform is larger than the Japanese Toyota bB upon which the first-generation xB was based. The new ’08 xB and bB share nothing beyond accessories.

The result of the architecture swap for the new xB constitutes the kind of growth you see from hormones, or maybe even steroids, as opposed to the normal growth spurt common when a car passes from one generation to the next. Overall length is up a whole foot to 167.3 inches, wheelbase grows four inches, and the width increases 2.9 inches. Only the height, at a tenth of an inch taller, is close to unchanged.

The bigger dimensions carry over to the interior, but not as much as the figures would suggest. Front and rear headroom actually decrease by 6.1 inches and 4.5 inches, but unless you regularly wear a Stetson hat in the car, you probably won’t notice.

The improvement in shoulder room, 7.2 and 4.7 inches front and rear, marks the biggest difference in the new xB compared with the old car. Front-seat passengers are no longer in danger of accidentally jostling, and there’s enough room for an armrest on the driver’s right side.

The rear seat feels deceptively spacious—it’s hard to believe there’s actually no increase in legroom. There is a small shelf under the seat bottoms, but the rear seats only recline or fold, unlike the versatile second row of the Honda Fit that can fold into the floor for a flat cargo area. Cargo space in the ’08 xB is almost the same as the outgoing model with the rear seats up, but recline the second row and the 70 cubic feet of storage is 28 more than in the old model.

The tail opening of the new xB is flat, so with the rear hatch open you don’t have to lift anything over the bumper, but the load height is a little taller than expected. Underneath the cargo floor is a compact spare tire with extra storage bins on top.

Powertrain and Handling

Powertrain: More Push for the xB’s Larger Tush

Add a foot in length to a car and there’s going to be a commensurate increase in weight. The 600-pound gain moves the new xB right out of the featherweight compact category, and its light weight is one of the things we appreciated about the original xB.

Scion has compensated under the hood, though, by using the 2.4-liter engine from the Scion tC coupe. The inline-four, with variable intake valve timing, puts out 158 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. Those figures may not sound exciting, but the power-to-weight ratio on the xB has improved by about four pounds per horsepower. The improved torque is most noticeable in city driving, and you don’t have to thrash the engine to keep up with lead-footed cab drivers. The engine is smooth, but a monotone drone emanates from under the hood. Optional intake and exhaust accessories provide a slight improvement.

The xB comes with the choice of two transmissions, a four-speed automatic with manumatic shifting, and a five-speed manual. The automatic works just fine, but we prefer the manual, which has a solid, tight feeling shift lever and a smooth-engaging clutch pedal. Compared with other Toyota manuals, like the one found in the Corolla, the xB’s transmission is vastly superior.

Handling: More Capable, Less Chuckable

The xB retains a front strut and rear torsion beam suspension arrangement, but the increase in size has changed the handling characteristics. Shed a tear if you were a fan of the old xB’s nimble, tossable handling. The new xB loses that, but gains a lot more grip. Where the old car provided entertainment in the way you could overwhelm the tires around any corner, the new car offers fun in its own right with the ability to corner harder and faster. The steering, which is electrically boosted, lacks feel mid-corner, but most drivers will hardly notice. Ride quality is stiff but well-composed over bumps. Drivers in areas with deteriorating roads should resist upgrading the wheels to anything larger than the standard 16 inches.

Features and Specs

Features: They call it Monospec

When you buy a Scion xB, you choose between manual or automatic transmission and pick your color. That’s it. There isn’t even any haggling over price.

Standard equipment includes stability control, air conditioning, cruise control, power windows and locks, steering-wheel-mounted radio controls, an iPod adapter, auxiliary audio jack, front-seat side airbags, and side-curtain airbags. From there, Scion offers everything from stiffer springs for the suspension to cargo-bin nets.

The standard radio has six speakers and works just fine, but audiophiles have two more options. The first is a “premium” audio system with a tiny screen on the head unit that displays everything from photos to eight-second movie clips. A step above that is a DVD-based navigation system that plays DVD movies when the car is in park.

Conclusion.

The new Scion xB has evolved from toaster to toaster oven. It’s bigger and has more features, but is still unique. The gain in girth is a loss for lightweight-car fanatics, but it should give the xB greater appeal to the general public, although going mainstream is something the brand eschews, to the point where Scion execs have said they will not run any TV ads to launch the new xB to avoid alienating young and hip buyers.

Either way, the xB feels grown up in more ways than its dimensions. Refinement and fit and finish are much improved over the first generation. A starting price of $16,230 for a manual transmission is a good price for any car, but the xB is more distinctive than anything else in this price range. That’s enough to call it a winner in our book.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon

BASE PRICE: $16,230

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection
Displacement: 144 cu in, 2362cc
Power (SAE net): 158 bhp @ 6000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 162 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm

TRANSMISSIONS: 4-speed automatic with manumatic shifting, 5-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 102.4 in Length: 167.3 in Width: 69.3 in
Height: 64.7 in Curb weight: 3100 lb

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 22/28 mpg