How about power? Do you think it's OK for daily driving? Would you have any idea how quick the car could run the 1/4 mile? (I often use that as a guage on how fast a car is). What about the center mounted guages? Did you just get used to it or is it something you wish you could change? Thanks for being a source of info. :)

 

Yeah, it's more than fine for daily driving, and can be down right peppy if you're not afraid to use the engine. This applies to the 5spd though, slushbox is gonna be a bit doggier for sure. On the Scion forum I'm in, 1/4 miles for a stock xB are usually low 17's/high16's @~86mph depending on driver and conditions. I did an impromptu 0-60 and it was right at 9 secs, about the same as the Fit. Guages are no problem at all, it took all of 5 mins to get used to and I don't pay more/less attention to it than if it were a std. guage set up. I would buy another car with center guages with no hesitation.

 

Hi Chikubi,

Thanks for all the info so far. Three quick questions:

1. I keep reading that the rear seats are removable, yet have seen no actual examples. Is the rear seat actually removable? Does it yield usable cargo room?

2. What are the negatives about driving the xB that annoy you on a daily basis? Obviously not taking this a gospel, just curious about your opinion.

3. Handling. Always hear good things about the xB's handling. What are your thoughts on how well your box takes the turns? Just a fun ride, or any possibility for autocross application with the right setup?

Thanks!

 

Some tuners like SOHC better. I know a guy who got his D16 SOHC honda civic coupe to be a 11 second car. He said it just picks up faster than DOHC. Plus VVT engines are more for the daily driver. VTEC has a good history with tuners. It gives you more to play with.

 

No problem at all, glad to be of use.

1. The rear seats are not removable, only the rears fold down, but they do leave a fairly flat floor when folded. Also, the front seats will fold back flat and meet the folded rears if you pull out the head rest -- good for long objects.

2. Nothing really, to be honest. It's a fun car to drive and I've no complaints.

3. You're correct, it handles surprisingly well -- not what you'd expect at all by looking at it. Contrary to the way it looks, the weight is all very low in the car, so it's not very tippy at all. You can push it pretty hard and it's still very controlable, with just some slight understeer under hard power in a sharp turn. AutoX is totally doable with it, even in stock form. Many people on the forum AutoX it regularly. With the addition of springs or full coilovers, strut bar, and somewhat larger rear anti-roll bar, it gets even better. For an interesting read(w/ vids) about the xB's potential from someone with good background in performance cars, check this out (pages are selected from the top bar) http://www.dpcars.net/scion/index.htm Don't panic at what seems like tons of body roll in the vids -- he's using a helmet cam, so it's his head leaning, not the xB.

 

That is an excellent site. Totally inspiring to see someone who is obviously an experienced driver, and owns a high end car like an Elise, tracking a car like the xB. I'm still waiting to see how the Fit pans out once it arrives, but the xB has my attention. Thanks for the response!

 

What is the Scion website that you post on?

 

Tech_monkey: Yeah, it is a great site. I love how he was amused that he could keep up with a 'vette in the corners with the xB, and also in one of the vids when the track marshall was saying it had less roll than an rx-8 that was running at the same time. His diaries about his other rides and his project car are also pretty cool.

Siguy: You're right, I shouldn't be keeping it a secret:

www.scionlife.com Also,www.clubxb.com is decent too, though most of the same guys are on both. Scionlife is by far the best, longest running site for Scions around -- lots of info to be found.

 

It would be a almost a no brainer for me if the Xb had side impact airbags. The lack of available cruise control is a problem for me too. What is Toyota thinking??

 

Yeah - I don't get the whole lack of cruise from this segment. They crank up the rpm on these vehicles because they think we are so power hungry, then they forget that we live in a huge country with lots highways where cruise is hardly a luxury.

 

I've never realized how many people actually use their cruise control. A lot of people seem put out by the lack of it on the Fit. I think every car I've owned over the last 13 years (6 of 'em) has had it, and I've used it maybe one time.

 

Yahoo!News search turned up a bunch of articles, including the NY Times comparison of the Fit and Yaris. Here's the Yahoo! link and you can pick & choose. I don't know why it helps to read all this stuff while I'm waiting...and waiting... for my Fit to arrive at the dealer -- but it does.
http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/search?p=Honda+Fit&c=

 

Perhaps, but you seem to be completely misunderstanding what the actual meaning beyond the acronym is.

DOHC does not alternate between two different cam shafts for low and high speed driving. It simply splits intake and exhaust side lobes onto their own cam shaft.

What changes between low and high speed operation (in VTEC) is which cam lobe, on the same cam shaft, is activating the valves. Also, the majority of DOHC engines produced use the same set of lobes at all speeds.

 

i just test drove a fit and i can't decide between the fit and the xb.

the xb is definitely more comfortable and roomy(more leg room but less hip room, but if you aren't fat the latter don't matter) though their exterior dimensions or about the same, and weird enough the fit is longer.

the fit drives better in my opinion and it's a lot quieter on the freeway than the xb. on the xb you can actually feel paint on the road when you drive over it.

what really disappointed me about the fit is how not very unique it is and by the end of the year it won't have any uniqueness at all. it is different but it really just blends in. the xb on the other hand, it is extremely unique(in the us) and stylish and because so many americans hate it, it will remain unique for a long time.

my second disappointment was the interior. the fabric is like something leftover from the 80's. i kept hearing how the interior felt more expensive than the toyotas, but it truly doesn't, the plastics on the dashboard specially look a lot cheaper and dirt sticks to it very quickly.

but i still cannot decide. the fit seems like the best choice on paper, but it's so bland and when i'm driving next to an aero, versa, xa or another fit i might wish i had an xb instead.

 

i should also add that the magic seats were also a disappointment. the vertical setting for the rear sits = the existing amount of space in front of the rear sits of the xb and having to slide the front seats completely forward to fold down the rear sits = not great.

 

If you like the xb, then get it. That will leave more Fits for the rest of us. :D

 

Not to dissuade you from the Fit, but xB is perfectly stable on the highway and doesn't feel any different than any other car. I've had mine up to 100mph often and it was never a problem. My Fit feels no different than the xB did, although because you sit a bit lower the Fit has a greater sense of speed. I will say I wish the Fit had the firmer suspension that the xB did, and the rear anti-roll bar too. The fit's handling is very capable, similar to the xB, but road feel is much less and it rolls more than I like. You could just whip the xB around and it stayed very flat and gave a great sense of confidence. Of course, I've been driving it for 2yrs and the Fit for 4 days, so I'm obviously not used to the Fit enough yet to fully compare the two. Either car is great though, you wouldn't lose if you bought one or the other.

 

Toyota's "Scion pure price" apparently means nothing.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/show...&postcount=102

 

i hadn't thought about that, that would be an issue, but i'm not sure if i would even use the hatch to load groceries, as of right now i still load everything onto the passenger seat. the speaker sounds like something i should really consider.

i can still go for either the fit or the xb. i still love the fact that so many people hate the xb. plus in the bay area i'm sure by the end of the year i'm gonna be trying to get into the wrong Fit if i get one.

 

I own a Scion xB. By now, you must know the wind buffeting problems with the car at high speeds. The car body rides low to the ground which leaves it vulnerable to a lot more dings and scrapes. The air conditioning is the worse feature as it is subpar. (If anyone knows a way to juice up the a/c please let me know.) The car feels made of cheap materials and the car panels on the outside, unsnap and get out of alignment easily; in fact within days of owning. My car has a huge sideswipe scrape, the back latch is broken, lots of dings and scractches and the back door has already been replaced from a fender bender. Most of the damage occurs on the lower end of the car. I'm just surprised how flimsy the parts are that make up the body; they are light and feel plasticy when you push on them, (but, hey, maybe this is normal for cars nowadays.) I just can't imagine what it will look like in three years-bleh.

That said it looks great (well, maybe not my car-but others<g>). I love its boxiness. I really wish cars would stop being designed so "puffy". The scionxB has this weird space warp where from the outside it looks small, but, inside it is roomy. Plenty of head room for a six foot person, and the back isn't crowded either. It handles fine. The flat floor feature is a little dicey, as the pieces don't fit together like a tight puzzle. Although, I filled it up with furniture from Ikea, beyond its weight limit, and it operated okay on the highway.

You can get a cargo net if you are concerned about groceries rolling out. But, yeah I usually put them near the back seat. For trips you really don't get a lot of room for packing suitcases, etc in the back cargo hold. And the back beverage holder is a joke because you can't reach it and be strapped in at the same time.

Would I buy it again? If they amped the air conditioning, added side air bags and tweaked the seat design so it was more comfortable for longer drives- why sure. Plus, a nicer interior fabric would be a bonus!

What I am considering is: should I wait until the Nissan Versa is released? I wonder how it will compare to the Fit.

I am SO glad hatchbacks are making a return! My ideal car would have... roll down windows!