I don't think the placement of the gauges really matters. I mean, most people will get used to it one way or the other. I never got the chance to test drive a Scion xA before I bought the Fit, but if I had, my opinion might have changed on this. I doubt it would, though. If I were still in the market, I would still consider buying an xA, even with the different gauge design.

I'm not so sure about the whole "it's more natural for your vision" argument, though. It could be true, but it also might not be.

 

I was against the center gauge design untill I test drove the xB. Its in your line of sight so you see it as you drive without having to move your head. I thought it was a really good design. That said, I still prefer the traditional placement on the Fit.


Has anyone taken a close look at the designs of the dashboards of center mounted gauge'd cars? They arent semetrical. Its a totally different design so how would that save money?

 

Agreed, my xB's shifter was not the smoothest thing on the planet and often got caught up in a 5-4 downshift, which was annoying. It's one thing I do not miss at all.

 

Yeah, nobody bothers to look closely, that's why that whole argument is a bunch of bunk. Like you said, the xB and prev. gen bB's gauges were a mirror image of each other and not interchangeable in the least. The dash and the guage pod also are mirrored as well to fit. This means they had to make 2 separate sets of parts, one for each vehicle. This is true of a number of other center-guage vehicles as well. It's not a cost saving feature, it's a design element.

 

people who wants to think that center mounted consoles are dumb will find any excuse to "validate" their claims

come on guys, plastic mold and parts are cheap, there is no cost savings with using this setup..

-joe

 

Parts underneath can be shared. I have to think that frame conduits and other related parts, not to mention the assembly line tooling, are much more expensive than the cheap molded plastic visible portion of the dash.

 

Most every Toyota manual transmission is crappy. It's just not something that they do well.

Just get the automatic, it's not like any of their cars are actually fun to drive anyway.

 

I think they should put the odometer on the lower center console, and move the CD player to be in front of the steering wheel. This will reduce accidents by 85%.

 

Well, you also have to make the molds to stamp out those cheap plastic dash parts, and those are not cheap in the least, especially with the size of some of the parts. Also, the actual gauge cluster itself w/ the attached warning lights/odometer, etc. is entirely different and non-interchangeable between vehicles. Sorry, they are not cutting costs by using a center guage setup.

I'll definitely give you the part about crappy trannys, at least as far as the xB/xA goes, but this statement is just stupid. The xB is an exceptionally fun car to drive, almost as much as the Fit. It handles nearly as well, and can be tossed around on winding roads,etc. with ease. Aside from the balky shifter and slightly slow steering, there's not much to complain about. Maybe Toyota's current offerings aren't the hottest for now, but anyone who says they never made a fun car to drive knows nothing.

 

I'll believe you as soon as you show me Toyota's accounting papers and internal invoices, which you apparently have access to. Either that or you're making authoritative statements about something you do not know for fact.


The XB is about as fun to drive as an Echo with a giant boxy abortion of a body replacement, and with good reason. If that's your idea of a good time, enjoy.


Your words are useless and wasted because no one is saying that they've never made a fun car. I'd love a 2000GT, for example. Not much since then though. In particular, the cars you can currently buy from them are a massive snooze fest.

 

OMFG, you've got to be kidding me. Do you have any idea how injection molded plactic parts are manufactured? Have you ever even seen a mold for an injection molded part? They cost a fortune to make, and that's true in any industry, not just the automotive. Here's a quick blurb I Googled about plastics geared towards inventors. He estimates a mold can cost from $25,000 -$150,000 bucks just to make a crappy $0.14 part. Something the size of a dashboard is going to be much, much more. Multiply that by however many molds they'll need to produce parts in quantity and the outlay is substantial. It's not rocket science, chief.

http://www.azinventors.org/Meeting%20Notes/plastics.htm

um, yeah, ok. (*_*) . . . . You must not like your Fit very much either then, 'cause they're pretty damn similar. You're also about the only one I've heard with that opinion. And while the xB is based on the same platform as the Echo, there've been enough changes/upgrades made to make it an entirely different handling car altogether. This has been noted numerous times in reviews for it over the years. If anything, it's more like the prior JDM Vitz RS than anything else, and there are a number of Japanese tuners that'd slap you down hard if you told them the RS was a lame platform for tuning.

Anyway, I'm done with you. Copping an attitude gets nowhere with me.

 

that's a two way street man

i will believe you that it's a cost cutting measure when you show me the Toyota's books showing that.. otherwise it's just rumor you heard or thing you made up

-joe

 

All I'm saying is that you don't know whether or not the center dash saves money, and that there's more to it than the visible portion of the dash. If you want to argue with something I suggest you start there.


I'm the only person out there than thinks driving an XB is no fun? Somehow I doubt it. Being outside the thing makes me vomit, and being inside it puts me to sleep.

Take note that when someone says "the handling is fairly impressive for a giant box on wheels" that doesn't mean the same thing as "the handling is good". It's also absolutely gutless which doesn't help the fun factor either.


Does this have anything to do with the subject at hand or are you just upset?

 

Read more carefully.

My statements are speculation and are formed appropriately. Chikubi's speculation is stated as fact. You don't see me saying "sorry, they are definitely cutting costs by using a center guage setup", do you?

 

same sh1t, different pile

you just can't accept the fact that there is a GOOD reason for the center console, and coming up with this cost cutting excuse makes you feel good..

-joe

 

. . . . . . . . . http://www.dpcars.net/old/thepast.htm

"03/31/05 Took the Box out on a lengthy drive on some back roads in the general direction of the coast. One really fun thing about this device is that it instills a great amount of confidence even on roads that are intermittently wet and dry (the KDW2s really help here). The result being that I was playing rally driver much of the time, flying along narrow, twisty roads with major elevation changes at speeds that I probably wouldn't consider prudent in the Elise under the same circumstances. At some point, with all wheels pretty much unloaded and drifting over a blind crest in the middle of a turn, the car emitted three loud beeps. Guess it was something to the effect of 'HEY, I'M NOT AN AIRPLANE'. My passenger just laughed and said 'that's awesome!' - fun is more fun in right company. Later in the trip I ended up exploring a road that I've long wanted to check out. On the map it starts at US26 around Elsie and drops down southwest to meet 53 near the coast. The pavement starts out a bit rough but passable, with lots of twisties, dips and crests. Then the lane divider line goes away. Then it narrows to one lane. And then pavement ends - followed by about 20 miles of gravel which at this point due to rain is more like mud. Didn't think I'd be going offroading today... The Box handled it all, then back on the sinuous pavement of 53 it was ready to play again. I kept wishing I had brought my video setup. The trip would have made for some fun highlights... I must say I really love this little machine. Of course it doesn't have much power, but if kept in the 5K-6.5K RPM range it does move along nicely and the fun is of course in not slowing down for turns. Wonder if TRD makes a supercharger for these?"

 

Completely and wholly untrue. Where do I say that there are no good reasons for the center dash? What do any of my feelings have to do with any of this?

Ever consider responding to someone without putting words in their mouth? Really, what fun is it to argue if you're going to make up both sides? Just argue with a wall instead. There's more of a point to that, because at least bystanders can have a good laugh.

 

Did you bother to read this before quoting it? It's about how the car handles better and is more fun than one would expect.

I could have sworn that was my point, not yours.

 

 

-joe