2008 Scion xB Review (continued)
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Walkaround

Believe it or not, the Scion xB sort of has the limo look going for it. Maybe even a gangster look, like a sedan from the '20s. It's that new roofline with the thick C-pillar that's located all the way at the back of the car, and the uninterrupted dark tinted windows. The roof-to-floor B-pillar is hidden between the doors, covered by parts of the black frames around the windows.

There's also a subtle 1.5-inch taper from the height of the windows at the front of the front window to the rear of the rear window, adding to the effect of reducing the squareness and making the xB look longer. The optional rear spoiler, as on our test xB, extends the roofline even more.

A new face vastly improves the looks of the xB from head-on, the three-quarter front angle, or side view. The old chin stuck out from under a thin grille, but the new unit is cohesive, still with a thin black grille but it's almost flush with the bumper below it. The headlamps are more shapely now, swept back, although they stick out at the sides, like bubbles. Below the thick plastic bumper under the grille, there's another black grille that sucks in air for the bottom of the radiator. At each side there are thin vertical black rubber things, apparently meant to be faux air intakes for brakes. They lend depth to the otherwise massive and flat valance.

The longer body, wide C-pillar, rounded fender flares and loss of the protruding chin make the xB look less square, from any angle.

Interior Features

The interior feels as changed as the exterior looks. There might have been a big loss in front seat legroom, but the driver still has a commanding view of the road. That's exceptional if not unique, for a car of this size. The short nose, big windshield, elevatable driver's seat, and far-away dashboard create this feel. You become aware of the distance to the windshield when you reach to adjust the rearview mirror, which is quite a stretch from your shoulder. The glass is upright, it doesn't sweep back.

There's less of a stretch from the front-seat passenger's knees to the good-sized glovebox. It's mounted low so it folds down, possibly on the passenger's shins. Above the glovebox there is a long thin tray which might be useful if it had a liner that offered some grip, instead of the hard slick vinyl.

Charcoal is the only color for the fabric seats, which are comfortable and well bolstered, although they're shapeless and light on padding in the rear. The fabric isn't as sturdy, outdoorsy or cool as that in the Mazda3, but charcoal makes the most of the cloth. The xB seats five. The three kids who rode in the rear seat of our xB didn't have a problem, but three adults would. Two adults wouldn't be uncomfortable though, because you can easily slide your feet up under the front seats.

For rear seat passengers, there are two cupholders that pop out of the back of the console between the front seats, a bottle holder in each door, and clever trays under the rear seats for storage of flat things like books and portfolios.

That wide C-pillar that enhances the exterior styling creates a blind spot when pulling out onto the highway at a 45-degree angle. Even knowing it was there and trying to peer around it, we managed to pull out in front of a car we couldn't see.

There are no gauges directly in front of the driver, which is a bit weird; but the row of four of them on the dashboard just to the right of the steering wheel makes up for it, because they're good. At the far left, is the information display, revealing things like fuel mileage and range. Then comes the clock, which is highly readable, unlike so many, the color is orange and it has an eave to reduce being washed out by sunlight. The digital speedometer is excellent, with big numbers that are, like the clock, eminently readable. Beyond these are the gas gauge and temperature gauge.

Scion has added a lot of sound dampening material to the xB, and it seems like most of it must be in the firewall. Or else the engine is just quiet. You can't hear much engine noise, maybe because it's drowned out by the tire noise. You have to turn the volume of the 160-watt Pioneer sound system up, running at higher speeds.

Our xB was equipped with the $2010 navigation system, which incorporated the audio system. We longed for simpler controls. But we were thankful for the steering wheel controls for the audio system, which could adjust volume, set the band or mode, and move between the preset stations.

We were also thankful for the halogen high beams during two fast one-hour runs on a dark, winding and lonely freeway. But the flipside was that the projector low beams are treacherously weak. And for some reason there's only one backup light, on the driver's side. Is it a Scion styling thing, like one earring or something?

Scion has put special effort into the air conditioning, and it shows. Four round vents on the dash quietly and quickly blast out cold air.

The automatic shift lever comes out of the center stack at a 45-degree angle, an ergonomic improvement introduced by Honda. The door handles, however, show little thought about ergonomics. They're horizontal, thin, barely two inches long, and tapered to a point.

Most of the slim space between the seats is taken by two fixed cupholders, a slot for a cellphone, and the parking brake lever, leaving room for only a small console compartment re