Scion Econobox

[kobie]

If I remember the marketing plan for this vehicle it was aimed at the young tuner culture enthusiast who can't afford a Honda, Toyota, Acura, etc and then fix it up on top of that. The people I know who have them bought it for the price, the space or the vast factory upgrades for very little money. Ugly as they may be, those vehicles have a lot more interior toys than the VX and cost half as much. If I had a limited budget and needed something new, I'd by a Scion.

[Offroad vx]

They're kinda like a pug dog....so ugly they're cute???

[thebear54]

Gotta agree....ONE BUTT UGLY little re-badged Toyota runt. If they gave them away with Cracker Jacks I might keep it around to let the kids play with in the sandbox...LOL
John

[dkmiller68]

I heard one nice feature is that you can use the garden hose and hose 'em out...water runs right out the doors; but haven't verified.

[Heraclid]

I checked out an Element, and one thing I did like about the Element is the rubberized floor throughout and interior materials that make cleaning it out a breeze. Honda thinks about the little things that make a big difference. Although they could lose the seatbelt that comes out of the ceiling in the Pilot.

I also think the Scion xB (look, they almost spelled "box" backwards!) looks a bit silly, but at the same time I think the look goes so much against the grain these days that it's almost refreshing. It is a generally unremarkable ride though. They don't make mention of the 0-60 times a lot! I had one wanting to race me a while back, but nothing really materialized. It would be easy to take one, though. Now you may think it's power-to-weight ratio may help it out, but no. These things weigh in at 2400 lbs. but they only manage to do 0-60 in a measly 11.9 sec. Peak power is 108 hp at 6,000 rpm, and torque maxs out at 105 lbs. And debatably (depending on whose published numbers are right), your VX actually still stops quicker. And it gets good gas mileage (30/34), but when you consider it's only marginally better than I got from my Dodge Avenger (29/32).... the xB doesn't really stand out in any one area other than maybe looking different.

[driven]

A simple comparison of the VX and the xB:

xB has 50 % more interior volume

a VX has 50 % as many doors

the xB has 50 % of the HP

the xB has 50 % of the mass

the VX gets 50 % the gas mileage

the xB cost 50 % as much new

the VX and the xB have the same towing capacity


I happen to own one of these silly little cars. It is my DD as I do 75 miles a day, and gas in the VX was killing me. I also have a 15 month old son, and as some know, the VX is not conducive to getting children into the back seat.

I still love the VX, but honestly, the xB is an equally fun car to drive, and gets the same looks and questions as the VX does. My VX with 285/60-18 is less than a body length ahead to 60 than my xB. 11.9 might be ith an auto, where the 108HP can't overcome the drag of the torque converter. In the twisties, the xB runs and hides from the VX. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

[mrtew]

I think the superboxy Scion is very cool looking... kinda the yin to the VX's yan. The other Scions are boring lookng though.