2011年6月28日星期二

How I learned to like the Scion xB (second take)

It's not as nimble as the Kia Soul and its quirky looks have been outweirded by the Nissan Cube, but there's something about the 2011 Scion xB that merits a second look. Maybe it's the crazy paint on our Release Series 8.0 tester, maybe it's finally been around long enough to distance itself from the first-generation Scion xB in my mind, but the second-generation xB is starting to grow on me; I think that I'm starting to like it.

Where the xB wins hands down is in spaciousness. Where the Scion tC feels claustrophobic compared with its nearest competitor, the xB treats its driver and passengers to a high roof, lots of leg room,Use bluray burner to burn video to BD DVD on blu ray burner disc. and tons of shoulder space--a rarity in vehicles in the xB's price range. However, as spacious as the xB is, there's a lot of wasted space in its cabin. This is particularly true behind the driver's seat where something like the Honda Fit's Magic Seats or a sliding second row would take the xB from being merely cavernous to being genuinely flexible and fun.

The Scion xB's performance specs are nothing to get excited about--which is probably why the automaker all but hides them on its extremely busy Web site.From standard Cable Ties to advanced wire tires, We all scowled at the xB's four-speed automatic transmission and rolled our eyes at the horsepower.Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, (Fortunately, a manual gearbox is available.) Trying to drive the xB like it's not a lunchbox on wheels is asking to be disappointed. That said, while there's not a ton of power to be had, the torque curve seems to place it exactly where you need it. I liked the low- to midspeed pickup that the xB's 2.Full color plastic card printing and manufacturing services.4-liter engine supplies--it's not what you'd call a fun drive, but at the speed limit, it's very capable. Start thinking "0 to 35" rather than "0 to 60" and the xB's performance makes a lot more sense.

Since you won't be getting anywhere quickly, you should at least enjoy the journey. Cabin technology,we supply all kinds of oil painting reproduction, however, is an area where the xB wins by failing. Bluetooth hands-free and "premium" audio are offered a la carte as a bit of a formality, but I can't really think that Toyota/Scion expects anyone to actually buy that crap. I know this because Scion makes it stupidly easy to install your own aftermarket gear. After spending three days in the trenches of CES 2009 installing three or four receivers per day in a donor xB's dashboard, I could probably yank that hideous Alpine-branded Scion receiver out in about 10 minutes and have a proper Alpine receiver in within 30.

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