Why you should buy the Scion vs Honda Element
Written: Aug 13 '03 (Updated Sep 24 '05)
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Pros: Cost, Body Design, Low to the ground, head room.
Cons: Weak feeling pedals, Strange seat material, Some cheap plastic parts, 108 HP, Weak steering.
The Bottom Line: If you can't afford a $21,000 Honda Element, then buy this. A fun car with lots of pep, quiet engine and lots of people/cargo space. A "Check This Out" must!
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| dj_white_rice's Full Review: 2004 Scion xB |
I found out about the SCION XB when I saw one rolling down the street and was wondering what it was.
INTRODUCING THE SCION MODEL XB
The SCION XB was first released here in California as a test market around July 2003. Essentially it is a mini-truck - mini van type vehicle. Very boxy looking. The SCION car line comes in two styles called XA and XB. A third style is supposedly coming later.
The SCION company is it's own independent corporation, though created, developed, and manufactured by the Toyota Corporation. Toyota created this alternative division for sales specifically to Generation Y. The SCION policy for sales is (NO HASSLE/NO HAGGLE) prices. So when you come to a SCION dealership, you will receive a set price on the vehicle that can not be haggled down.
Because these vehicles are targeted at Generation Y people they are customizable with all kinds of goodies, including neon lights, high performance parts, various audio options, etc.
The vehicles are being sold for $12,000 for the XA and around $14,000 for the XB (Approximate Invoice prices).
SCIONs are priced low because the dealers expect to recover the cost through the sales of custom option items that were developed by various vendors for the SCION. This strategy is similar to what the Apple corporation uses for it's OS-X series of I-MAC and G series computers.
SCION vehicles have Toyota warranties and similar build quality.
Currently, the primary source of advertising is through the Internet, a strategy to reach Generation Y people where they spend a lot of time.
My Review of a SCION XB - 5 speed manual transmission - 4 Cylinder - 108 Horse Power engine.
For my review purposes, I test drove three Generation Y cars in a row so I had something to base my impressions on.
My first test drive was the SCION XB. My Second test drive was a Toyota Matrix 6 Speed Manual Transmission. My third test drive was the Chrysler PT Cruiser 5 Speed Manual Transmission base model.
CLUTCH, GAS PEDAL, STICK SHIFTER
The clutch and gas pedal seemed cheap and is made of a very lightweight feeling metal. Because of the cheap feeling clutch and gas pedals, and a lack of pressure and tension in the clutch, I was concerned that potential problems with the clutch may occur after a few years of ownership.
The stick shift was kind'a short and that made it a little difficult to shift, but overall the gears were easy to find. The dealer I drove with said that a longer stick shift is available as an option. (An option I will recommend)
THE SEATS
The seats seem like they are made out of memory foam type material similar to those "AS SEEN ON TV"
pillows. They have a very unusual rubbery foam feeling and unlike other car seats, you can push your hand into the seat or squeeze them very easily. Sort of weird, but cool!
Sport bucket seats are in the front for the driver and passenger, with thick sides, and are quite comfortable for a first time drive.
The seating position and view is excellent in both front and back seats with tons of leg room, especially in the back seats which are slightly elevated higher than the front seats. The vehicle will comfortably seat 5 people, and 8 rabbits, or 3 small dogs, or 5 chickens, though most drivers will only have 5 people.
When I tested the back seats for comfort I pushed the front seat all the way back and to my surprise there was still a ton of leg space. I am 5'11, with long legs and size 13-1/2" shoe size. Basketball players will like this car!
Like the Honda Element and the PT Cruiser, the SCION seats can fold flat to create a sort of bed thingy. You could sleep in it if your parents kick you out! Doesn't that sound like fun!
Fold down the back seats and you end up with a mini cargo vehicle for your stuff.
THE BODY (Inside, Outside, Upside Down)
OUTSIDE
The body inside and out seemed like it might be durable and feels strong for a vehicle costing a little over $14,000.00.
The body is cool looking and will certainly turn heads. Older people will probably be turned off by it's looks since it is rather boxy looking. However, that was one of the things that first attracted me to the SCION XB, I was looking from something different. In many ways I think it is better looking than the Honda Element.
The XB version comes in about 5 or 6 different colors. Stone White which I had trouble finding, a deep burgundy/red color which I personally like, black, silver, and gold sort of tan color. (Check the SCION website to get a real look at the colors, you will be impressed! The Scion website is a little difficult to find, so just go to Toyota's website and look for the little SCION link at the bottom of the page.)
INSIDE
Lots and lots and lots of head room for tall people or people with giant heads.
The interior is very nice and for the most part seems designed with decent quality though some of the interior body parts are hard plastic.
The ceiling material looked and felt like it should stay up there for at least 10 years or so. (It's similar to what I have in my Dodge Ram Truck and that is how long it took before the ceiling cloth fell on my head)
Let me tell you, this is a must see vehicle, and in my opinion a beautiful vehicle. I personally found it more appealing that the Honda Element $18,000 or the PT Cruiser $17,000. The XB is simply a cool looking car, truck, ummm, box thingy with wheels. The SCION XA which is SCION's other car design can not compare in looks, space, leg room, or value, and the XA looks like a big fat bullet with wheels. I don't think they are going to sell very many XA's in California.
Comes with Air Conditioning and front air bags standard.
ON THE ROAD
The stick shift was a little short, shifting was o.k, but this little truck jammed when I stepped on the gas in first gear. It also drove nice in 3rd gear at about 40 miles an hour and never stalled out once. Lots of pepper in the acceleration for a 108 hp vehicle. However, this was a test model and not for sale, so it most likely had the optional exhaust cooler or what ever it's called that's supposed to kick up it's speed.
As I mentioned, I also tested out a Toyota Matrix and a PT Cruiser back to back against the SCION.
The SCION XB had the least amount of engine noise.
The Matrix was very noisy in all driving settings.
The PT Cruiser had a really sucky first gear and stalled out on me four times. Three times while turning a corner, and once while in traffic while returning to the dealer lot. The sales person at Chrysler blamed me for the stalls, however I have been driving stick shift vehicles for 19 years and none of the other vehicles I have test driven have had this problem. The problem was in the PT Cruisers clutch for first gear which did not engage the engine at the same height as the other gears, and then instead of easing into engagement jumped in high and stalled out. Also, while driving the PT Cruiser I kept bumping elbows with the passenger and my toes kept hitting something whenever I took my foot off of the PT Cruisers clutch. (I wear a 13-1/2 inch shoe size, remember?)
I was very impressed overall with how much better the SCION shifted and accelerated when compared to the more expensive Toyota Matrix and Chrysler PT Cruiser.
STEERING
The SCION steered nicely until we took it over some minor rough road and then the steering didn't compensate on it's own. I found that I had to drive firmly with two hands in order to maintain total control over the steering wheel while driving over a road that other vehicles would have laughed at.
The steering seemed to be one of the weakest factors of the car in my opinion.
NOISE LEVEL
For such a small car, this was a nice and pretty quiet drive unlike the Toyota Matrix which shifted loud, drove loud, and parked loud. If my truck sounded like the Matrix, I would be really scared.... The PT Cruiser was relatively quite but the engine made a thumping noise every so often. I wasn't able to figure out what was causing it during the test drive (maybe a cat crawled into the engine compartment to keep warm?); I was concerned that it might indicate a poor engine build.
FINAL COMMENTS
I really enjoyed driving the SCION XB other than the short shifter and the steering problem. It has a nice feel to it, has excellent pick up at low speeds, decent breaking (no pull in the steering when stopping), and gets great gas mileage in the 30's due to it's 108 hp engine that is also used in the Toyota ECHO.
The SCION XB has the lowest price of the three cars I test drove for this review. It has an overall solid feeling to it, and out of the three cars I would place it at the top of the buy list, with the Toyota Matrix and PT Cruiser both coming in equal at second place for different reasons.
Note however, that had I tested the Honda Element EX the same day, the SCION would have come in second.
Throw in yet another car and the Matrix and PT Cruiser would still come in at the bottom of the list, mainly because of the Matrix's engine noise and lousy shifting, and the PT's lack of cabin space between the Driver and Passenger, it's low foot space above the clutch, and it's horrible first gear.
Honda Element VS Scion XB (Updated)
I ended up buying a Honda Element for its solid feel, additional leg room and storage space in the rear when the seats are folded up and because of it crash test scores. My out the door cost with no options other than an alarm system was $21,000. However, in many ways I regret not having bought the Scion XB. I think the body style of the Scion which is lower to the ground is really cool looking and I can only imagine that this helps reduce wind drag. My Honda Element is almost a foot and a half off the ground and a lot of people have had difficulty exiting or entering the car, especially older people riding in the rare. This is because the Honda Element rear seating is elevated higher than the front seating: I admit that even I had a difficult time exiting the rear of Element. This is not the experience I had when exiting the Scion XB, leaving me with the impression that the lower ground entry is an excellent feature. I honestly have people who refuse to ride with me because of the height even for entering the front seats.
While the Element is higher off the ground and larger overall, perhaps even a little more solid in its body, I still like the look of the Scion XB better and now three years latter I still owe $16,000 on my Honda; if I had bought a basic Scion I would only owe about $10,000 right now.
If you compare your dollar purchase value to the amount of mileage value, I think you will find the Scion XB is a better value that the Honda Element as well. Since I drive far to work everyday I put a lot of miles on my car. I have calculated what I expect my mileage will be and determined that when my Honda Element is hitting its mileage breakdown point (The point in a car's life where it starts falling apart due to having to many miles), I will still owe quite a lot of money. Who wants to be paying off a loan on a worn out vehicle? Not me! That's why I bought a new car in the first place! Right?
The Scion is priced right so by the time it starts wearing out due to excess mileage, you could easily invest in a new one. I suppose that with its rather simple overall build the Scion will also become one of those cars like the VW Bug that people will simply pull out the old engine and replace it when it wears out.
Overall, I think anyone owning a Scion XB will have good reason to rejoice in their investment in the long term, as I am finding out from my decision to go with the Honda Element.
Don't get me wrong, the Honda Element is a very tough and solid built vehicle with a smooth ride. It's as solid as any SUV on the market! But you'll pay a premium to own it and if you’re not committed to owning it for the long term or you have disabled or "senior" family members, then you may seriously want to avoid the Honda Element.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 14,000
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: Stick
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