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Scion xA
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jwinters...are you happy with your RS 1.0 xA? What could be improved? IIRC the price for that special edition xA was only around $13,895 before T&L. Is that correct? Also, are Scion dealers out of them all now? I know there are only so many of them available. I have read this entire thread so I've read a lot about the xA already. Just wondering how your experience has been. Anybody else's opinion is welcome about their non-RS 1.0 xA's, too. That value price looks nice-it's one thing I love about buying Kia's, indeed.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I saw one this weekend in Denison, TX for just over $16,000... so I'm not sure what the difference is.
Expect to exact MSRP on any Scion.... and I LOVE MINE by the way....
Automatic tranny or manual?
You must have bought from Reliable Scion in Springfield, eh? I looked at the closest dealer to me-just a hop, skip and a jump over from you at Seeger Scion in St.Robert, MO.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Since we went out of town for Thanksgiving, I only have 200 miles on it... no rattles yet. Seems very tight and built well. I thinks that's what most Toyota owners will tell you.
The RS 1.0 is a manual. Yes, I nabbed mine @ Reliable. They had one silver automatic and one black manual of the plain variety... don't know if they'll ever get another RS 1.0. I lost a lot of sleep worrying that someone else would get it before me.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Hey, has anyone bought or tried out the suspension kit for the xA? It's on the Scion site and it says that it provides a more "compliant" ride.... does that mean less jittery? I don't think this is sport kit.
It appears that toyota is paying attention customer quibbles if this is the case.
:)Just in: RS 2.0 will be in Blue. That should get some people going. Originally it was going to be speedway blue like in the new tacoma-but that has not yet been finalized. Expect Production in April 2005 and a May release.
Plus on every 06' Scion MP3 minijack connections to the head unit. The RS 2.0 will probably come similar to the RS1.0 on th external, plus fog lights. Roof is a ? so is VSC and Trac.
-I hope I dont loose my Job leaking info like this-I'm just too excited to keep it all in.
:)Just in: RS 2.0 will be in Blue. That should get some people going. Originally it was going to be speedway blue like in the new tacoma-but that has not yet been finalized. Expect Production in April 2005 and a May release.
Plus on every 06' Scion MP3 minijack connections to the head unit. The RS 2.0 will probably come similar to the RS1.0 on th external, plus fog lights. Roof is a ? so is VSC and Trac.
-I hope I dont loose my Job leaking info like this-I'm just too excited to keep it all in.
Question about the RS 1.0's moonroof. Does it automatically open with the push of a button or does it pop up manually like the tC's?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I still have a love-hate relationship with the car. I think it would be more hate than love, if it were the only car I drove, but I rotate it with two other cars (VW Golf and Dodge Neon) for my commute. As it is, whenever I get back in the car after driving the others, I am impressed by the awesome Toyota quality. This quality is not only the "doesn't break" kind we are all used to, it is the "looks neat" quality that hasn't been there in the past on Toyota's small cars. This Scion is like a miniature Lexus, in comparison to my former Echo which was, at the end of the day, kind of "cheap."
The engine/mechanical sound on this car is great. The motor sounds so smooth and willing. After more than 10,000 miles, it has finally broken in to the point where aggressive use of the throttle rewards with a sporty feel. No, you won't mistake it for strong acceleration, but the car can certainly keep up with (or pass) traffic, just be prepared to downshift and make a run towards (but not necessarily all the way to) the redline to make it worth your while.
On the negative side, I tried to put a rear facing baby seat in the back of the xA the other day, and discovered that while there is plenty of knee room for people, the arch of the front seat back into the baby seat space means you've gotta put the baby seat immediately behind the passenger front seat and either move the passenger seat fairly forward, or tilt the passenger seat back fairly upright. So, if you really want to use a small car like this for an infant, the xB is much better, with its gargantuan space between the front and back seats. On the other hand, the car didn’t lose any discernible acceleration with the extra passenger load.
(To give you an idea of the difference in rear seat room on the xA vs. xB: I can't fold down the rear seat, flat, on the xA without first taking out the rear head rests, and this is based on a short driver with both front seats pulled much closer to the dash than average. In comparison, when I checked out an xB last month, I set the front seats where I have them in my xA, which left TONS of space behind the front seats, and the rear seat would readily fold forward without removing the rear headrests. The xB has more rear seat room than the Golf or Neon, and much more than the xA. It's like a limo! On the other hand, the xB has a trunk that looks about 2 feet deep. With a car that short, you either give the rear passengers the leg room, or save the space for the trunk.)
(I don't think we will have the same baby seat problems when the baby is old enough and big enough for a front facing seat, because front facing seats take up a lot less room than rear facing seats.)
Back to the xA. I said, "love/hate" so you are probably wondering about the "hate" part of it. Well, if I drive it more than a couple of days in a row, I can't stand the suspension, which is stiffer than so-called "sports" suspensions, even stiffer than so-called "after market sports" suspensions. Of course, when I get back into the car after rotating it out with other cars, I am amazed that Toyota has managed to extract sports car handling at this level out of a tall, narrow vehicle like the xA. So obviously there is a payback for the stiff suspension.
Closely related to the stiff suspension is the short wheelbase - on most freeways the ride can be pretty "choppy." Once again, this is reportedly less of a problem on the xB.
Finally, the engine is ultra smooth, but at 4,000 rpm, which are the rpm required to keep up with 80 mph traffic, things feel a little "rushed." In comparison (and I don’t know how they do it) the VW Golf at the same speed/rpm is much more hushed.
I am thinking about trading the xA in, next year, on an xB with an automatic which, although much slower, would be a much better city car for my wife (with baby in back). However, I am fairly certain the xB will never be as "tossable" as the xA, it will be MUCH slower with an automatic instead of a stick, and the pricing on the xB is very close to current discounted pricing on a Golf GL, which has better safety features (side curtain airbags).
How much do I love the xA? It's the car I keep wanting to drive again, it's a lot of fun after I’ve been away from it for a day or too and forgotten its disagreeable aspects.
And I have been getting a consistent 34-35 mpg!
can you tell which is the first car (yellow) and then last (do they make this in 2D)?
thak
As for being better? Thats somewhat subjective. I terms of fuel economy and power the Matrix I think comes out a head (ok, technically the Scion does a little better in fuel economy.. but trails in power by a fair bit). However many think the xA is a better looking vehicle and if you spend alot of time parallel parking in cities the shorter xA will be greatly appreciated.
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Bill
That seems like a pretty fair comparison It also looked like the xa has less cargo space than the Matrix.
I missed my nifty little slot car racer almost immediately.
I have had my Scion xA for a little more than 3 months with around 3200 miles on it. I'm a bit concerned about something: the car's engine makes a lound rattling sound when I stop at a light or when I am idle after a while. The longer I drive, the louder the rattling gets when it's idle. It only happens on the "d" shift, not on R, N, or Park.
I took it to the dealership and they said it was a loose component in the engine. First they said they would have to order an extra part. Then they bypassed that and said they didn't have to and fixed it. It was OK for a few days but the rattling returned. Then last week I took it to a different Scion dealership when I visited my parents. They said that it was a loose component on the air filter. The rattling came back! It's still loud and I've asked a couple other people if that was "normal" and they said it wasn't.
I've taken the car to 2 different dealerships and neither of them have been able to permanently fix the problem. Along with that, I'm not happy with the mileage it's getting - it's been inconsistent. It started out averaging about 27 mpg, then to 28. 5, then to 30.5, and now recently the past 3 times I have filled the tank, I've been averaging 27 mpg. I really feel I should be getting better mileage because even though I do drive in the city, I usually use the car on the freeway to go to work which lasts about 15 minutes each way with normal traffic.
I'm concerned. Any advise?
Sorry. Um... you might have some luck having them adjust the idle speed up and down in small increments. Motor mounts could fix it, but I don't know how those would go bad in the first place.
"I have a 2005 Scion XA. It is brand new but I have one question. I have noticed that when I am sitting at a stop light and I have my foot on the break but the car still in drive there is kind of a knocking vibration. If I put the car in neutral it goes away. It is also not present when driving. Is this normal?"
I had an earlier post about this. You are the second person (besides me) to have this issue. The issue for me came up on an Echo with an automatic. I presume you have an automatic, too. I had a stick shift xA and this was never an issue because stick shifts don't shake at idle - automatics SOMETIMES have a little engine shake because the rpm dip down and the engine is under load when left in Drive.
Anyway, I took my Echo to the dealer and they quickly found the problem - one of the brackets on the top part of the engine, I think the one that routes the throttle cable, was hitting against another piece in the engine compartment. All they had to do, was bend the metal bracket a little. Like you, I thought the knocking sound was much more serious. It isn't, and the fix is quick and simple, if you have a good "knocks and rattles" tech to listen to it.
Thanks.
I really enjoy the little car, love the sun roof (never had one and it works perfectly), and really like a lot of the features--but the gas mileage is disappointing. My old 4-cylinder Toyota truck with camper shell does just as well!
With more driving, how is yours doing?
I hear Toyota is planning on restyling the xA and I wonder if that is where the designers are going to concentrate (Or maybe they will just switch all the cars over to the new grill).
--
Bill
It's the smallest, lightest, most fuel efficient (except for the hybrid) Toyota.
Another option is a Matrix, assuming you need a hatch and 4 doors.
There are no major glitches in the xA. It is similar to the Echo, which has among the highest reliability ratings from Consumer Reports. It is not a new car, it was previously made and sold in Japan and Europe.
new platflorm, suspension, brakes, compact torque converter (on automatics);
shortened nose (! it was already short!) and lengthened rear overhang for more interior luggage space;
4.3 inches longer overall, l8 taller, 1.2 inches wider - but most importantly, 3.5 inch longer wheelbase - still on the short side, but the ride should be a lot less choppy!
Length: 147.1"
Width: 65.4"
Height: 59.1"
Wheelbase: 93.3" (same)
Weight: 2150 lb. (5-door manual)
Ross
Ross
Ross
The only reports that seem to back it, come from the manufacturers of the synthetic oil because they make more money on it.
I say save your $$ and stick with the regular oil from a high quality brand and change your oil on the normal schedule (probably every 7500 miles, check the book).