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Scion xA
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Comments
I once replaced the stock shocks on the Echo (similar to Scion xA under the body), and improved the ride; I used Monroe shocks which were designed and made in Europe for their version of the Echo, and they worked well.
Unfortunately, the xA weighs considerably more than the Echo and the Monroe shocks designed for the Echo won't work here. The last time I checked, Monroe did not have any replacement shocks for the xA, but you could keep checking.
In any case, most aftermarket shocks are firmer, not softer.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
But, that is at the price of "firm" valving on the shocks, and a "firm" ride. Not harsh, like on lowered cars (Eibach springs) or with stiffer shocks (like Tokico's) but firm. Coupled with the short wheelbase, you are really going to know you are driving. It's a lot of fun to toss around, but during the initial few thousand miles of break in, you might find it a little to firm for comfort. After a few thousand miles, it loosens up a little. I ran my tires at 35 psi, some people run them a little softer which can also help. Also some tires have stiffer sidewalls, which on a car this close to the limit of comfort, can make a difference. The stock tires are soft sidewalls; V-rated tires will probably be too stiff; H-rated Bridgestone 950's would be what I'd use if I did it again.
If you are used to driving most small cars, you would probably consider this an "upgrade" over the stock suspension, but not harsh. If you drive a big car with a stock suspension, you would probably find this harsh. It's very subjective and depends on where you are coming from. Keep in mind that it will break in; and also keep in mind that it is nowhere near really harsh, like aftermarket suspensions. One mechanic told me there are three grades - soft from the factory; firm or sporty from the factory; and aftermarket. This is the middle grade, firm or sporty from the factory, but not really "harsh."
Good luck, try driving the car at several dealers over different road surfaces so you can spend more time in it. I find I am sort of glazed over learning the controls on my first test drive, and don't notice the nuances until later.
Also consider an automatic instead of a stick. The stick runs high rpm at freeway speeds, which is a little annoying. The automatic is still brisk, but you feel like you have more in reserve if you need to scoot into the 80's for a pass. Due to the high body profile and small size, I never took mine over 90, but some people have taken it close to the limit (100 or so). That is how well it handles - it doesn't feel insecure at speed or in crosswinds.
If you are willing to order (why not, they are all the same price!) you can get side curtain airbags for about $650, a great long term investment. Ordering takes about 30 days - they don't really order from Japan, from what I understand, they just grab one in transit headed towards the docks - it's the advantage of a car that only has two options, the automatic and the airbags. I think in a few years used cars with side curtain airbags will sell for a premium that will more than recoup your initial extra expense. While the xA won't take a side impact from an SUV or compact truck well, it will do quite well in terms of body integrity if a mid size passenger car bones you, and the side curtain airbags add a lot in that context. Check out www.iihs.org for the scary details of how important side curtains are.
The Scion tC they had on the lot in Azure Pearl is quite striking. They also had a RS 1.0 tC but I don't like it's factory wheels much. I do like the Red. There is just something about that design that says "Hey, look, I'm a modern day '72 Celica!" I love it! The car just looks like a little slotcar, not just any slotcar, but your favorite. The kind you carried around with you, not just raced on the track. I would like 4 doors, so there's my quasi-dilemna. Get the Blue Streak Mica xA RS 2.0(ordered) for a bargain price of $14,745, OR, get the Silver Streak Mica tC 5-speed right off the dealer's lot in Sioux Falls, SD. I'm moving to South Dakota next month and want to purchase my Scion in that state. The dealer was telling me of a "tent sale" there this weekend but I'm 800 miles SE of him right now in mid-Missouri so that won't work.
The stock xA's I peeked in the windows at looked awfully small. Do they seem roomier once you've plopped your fanny down inside, micweb? If they do, and I like the ride, the RS 2.0 is up there neck and neck with the tC. If they do seem too small for us(wife and I)the xA will be immediately scratched from my (our, but mostly mine!) list. My wife doesn't really wanna part with our Sportage 4x4 at all.
Which brings me towards the conclusion of this long and rambling post. The Sioux Falls dealer(the largest car dealer in SD)also sells Kia's. Our fun wouldn't be complete without a new Kia Sportage test drive, but 3 in one day is pushing it and we will live some 200 miles west of the dealer! Gonna be interesting. Oh, if decent Sportage trade-in isn't possible, we'll be keeping our Sportage and I"ll keep trying to win a 2006 Hyundai Sonata online. You know that feeling ahead of time that you get though when you kinda know your dealer is going to make a good deal "just for you" that will work for you? I'm picking up that kind of a wavelength. I will "get up and walk out of the showroom" if I don't have my pre-selected sales/trade-in criteria met by them. I won't hesitate a tad. At least not much of a tad. You know what I mean. Used vehicles won't do, either. Go figure. Oh, Scion offers a $400 college gard discount that I will get if we go with their financing. Neato. First 3 LOF's free, too. Cool.
Anyhoo, before this turns into a sellable short story worthy of being on the Oprah show or something, here's a brief summary: I love the Scion tC, but I want four doors. The Blue Streak Mica xA RS 2.0 fits that bill, has illuminated cupholders and dash, foglights and sporty grille, and nice, sporty alloy wheels available (yep, I'd order them, they look nice). Dealer is hinting at lots of rebates and incentives(with Scions?)available right now. The 2005 Kia Sportage looks bold and ornery and agressive in person and we love our 2001 Kia Sportage 4x4. Actually, there's no huge reason to trade-in right now, save for this writer's strange, nutty obsession withthis new Scion tC and xA RS lineup, and better gas mileage with both the xA and tC.
Whatever we do will be taken care of in the 3rd week of May or so, after we settle in for a day or two in South Dakota. You better believe it I'll post the results in here. micweb, anyhing else you can add about the stock xA would be great. I know you've posted extensively about the little gas-miser, and I've read 'em all!
Oh, did I mention yet that I'd love to get my grubby paws on a Revell-type plastic model of a Scion tC? :P
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I just re-read all of the posts in this thread (you've got to like the xA to re-read all of the posts in this thread!)and your knowledge of the xA has been extremely helpful to people like myself who want buying information on cars. I also like the Scion tC along with the xA but you have never mentioned it? Whaddup?
I think the tC is a real knockout to look at and also a great value IMHO.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I recently drove an xA and found it much as you said: Peppy enough, comfortable enough though a bit rough riding, and a bit quirky. Also drove the TC which is much more refined and has a very nice balance of performance and comfort. All things considered though, for my daily driver/ghetto cruiser, I would probably opt for the xA for the the much better gas mileage. When comfort is the order of the day, I'll drive our A4. However, I think I'll hang in there with the ol' 92 Civic Si for up to another year wishing and hoping that the Jazz makes to our shores in the next year.
BUT no matter how you slice and dice it, the '92 Civic is in another galaxy at this point - an unsafe galaxy - for front, offset, and side impacts, so it is probably a nifty idea to upgrade at some point rather than holding on to an otherwise serviceable vehicle. The last decade has seen VAST improvements in safety...
Happy hunting, let us know what you end up with!
So far I have survived, but won't mind having a safer box when I buy again!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Any word from our carrier-route driver? He must be mid-teens on his xA by now.
I followed a great tip on windshield wiper squirter operation. Mine were plugged and not squirting bug juice correctly onto my windshield, so I went online to try and get some answers. Turns out a simple pin needle cleans them out fairly well. They can get wax build-up that plugs them up. At least it opened up one of mine well and I can squirt bug juice happily onto my windshield again! Whoo-hoo!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Keep in mind that ultra low profile tires on a car designed for them, like a BMW 3 series, are not the same as such tires on a subcompact commuter car. This is a Scion xA, not a Ford Focus SVT, or a Cobalt SS, or a Neon SRT; the suspension on the xA is not set up to take advantage of racing tires/wheels, and the downside - easy rim damage - isn't worth it.
Some newspapers (NY Times) and auto press has also reported on the dangers of heavier rims (larger rims) on cars - the suspension may break, breaking is not as effective.
If you really want to upgrade, buy the car with stock tires and wheels then order a set of 16" rims with tires from Tirerack.com - you'll get much better pricing, a better choice of tires, better balancing (Hunter Road Force), and can choose from true lightweight rims like Kosei; weights on rims can vary from 13 pounds for ultralight to 20 pounds, which is heavier than stock steel wheels.
Scion.com only offers 15" alloy wheels, I believe. Go there and try "build your scion" then click on "wheels" at the top. What the dealer is offering you is pure aftermarket.
I can't wait for the RS 3.0 to come out! Still driving and enjoying my '01 Sportage 4x4 and watching the xA world go around in the meantime.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
or 2.0
Now that is taking the jelly bean or the egg and styling it up! Which one would you choose?
The angle of the 2.0 picture makes the car look bigger than the 1.0, sorta, eh?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I see VERY little difference in these 2 pics aside from color, wheels, foglights, and a slightly larger grille on the blue one.
By the way, i prefer the red.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Yeah, the alloys would be a must for me if I pulled the trigger on an xA. I would want to see the RS 2.0 in person to get the true affect of that blue color in the daylight. Both rigs have great wheels, I like them both. The RS 2.0 does have a metallic paint finish and I love metallic paint jobs. The interior special lights both rigs have are not a big deal to me, but I do love the foglights against the blue paint, the crystal against solid look that is very cool.
I remain very interested in either one of these Scion's.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
As for the discussion about 17 inch wheels a few posts back: I test drove a Scion xA with the lowered springs and 17 inch wheels and it totally put me off the xA. The ride was so harsh, it was like the Princess and the Pea; you could feel every imperfection in the road. Yesterday I noticed they had a different xA out there- one with stock wheels. It was still a little harsher than the other cars I drove, but was in the pack with them... and had a nice sporty feel. For a tall car, it cornered nice; much better than, say, the Aveo, which leans quite a bit.
I had pretty much dismissed the xA as a reasonable option with the 17's, but after driving it with the stock 15's, it moved back up on my list; it's neck-and-neck between the xA and the Suzuki Reno. I like the Reno a lot based on driving impression, but it's a Suzuki made by Daewoo and gets almost 10 mpg less than the xA (which tranlates to almost $30/month in gas). And the two cars are virtually the same price, at least online. From what I hear, Scion dealers don't haggle, but the Suzuki dealer may come down, especially after the 06s arrive. If I can talk them down enough, it will be the Reno, I think; otherwise, the xA is a decent alternative. I just wish it was a little bigger.
They will bring the hatch here next time, I bet. By then a direct competitor will have emerged - the Fit. Not to mention the micro-Nissan that is coming within two years.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Ross
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Will we get a design like this in 2006 to replace the Toyota Echo? The 2006 Scion xA is already out and it is not this design. Scion and the xA is another monster altogether than the small car Toyota plans for the U.S. to replace the Echo.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Daily Edition: Jul. 26, 2005
Nissan Plotting Scion Fighters
Nissan's plans to challenge the success of the Scion brand will take the shape of a new sedan and a new hatchback, according to a report in Automotive News. The industry weekly says that a new sedan will slot in beneath the existing Sentra compact sometime in 2007; the Sentra itself will be replaced in the summer of 2006. The new entry-level sedan will be joined by a three-door hatchback; both are expected to be built at the Nissan plant inMexico, though Nissan did not confirm that in the report. Nissan hopes to take some sales away from Toyota's Scion brand, which is on track to sell about 160,000 xB, xA and tC models this year.
Spy Shots: '07 Nissan Teana by KGP Photography (7/25/2005)
Is it a mule or an Avalon fighter?
Flint: Character Counts More than Cheap
Americans don't like small cars or cheap cars. That's a generalization - but it's generally true. So if a car company wants to sell Americans a cheap car, and cheap cars generally are small, they should sell it as something else. Even cheap cars can sizzle. So sell the sizzle.
The most recent examples are the Toyota Scion cars. There really are cheap, and by that I mean low-priced. People actually pay $15,000 and $16,000 for an xA (the hatchback) or an xB (the box). But they aren't sold as cheap cars and people don't think of them that way. They sold 74,862 Scions in six months, on the way to 150,000 this year. It won't be long before they pass 200,000 a year. And I thought the Scion would flop when it came out. How wrong I was.
Now look at another cheap car, the Chevy Aveo, made by Daewoo in Korea and sold by Chevy dealers. They sold 35,245 in six months, on the way to 70,000.
Here's the difference: Toyota sells them as youth cars, but the buyers aren't particularly young. But that Chevy Aveo is just a cheap car.
Flint: Character Counts More Than Cheap by Jerry Flint (7/25/2005)
The key to getting people into them is making them special.
Also any and all information/assistance in this effort would be incredibly appreciated
Lin Farley
the xA makes a very nice substitute for the Echo...
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I am still watching Scion but am sorta interested in what Toyota brings to the table next year for the Echo, or Yaris, or Vitz, or whatever they decide. In Canada the Echo is a winner and great seller. I love my Sportage 4x4 so much that it's gonna be hard to not go for a new world order Sportage when the time comes. I love that new Sportage design and am becoming more enamored with it with each passing month as we head into the second half of 2005.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
As opposed to the dark gray/black interior in the xA that absorbs boatloads of heat on a car with not nearly enough engine power to have a healthy level of a/c cooling?
To me the front seat room actually seemed larger than the xA but I will trade some room for details.
Front seat room seemed bigger in the Aveo than the xA to me as well. I think it is more about the sloping A-pillar near my head as much as any measurable dimensions, though. The back seat on the Aveo is much smaller than in the xA, though. In my case, I may need to stick my son back there from time to time, and he's already 6-2. He wouldn't fit in the Aveo.
The back seat of the Aveo seems higher up to me. The leg room was skimpy but the head room was where I fault it. Stadium seating? The xA is just nicer in the back. Still not like the xB but for a short car it is fine. How about putting xA styling on the xB chassis..
Exactly my impression.
The xA is just nicer in the back. Still not like the xB but for a short car it is fine. How about putting xA styling on the xB chassis..
Actually, xA & xB *are* on the same chassis; the same one as the Echo. The xA slopes in, though, while the xB goes straight up. But I know what you mean: If the xA had some of the interior room of the xB it would be much better.
I would actually like the xB styling if the front bumper didn't stick out so far in front of the grill. If they extended the grill so it was within, say, and inch of the bumper, it would look much better I think.
The iPod connection option is just another reason why Scion sells so well, without 'employee pricing' and gimics - imagine if you declared you would sell 80,000 $13k cars with 103hp just a few years ago...
Let's see what happens if other small cars are MSRP'd closer to selling price.
And oh yeah, the Scions are pretty neat, too, that seems to help!
This vehicle really makes me wonder could this become the second-generation Scion xA, given that it can use the same xA drivetrain.
Toyota's been mysterious enough disclosing or not disclosing their plans for the U.S. market 2007 Echo/Yaris/Vitz, so why not throw a bit more drama into the mix. No, it's really a wait-and-see for new small cars from Toyota. The picture above has that taillght and rear end getup that looks a tad like their new Yaris. The front end grille of the Ractis tall wagon above looks sorta like the new crop of small Mazda's, like the Mazda3, for instance, in the grille area.
It's funny, because the Ractis tall wagon's look is growing on me. The Scion xA's look also grew on me, to the point I was gonna go snag one of my own. I also like the new Echo/Vitz/Yaris design, and want to compare it to what's coming down the road in the future for the Scion xA.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I wouldn't be surprised Toyota shows this car in Federalized form badged as a Scion as early as the Detroit Auto Show in Janaury 2006.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
(By the way, much to Toyota's surprise the Scion xA and xB have sold quite well to older drivers.)
The tC is very nice and the xA is cool, especially in Release Series form. That xA RS 1.0 in Absolutely Red still looks so much cooler than stock xA's to me, those wheels are nice, the different sport grille looks good, etc.
I think that boomers like Scion products because they appeal to their sense of value. They offer a lot of automobile feature for the money and they are Toyota products. Nuff said about that, eh?
About the Ractis, a low floor for ease of entry and exit and loading is fine, if the driver sits up high enough in their seat. Since it's the Ractis "tall wagon" I'm gonna figure that that will be the case. Keep on looking for new world order Scion xA future looks in the meantime...the Ractis fully loaded with a 5-speed tranny, air conditioning, a great stereo, power W/D/M's and side airbags or traction control as added safety comfort selling for around $13,999 would grab my instant attention.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick