Find the best price deals on a 2012 Scion xB . 
The Scion is THE car for Generation Y. The xB debuted in the US for the 2004 model year. It featured a “box-on-wheels” design, an interior with goth underpinnings that resonated with younger people, and an audio system that was a cut above the standard car. They combined this with a price that someone working an entry-level job could probably handle.
When it came out, it was unique, especially in the boxy design. It became the “coolest” car for younger drivers. The goth crowd bought it in black with a black interior. It inspired an almost tribal following. It is still a car a lot of younger drivers buy, but it doesn’t have quite the hold that it used to. However, this was offset by older drivers who wanted to see what the fuss was all about. The Scion is still aimed toward younger drivers, but people of all ages are buying it.
The Scion xB comes in one trim level. It is a 4-door, 5-passenger wagon. It has a 2.4 liter inline 4-cylinder engine that produces 162 horsepower. It has 16-inch steel wheels, 205/55/R16 all season tires, front-wheel drive, and a 5-speed manual transmission. It is rated at 22 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. It allegedly goes from zero to sixty in 8.6 seconds.
The Scion xB comes with a simulated alloy, tilt-telescope steering wheel that houses the audio and cruise controls, front bucket seats with driver height adjustment, 60/40 split-folding rear seat, cloth upholstery, a 12-volt front power outlet, electric power steering, simulated alloy trim on the dash, air conditioning, a trip computer, a rear wiper, a rear defogger, and privacy glass. The premium, 160-watt Pioneer audio system has 6 speakers, AM/FM radio, a CD/MP3 player, an audio jack, and a USB/iPod input.
The Scion xB also comes with antilock brakes, stability control, traction control, side front airbags, and side curtain airbags. It received the highest possible scores of “good” in front impact, side impact,and roof strength tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Conclusions and driver feedback.
The Scion xB has a very modern interior. It has a center stack design that can be frustrating for drivers who are used to everything being in front of their faces, but those who are used to it don’t seem to mind at all. The basic controls are easy to operate, but those of the audio system are a bit complicated for those who didn’t grow up with computers and video games. The materials are middle-grade, with some harder plastics mixed in with some soft-touch pieces.
The cabin is extremely spacious for its class. The combined headroom and legroom measurements are 80.7 inches in the front seat and 79.2 inches in the rear seat. This is some of the best rear seat measurements we have seen in anything that isn’t a van. The seats themselves are comfortable enough for short commutes or long trips. There are 21 cubic feet of cargo space behind the seats, and a total of 70 cubic feet if you fold the rear seats down.
Really, though, the centerpiece of the interior is the audio system. In a definite nod to the younger generation, the Scion xB has an audio system that is guaranteed to keep driver and passengers entertained and their attention spans captured for the duration of most trips. It’s no secret: younger people like to listen to louder music. The Pioneer system allows them to listen to music as loud as they want.
The boxy design is both a blessing and a curse. Parent company Toyota has lowered the profile of the xB a little bit, and changed both the windshield angle and rear profile to create more stability, more fuel economy, and less aerodynamic drag and noise. It has worked, but the design still makes the engine work harder for less results than a more conventionally-styled wagon or crossover. It also makes the xB a bit of an adventure to drive in a mountainous climate where there are a lot of sudden crosswinds.
That being said, xB drivers are still satisfied, and like the headroom and cargo space that the higher roof and boxy design provide. The steering is responsive due to electronic assist, but the Scion xB corners about like a 2500-series van, with a pronounced body roll. The good news is that the engine doesn’t really encourage you to drive too fast for the suspension. There is enough power for adequate acceleration and reasonable performance at highway speeds, but there is also a lot of wind noise. The ride is a bit stiff, especially considering the amount of body roll, but not a deal-breaker by any means.
Ultimately, though, the xB is still a younger driver’s car. When you are young, you don’t care if you actually feel it when you go over a bump. And you don’t care about wind noise because you have the music turned up so loud that you wouldn’t be able to hear it anyway. Body roll isn’t really much of an inconvenience for younger drivers, either.
The xB is great at getting younger drivers from point A to point B safely, consistently, and it keeps them entertained while getting them there. It will do the same for older drivers, too, but they have to have a younger attitude, a sense of humor, or both. A body that doesn’t care about an occasional jolt from an uneven road surface doesn’t hurt, either.
The verdict: still a great car for younger drivers, and a pretty good car for older drivers who still like to crank up the music.
Miscellaneous caveats and options.
There are a lot of options available, but it seems to vary from dealer to dealer. Among them are a navigation system, a touchscreen interface, a back-up camera, an even better Pioneer audio system with Pandora internet radio connectivity, extra audio outputs, and a compact touchscreen faceplate, a rear seat DVD entertainment system, ambient multi-color lighting, remote ignition, a rear spoiler, foglights, and a plethora of performance upgrade parts.
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