2005 Scion xB Consumer Reviews

2005 Blue Scion xB

Written by: AutoBat on 12/15/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I have had my xB for several years now. I got my car with alloy wheels, arm rest and cruise control installed. I consistently get 30mpg in either city or highway. I still love the looks of it, I replaced the grill with billet aluminum and the rear lights with LEDs after I got rearended once (new tailgate as well). The car is reliable as can be (it's a Toyota afterall). Even after the new (ugly) xB's came out I still get comments on how cool (or ugly) my car is. If I had the means, I would get another, but with a manual transmission. I have had to have 2 large chips filled in from errant rocks at about $20 each.

Favorite Features

MP3 headunit, Great looks, Great fuel economy. Seats 5 adults easily. Lots of headroom. Integrated antenna in the glass.

Suggested Improvements

The armrest is worthless 90% of the time, the visor mirrors are ridiculously tiny, cruise control isn't offered by the factory (I know they fixed that in the ugly new ones), and an actual temp gauge would be nice.

Report inappropriate post

Love car, hate front seats

Written by: julie on 07/31/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

Bought car 1 month ago. Former car Toyota tercel 4wdr which I loved but it got rear-ended. Love the look & mileage. Have a stick and do not have any power problems. Daughter and friends love all the room in the back. 1 BIG COMPLAINT: My husband & I both have backaches after riding more than 1 hr in either front seat (we are 5'6" and 5'10"). Nobody else has written about this and it worries us. Any suggestions?

Favorite Features

storage, styling, mileage

Suggested Improvements

map light, deeper cup holders, more comfortable front seats

5 out 7 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

2 xB family

Written by: Kayaker on 06/24/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I purchased my '05 xB in 2006 and love it. Can carry anything, even a kayak! (Bungeed the back shut about 6") I have since added a roof rack to hold both my husband's and my kayaks and still get 36-38 miles per gallon with an empty roof rack. Last year my husband's Camry was totaled and he was lucky enough to find a used "05 xB. His had 30,000 miles on it and is still like new. We live in NH and had record breaking snow last year. We did have snow tires, but could go anywhere. Never had a car this good in the snow! Both boxes are standard transmissions, very easy and fun to drive. Can't imagine driving anything else. We plan on keeping these boxes forever.

Favorite Features

Gas mileage! If driven conservatively will easily get 36-38 miles per gallon. Very comfortable, great visibility, very reasonably priced. Great value.

Suggested Improvements

Like everyone else, would love cruise control for trips, too much road noise, and it does have lousy cup holders. Good far outweighs the bad.

7 out 7 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Fantastic little gem

Written by: Love this baby on 05/30/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I cannot believe I found a used XB. We had looked for the last several years at the local car shows and fell in love with the XB. We were ready to buy a new one this year. We did not like the new design because it has really cut the gas mileage with the improvements. These cars never show up used here. No one wants to part with them. We got a great deal on a 2005 with only 40,000 plus on it. It is silver with a cute red thunder bolt along the sides & air scoop on the back. We love the room the handling and the gas mileage. We had cruise added it really enhances the over the road mileage. We are nearing 60 and enjoy the nice firm seats. Great for us and so much fun to drive.

Favorite Features

Love the seats and the great window views. My husband gave up his AWD Astro for this. We like to sit up high. Great for our three dogs, luggage etc. Has enough power for us. A bigger engine & you get less gas mileage. Very nice radio. Really like the way the side mirrors give you that extra site line

Suggested Improvements

better inside lighting would be nice.

3 out 3 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Boxes can be fun

Written by: BoXedUP on 05/20/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I fell in love with my box (aka XB) when I first saw it. It was unlike anything else on the market at that time or really since then. I bought it for three main reasons. 1) I loved the way it looked. 2) I loved the mileage it was reported to get. And 3) It was more customizable and had more personality than any vehicle I had ever encountered. Now three years and almost 40,000 miles later I still catch myself with a smile on my face as I drive down the interstate to work. I have owned many cars in the past but never one that I have truly loved. This year I am considering on trading in my Box. What will I replace it with? The next generation XB. I love this car and the Scion experience.

Favorite Features

My favorite features of my XB would have to be the unique styling, yes its boxy but the new XB's have refined the styling and in turn have gave the XB a more contemporary less toy like feel. I also love the display layout. The heads up design has truly spoiled me for more central layouts in cars.

Suggested Improvements

Improvements can be summed up in one word, "HORSEPOWER". Don't get me wrong the older Xb's perform well. It's just at times they can get sluggish. Especially if you have the car loaded and going up a steep grade. But the new engine in the next generation Xb sounds like the ticket for a great car

3 out 3 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

my BOXkar

Written by: Pennie on 04/18/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

Had my car 3 yrs now and I still love it. Will be driving more now that I'm retired. Great gas mileage. Do wish it heated up faster. Took over W VA mountains, made them all, just keep the medal to the pedal. I have allowed three strangers (older individuals) who ask about car to sit in it. They were impressed about the ease of getting in and out. Two I saw another time at store and they told me the did indeed buy a Scion xB, on man traded his cat for one. Told me he laugh every time his fills up his xB and takes money to back. I'll never own another car except for the Scions.

Favorite Features

Roomy and solor heat. One of my son's 6ft 4in rides in back and no problems, lots of room.

Suggested Improvements

Heat up sooner and maybe cruise control now that I'm going to be traveling a lot.

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

It grows on you...

Written by: JpRoman1981 on 03/30/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

When i first saw this vehicle, which was inside the mall, i really didn't like it. One of my friends bought one, so i rode in it around the block...ever since that, i have loved them. They are very unique cars love the "box-look". I got the Thunder Cloud Metallic one. This car is not for everyone, but it is for me.

Favorite Features

Not only is it very roomy inside, there is so much stuff you can do to it. VERY CUSTOMIZABLE !!!

Suggested Improvements

The only thing needed to make this the best car out there, is MORE POWER.

5 out 5 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Proud Owner

Written by: Dorrial on 03/24/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I purchased my Scion new and plan on keeping this model for many years. It is fun to drive, the visibility is exceptionally good, my mileage is anywhere between 30 and 35 MPG depending on how many people are in the car or, what I am transporting to college. Compared to the 2008, which is larger and not as pretty am mine, I'll stick to my 2005 XB.

Favorite Features

Visibility, comfort, position of dash gages, seat configuration, ease of parking. I could go on and on. The Xb is a fun car to own and drive.

Suggested Improvements

The windows could stand a little more tinting, but they are ok. I really do not have any suggestions for improvements.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

great car for a snowless climate

Written by: on the road again on 03/21/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

The roof is a little high for loading kayaks. The snow collects heavily and gets quite packed in the wheel wells causing the front tires to loose their turning mobility. On both rear wheels the packed snow had to be broken up with the windshield ice scraper. The wiring to the side lights is located in the wheel wells and it pulled away and is now broken and hang down. The garage said the whole unit would have to be replaced. I've never had this happen before. Other than that I really love this car.

Favorite Features

Great mileage average 34 mpg. Wonderful space with seats down for 8' lumber and ladders. Tremendous leg and headroom.

Suggested Improvements

The plastic bumpers are very low and get caught on curbs and break easily. The wind noise is loud on the highway.

4 out 4 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Family gas saver

Written by: redd on 03/16/2008

Vehicle

2005 Scion xB 4dr Wagon (1.5L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I'm the second owner of my xB, but I feel like the first because the owners kept it like new. I traded in my WRX which got around 15 MPG (with my driving). I have no regrets at all. Although the xB is under powered it makes up for it in gas mileage. I can get around 280 miles per tank and I get 32 mpg on average. The interior is really roomy. I'm 6' 4" and still have about 3 inches of head room and plenty of leg room. I can even sit in the back seat with the front seats moved all the way back. Once I drove to the zoo and fit 5 full grown adults in my xB. The back seat passengers were a tight fit, but it still worked out.

Favorite Features

32 MPG on average! Room for 4 large adults(250 lbs each)! a feature i recently discovered was if you go to the beach or drive in movie, you can take out the head rests in the front seats and recline them all the way to make lounge chairs in the back (very cool)! The stock stereo is decent too.

Suggested Improvements

Cruise control would be nice. more sound proofing, but it's around $400 if you have it professionally done. needs reading lights. larger mirrors on the sun visors. scissor jack with an attached handle(like 2001 VW). locking glove box. storage drawers under seats. rear disc brakes. panoramic sunroof.

4 out 4 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post