I have to say that if I saw you guys driving next to me with blue tape on the front of your box I would laugh my ___ off. But it is a great idea. Might actually try that this summer when I take a ride out to my sisters place in Baltimore...15 hour drive!

 

The colgan bra fits nicely. I recieved the OEM bra as a gift from my parents. But it doesn't cover that much let alone the front end of the car, just the front of the hood.

 

^^^ exactly. I wondered why they even offered that half assed solution. a couple thousand miles in: great! the front of my hood doesnt have any nicks! the bad: the entire friggin front bumper does! wow! definitely worth the $100+ that scion stole from me!

lol - man, im too sarcastic... i paid $134 shipped for the colgan one and i love it. the only thing that sucks is that it's a little STRUGGLE to get on and i remove it when i get my car washed.... i wish it were easier to put on but regardless, it's still an awesome solution.

im going to washington dc and new hampshire soon (about 250 miles to each) from nyc - should be a nice scratch-free trip =]
- sh00k

 

midtowndesi :
That Cogan in your pics looks like a great fit. I'm not usually a fan of full bras nut yours looks sharp!
Too bad theres not much protection for the windshield on long trips .

 

The Colgan Bra is awesome. I seriously thought about getting one for road trips (I still might). But, like 05CAMO said, it still doesn't protect the windshield.
Anyhow, the rockchips are only one aspect of why I prefer to rent a car for really long trips. If we want to go sight-seeing or visit crowded areas, I don't want to have to worry about where I have to park. I would worry about the xB...I won't worry about a rental. There's also the milage issue (keeping the miles off the box is nice) and the comfort/power issue. We love the xB but it's not the greatest highway cruiser. It's tall, flat profile causes it to get shoved around by high winds, it doesn't have cruise control, and it struggles to maintain speed on long steep inclines. While none of these issues alone are a big deal, when you add them all up it just makes sense (to me) to rent a car.

 

The xB wouldn't be my first choice for a long trip. That's not what it's designed for, and it plays directly into the car's biggest weaknesses: noise, poor aerodynamics, lack of a stock cruise control, harsh ride, etc. None of these factors hurt the car when it's doing what it was made for -- driving around town -- where it's ideal.

If the xB was my only car, I'd rent something else for long trips as well. Since we do have another car (the MPV) that's already perfect for road trips, we don't have to.

Another point is that the xB's gas mileage is not all that super on road trips. There are bigger, plusher, faster, more comfortable cars that (because they are so much more aerodynamic) can match the xB in pure highway driving, even though the xB crushes them in normal driving. Heck, even my MPV gets 27mpg on road trips.

RichC

 

I'm not really a big fan of bra's either - on my cars or on my women

But I wanted something to protect against nics on my new car that only had 1 mile on it =]

About the windshield, when I am on a road trip, I tend to speed (65-90mph) but i stay as far back from other cars as possible. this doesn't eliminate the chance of getting your windshield damaged, but it is a little bit of prevention. You'll also never catch me behind a huge truck on the highway. i stay at least 5-9 car legnths away from the car ahead of me (in any lane)
- sh00k

 

We would laugh at the people that thought we had them painted like that on purpose. All the crazy hicks we run into between OK and TX at the truckstops.
It does look weird to look in your rearview mirror and see 4 or 5 blue square cars coming up on you.

 

^^^ LOL! I know what it feels like having 4 or 5 blocks chasing after you... I was a serious Tetris player back in the day!

 

I disagree completely. Having used our new xB on half a dozen 400+ mile road trips in less than six months, I can tell you that it is far more comfortable than our old Isuzu Trooper. I've never experienced the excessive noise people here like to complain about, and even with the roof rack loaded up, we still get 27-28 mpg at 75 on the freeway. The interior is comfortable for a small family and so far it has been reliable as hell.


Different strokes for different folks I guess....but I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

^ I hear you - that's the reason I actually bought my xB - was for road trips. I am taking a nice 700 mile road trip, over 3 days, and plan to enjoy it thoroughly while cruizing in my box!
- sh00k

 

That's what's called "damning with faint praise." I don't think many people ever accused the Trooper of being comfortable!

If the noise doesn't bother you, it doesn't bother you. But it's certainly real, and easily measured with a sound-pressure level (SPL) meter. At highway speeds the xB is one of the noisiest interiors on the road, and that's an objective fact.

My point about the fuel economy is that we get the same mileage as you do on long trips while driving a larger, more comfortable car that doesn't require loading up the roof rack because everything fits inside.

I'd also submit that 400 miles is not what most people are talking about when they suggest renting a substitute vehicle for a "long trip."

RichC

 

I said 400+ miles. But like I said...whatever floats your boat. IMO cars are meant to be driven and not babied...especially a 15k dollar car. Spending money on a rental car or another car just for long trips is something I couldn't fathom.

 

i taped my whole front end up when i went for NJ to AZ and back i used a whole big roll of tape each time but no chips

 

quit throwing the price out. some people can't afford a higher end, more expensive car, (me) and would be more than proud to not only own, but baby an xB. (one more week until i can order mine. this week's going by really slow.) but being that the xB is the car i chose over a list of smaller, faster, more expensive cars as the car i wanted to buy, i still want to take care of it. yeah, granted, i'm only paying 14-some thousand for it, but still, it's going to be my baby, and i intend to treat it just as good as somebody with a GT40. why? because i work my butt off for my money.

 

WORD

 

I Had My Whole Front Covered In 3M...

 

Long trips is why I have an xB. 80% of my miles are from 1600 mile round trips. Also they are meant to be driven plus the mpgs are a plus. A Colgan bra would take care of the rock chips anyway. Drive that sucker already Bro!

 

I'm off to the store to grab some 3M tape now and get the box washed and ready for the trip tomorrow morning...Got the oil chanaged and the tire pressure checked out at the dealership yesterday and I'm cleared for takeoff :D