Zlog

Great car. Drove well, performed better then i expected from a car in its class, which is the scion trend

but

what were they thinking on the interior? Everything to the right of the steering sheel/dash is HIDEOUS. it looks like it was taken from a circa '85-'90 vehicle and retro fitted in.

I figured the center console would look better in person but its actually worse. Its flat out hideous. "Whoops we forgot a clock! Here, lets put this $0.99 digital clock in right ...... HERE!" *Designer pens in ugly clock*

It's a complete bummer for me. My wife really loves the car's handling and performance but i know she's a bit dissapointed. Maybe it'll look better with red interior accents like the showcar had (which of course isn't an option yet, and of course the showcar color she fell in love with isn't the one that is in production. yay earth tones).

We'll probably still end up with one, I got my xB and she really digs the exterior and ride of the xD. Unfortunatly the tC is out of our budget.

Hopefuly SOMETHING can be done about that center dash area!

THE_DON

I didn't think it was THAT bad. But the interior is pretty much a Yaris, with the gauge moved behind the wheel.

I would roll in a Yaris, so I'm not dissing it. But it does scream "cheap car" though. Once you step inside the xD you can really see where they cut corners to keep the price low.

The engine is really smooth, just a little noisy. Once again, it's probably because they left out some sound deadening to save money.

Overall, I liked the car. Fixed up it would look nice, but in stock form I just think it has an "entry level" feel.

-THE DON

zoltiz

The center "waterfall" is very controversial - will take a lot of creativity to make it look even a tad better.

But as everyone notices - the engine is perfectly adequate for a 2600lbs car. Trip computer was a very nice touch, too (average mpg / speed / etc).

I'm starting with a leather steering wheel off a wrecked tC - hate rubber steering wheels in cars, then will move on to "waterfall". God help me.

matt_a

I hear ya. We just went through this with my wife also. We really wanted another Scion but decided to get something else because of this issue. My xA has a kind of sparce interior also, but when I bought it new 2 years ago, I only paid $12,995 for it. I wasn't expecting padded door panels or top quality materials for that price. I felt like I got what I paid for and I'm quite happy with the car. But the xD sells for what...almost $16,000? For that kind of money you can pick from several other cars (some with waaaay nicer interiors). If Scion continues to raise prices to where they are no longer an inexpensive bargain, they had better start to upgrade the interiors somewhat.

Matts_Box

You are right about the interior. I test drove an xD for the second time yesterday and still couldn't get used to it. The center stack doesn't bother me... the rest of the interior just looks plain and cheap.
I test drove an automatic Honda Fit Sport right afterwards and fell in love immediately. The Fit was slower 0 to 60, BUT the interior is miles above the xD, and the paddle shifters on the steering wheel are a nice bonus. I don't mind sacrificing some speed for a better quality interior. My mind is made up to trade in the Classic xB for a Fit in 60-90 days.

L4rry_B1rd

If the FIT had a 1.8L as opposed to the 1.5L then the FIT would've been a no brainer for my next car. Sadly, after having owned two Scions over the past 3 years, Im tired of the cheap @ss interiors. So the xD is not even being considered at all for the sucessor to the B.

offroadinfrontier

you guys had me worried, but i finally got a test-drive today and didnt find anything wrong with the interiors. given, theres no leather or vinyl, or anything other than plastic and some cloth, but it seemed very well executed to me.

as far as the waterfall thing, this, like so much of the car, seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it... i thought it was awesome. the door panels with the matching paint add to the design.

the only thing i found really cheap was the gauges; the new design is really nice, but the silver divider that seperates the two gauges is mounted on the clear plastic dash cover. at different angles, it's horrible, but fortunately from straight-on, its nice... just wish they could have had an actual divider built in, maybe with some depth.

matt_a

If you want to see what I mean about other cars in the same price range having much nicer interiors, go sit in a Nissan Versa SL or a Honda Fit.

offroadinfrontier

i test-drove both. the fit had a nice looking interior, but it was still plastic. it looked nice, but its relatively boring (and i hated how it drove). the versa had a lot of fancy materials, but the storage space is dissapointing (esp when compared to the fit and xd).

again, tho, its all a matter of opinion. if there were no diversity, there would be a lot of unhappy people ;-)

my biggest beaf w/ the versa - ive been to 3 dealerships... wheres the abs?!

matt_a

Yeah...that is weird. You can get ABS on a Versa for only $275 but for some reason it's kinda hard to find (obviously it has to come with it from the factory). I'm pretty sure the '08s are coming out this month and I think it's standard on all of them.

butterfly0fdoom

The Fit has a good interior? That's news to me. Lately, it seems (to me, at least) that Honda's interiors are lower-quality than Toyota's. At least the xD has some styling with the waterfall (which I guess I'm on the "like it" side of).

jonnyO2

I did my first test drive here in Colorado tonight. Overall I'd say it was "pretty good"...

Pickup wasn't great but adequate. The engine definitely sounds more powerful than the xA. Visibility was had to judge since there were signs all over it that said "demo rides only", but seemed OK.

I wasn't a huge fan of the smallish steering wheel or it's position, but maybe I'm just not used to it. I tried to tilt it down but it seems that the whole thing just descends rather than tilts. And it hit my knee - I'm not a big guy either...

Anyone else thing the steering wheel was a bit funny?

lakeshorescion

Yeah, I've sat in a Fit and it was okay, but nothing special. Scion at least tried to do something different with the interior so it wouldn't be like every other small car.

I liked how they made the "waterfall" raised from the dash.

___xDreme___

Yeah I like it, too. The whole interior is darn nice for a brand new car at $15,100 - roughly HALF the price of the AVERAGE new vehicle.

The waterfall is fine - Volvo does it and it's revolutionary and contemporary, but Scion does it in a cheaper car and it sucks. Whatever

___xDreme___

Ech - no way would I choose a Fit over an xB of either generation.....JMHO

xBster

I liked the interior, just didn't like the door panels....very plastic....I think I could live with it, especially for the price. Not much out there for less than $15,000 with the features the xD offers.

ChelsDS

I love the inside actually. The only other car I have to compare interiors with is my first car, '99 Corolla, and that thing was crap! Though I do agree the clock would be better somewhere else other than where it is currently. I wear polarized glasses while I drive and its a pain to look at the clock because of the rainbow effect on it.

Matts_Box: My sister has a Fit w/a sport package, and its ok. It felt very cheap inside compared to when I sat in the new xB. To me all the Hondas have gotten cheap with the interior (reminds me of Saturns haha) but with the xB the plastic looks better.

Though if you like the idea of the seats being able to do all that crazy folding stuff, go ahead and get the Fit. The ride is much more bumpy and noisy because of the short wheel base btw.

niteowl

I looked at the Fit, Versa and Yaris. 128hp on the xD- no contest. The engine is noisy, but for a car jam packed with standard features, its no big deal.

Only options I have are automatic and floor mats, with my downpayment, my "out the door" price was less than $16,700.

yesti

hey you are paying for that engine. dual vvti sweet!

ChelsDS

Honestly I don't hear the engine because I listen to either the radio, satellite, or my iPod when I'm in the car. I only hear it when I accelerate to pass someone. So its no biggie to me. Plus I do like to hear my engine just a bit so I can pretend I'm in a super fast car :D