I have to tell you, after owning several dozen vehicles in my life, the Scion xB (1st generation) has been the overall best experience.

• • First, of course, you have to love the box.
• I have driven by people and heard "I hate those things", you either love or hate the xB.
• Second, you have to not be particular about rattles in the xB.

Those xB factors aside, you can't beat what you get for the xB price. I waited 3 months for my xB, because I wanted a manual transmission. It finally came on the last xB shipment from Japan to the states, for the first generation xB.

I have never owned a vehicle that was so fuel friendly, driver friendly, and traffic friendly. Also, as a mechanic i have to say, the ease of working on or modifying the xB make it well worth it as well. I, at first, felt a little odd driving in the seat and was not used to the centered xB gauge display.

However, this took only a day or two to become complete xB comfort. It is small enough on the outside to maneuver through traffic, yet large enough on the inside to haul what I needed and provide space for 5 passengers. The Honda Element only seats 4. Reliability has been great, I have had one issue with an a/c compressor clutch. Warranty quickly covered this.

The handling stock is not meant for high speed manuevers, however with some inexpensive aftermarket upgrades, it is track ready. The other down fall is the horse power, if you read just the numbers. If you look at the overall package, research curb weight, you find that horsepower to weight ratio is equivalent to many vehicles. The manual transmission frees up a lot of power on these cars, and is highly recommend. After market upgrades are plenty, and many of them do perform to the expected standards.

I have found that most parts for this car are very inexpensive to replace, even an entire, used low mileage, engine can be found on ebay for $450. I still say its worth the overall experience.