2009 Scion xD Features Review

2009 Scion xDs come well-equipped with a lengthy list of standard features and can be customized to your liking with many OEM and aftermarket upgrades.

Kelley Blue Book describes Scions as "truly practical and affordable modes of transportation that don't loudly scream 'budget'." It seems Japanese "stripper" base models (remember the days of optional passenger side-view mirrors?) have gone the way of the dodo. Even in its sub-$15,000 base format, Road and Track mentions that the xD is equipped with cruise control; power windows, locks, and mirrors; and steering-wheel-mounted audio controls. Of the 2009 Scion xD, Kelley Blue Book contends, "It's an affordable, well-built vehicle with more standard equipment than a Honda Fit or a Nissan Versa."

Various reviews read by TheCarConnection.com describe the single-trimmed Scion xD as "monospec." Car and Driver explains: "you choose color, stereo, transmission, and wheel covers―with accessories providing all the tasty flavor." There are three levels of audio, all with iPod hookup as well as an auxiliary jack. The New York Times finds the base Pioneer head unit, a 160-watt AM/FM/CD/MP3 player with six speakers, a bit frumpy in its design, although they say it has "plenty of expandability" with hookups for amps and bass speakers and "sounds fine for a car at this price." Moving up to the mid-level stereo "and its multifunction knob" infuriated all the Car and Driver editors with the exception of their "youngest part-timers, who were keen on the programmable OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display." That display can showcase "skins" that can be "created and downloaded on a special site created by Pioneer just for Scion owners" and "short videos, too," says Kelley Blue Book. The premium radio option can be combined with an optional subwoofer, DVD navigation system, and Sirius Satellite Radio if so desired. Many feel that upgrading sound systems "does not improve the speakers, which lack clarity" (Car and Driver). Beyond Pioneer, as Edmunds points out, "aftermarket companies like Lund, Sparco and Yakima are also committed to making personalization of the new Scion easy."

An xD can be optioned from mild to wild. "With available accessories from TRD," notes Road and Track, "you can turn it into a very hot little 5-door." Buyers have a choice of wheel covers or alloy rims in sizes ranging from 16 to 19 inches. And functional upgrades include "a quick-shift kit, big brakes, shorter springs, an exhaust system, a carbon-fiber engine cover," according to Edmunds. Other available options consist mostly of items that are geared toward customizing the 2009 Scion xD's appearance, like illuminated door sill enhancements, sport pedals, a carbon fiber engine cover, and a cargo cover, points out Kelley Blue Book. The optional navigation system can play DVDs while the car is parked.