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For small families, the vehicle of choice is no longer the minivan or the SUV; it's the compact... Read More
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The interior is mock industrial, with metallic-like milled surfaces and lots of handy places to tuck things away.
bigger, rounder, and, well, more anonymous
Bento box meets lead sled
excellent little car that just happens to look cool
Unfortunately, the new model grew fatter in every dimension and lost the sharp boxiness of the original.
STYLING | 8 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
The interior is mock industrial, with metallic-like milled surfaces and lots of handy places to tuck things away.
AutoWeek
bigger, rounder, and, well, more anonymous
CNET
Bento box meets lead sled
The Auto Channel
excellent little car that just happens to look cool
Edmunds
Unfortunately, the new model grew fatter in every dimension and lost the sharp boxiness of the original.
Winding Road
Chalk this one up in the annals of automotive design gone wrong. Scion had a cult following on its hands with the pre-2008 Scion xB, a subcompact vehicle that was, simply put, boxy to the max—with crisp edges and a look unlike any other on the market. Scion thought that it could turn the xB into a full-fledged mass-market hit, so it made the xB a size larger and loaded it with a different kind of retro design sensibility that characterized the likes of the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Chevy HHR—both now obsolete.
Although the xB is an intriguing vehicle on the outside, what Scion ended up with is something more like a soft-cornered armored van. It's slab-sided and pretty thick at the waist, with a wide rear pillar and a long, flat roof. The blunt front end now has a glossy-black lower grille for 2013, and there are a few other exterior changes geared toward making the xB look a little sportier—including a black rear diffuser and LED accent lighting.
Depending on your tastes, you may judge the xB's interior to either be functionally stylish or a complete fashion victim—and we'll advise that you take a look at interior pictures first to get a sense of that. While the design itself is straightforward—with a very upright dash design—it's the details that are borderline perplexing, with the small analog gauges placed at a distance, at the center of the dash, and the layout of controls, vents, dials, and trims, somehow feeling both boxy and busy.Conclusion
The 2013 Scion xB stands out on the outside with its chopped-off, boxy look, but many might find its interior too gimmicky.
