Gran Turismo Car Review: Scion xB

"Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW." (aya-yu) 05/15/2014 at 11:34 • Filed to: Gran Turismo Car Review

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Yeah. It's Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanced yoooo!!!!!!!
Anyway, today i'll review a Scion xB. Because i bought this thing used in GT5, so as a lead image i'll use the Stanced one. For the rest of review i'll back to normal stance, because, how the hell you suppose to drive a stanced car and win a race?

Exterior and History

In an attempt to capture the cravings of today's youth, Toyota started their off-brand "Scion". Clever slogans to describe the xB, by far Scion's oddest model include: "The Box that Rox" and Scion/Toyota also challenges us to "Think inside the Box"

.....well there goes MY two clever slogans to start this review...

Anyways. The xB was originally released to (as I said) attract younger buyers—the so-called "Generation Y", who were born just as Nirvana and Pearl Jam were edging toward stardom. It is a funky vehicle. The xB was meant to be different. Expressive. Thru a huge variety of options, such as an assortment of sound equipment, ground-effect kits, and odd paint schemes, Scion released their "Box" to flashy commercials accompanied by a deep-voiced dude who I'll assume was supposed to represent the very spokesman of Gen Y.

...Little did Toyota/Scion know the xB would become popular, but half the buyers proved not to be young. Instead, most xB customers are older folks (at least in America this is true) attracted to the xB's low price and roomy interior. No, these baby-boomers won't be getting a giant Scion logo super-imposed on their MPV! I'm not sure who Japan's version of the xB (the Toyota bB) attracts. Probably it actually is a vehicle for the youths of Japan.

In GT4, the Scion xB weighs-in at 2,295 pounds ... 130 pounds lower than a real-life version (in case you doubt me, I checked many websites, 'kay? I know what I'm talking about). In GT5, it's now slightly heavier at 2,358 pounds. Still below real-life, but at least PD finally tried to correct one of their many errors. We can find this one as a new car in GT4, but a used one in 5. In this latter game, the xB can be hard to find, but not impossible to find. We unfortunately can't get our xB totaled out with some flashy Gen Y material (other than some colored rims and new paint in GT5), but it still looks dope (if a bit out of place) in replays as it copes along with smaller, sportier-handling vehicles.

Engine and Drivetrain

Scion may have included all the treats for those who want a vehicle that's def , along with those who just want one that'll heft ...options, options, options...

...but one thing they seem to have forgotten is the engine ; or specifically, its lack of power. Let's have a show of hands: how many real-life customers (not to mention gamers) have purchased an xB looking for perhaps Civic-like gusto?? Hee hee!! The small-bore 1.5 liter engine packs just 108 horsepower before oil-change!! Oooh that hurts!! GT5 versions (all of which can be found in the used car lot) can possibly start with less than this. There's also the transmission, which is a very tall automatic 4-speed. 4th gear never got used during my testing in either game this MPV appears in, and later on when I was racing with about 175 horsepower at Route 246, the tranny hung in 3rd (even as I drafted another car down the length of 246's longest straight area), and then very begrudgingly lurched into 4th. That was one of the saddest moments ever in GT racing history.

But honestly...if you've got a bit of skill, the xB can and will dominate such lowly races as the Sunday Cup, and with just a few more credits spent on a Stage 1 tuning or turbo in GT4 (GT5 will require some better exhaust or intake parts), the FF Challenge becomes very doable as well, especially when we mate the engine to a closer gearbox. Unfortunately, close gearing is a bit short....there's only a few tracks it's useful at. The wagon's stock gears (all four of them) tend to bog down a bit at some tracks when power is low.

Real-life customers may be stuck, but in the game we do have many choices: 3 levels of natural-tuning, 2 turbos, and even a supercharger can be conveniently bought from Scion or the tuning village in GT4. GT5 adds an extra high-speed turbo kit, and in either game, a full-custom transmission becomes our best option, if we're looking for some 'all-purpose' sort of action. But ultimately, the xB doesn't last long in either game. Power can be raised just over 200 hp, which means some Kei cars might have a longer career than this 5-door!

Chassis and Handling

GT4

Believe it or not, when I drove my blue Scion xB nearly stock in the Sunday Cup, I was surprised. This MPV (when it's young and powerless) is all handling . So long as brakes are applied in a timely fashion, the steering that follows is genuinely precise , and only in the tightest corners will the front-drive system start to protest with bits of slow-corner exitness.

What I was expecting of course was a lot of understeer, but also oversteer as well. Yes there is some of this recalcitrance, but only if you mistreat the xB. Heavy braking? Yes

... but not necessarily early braking that is needed 100% of the time.

It seems that perhaps this wagon's squatness and lack of body overhang helps in this regard. Real-life xB's turn .83 g on the skidpad when equipped with Toyota-warrantied sport-handling parts and tires; absolutely amazing for what is supposed to be Generation Y's star multi-purpose vehicle. The best thing about SCION as I hinted is all their options (the body kits, the silly paint jobs) are warrantied.

And no, I don't work for Toyota or SCION. :0

GT5

Not much to report here. Like the xB of GT4, in this game the xB always does what it's told at first, with some understeer happening only if the driver forgets what the brake pedal is. Otherwise, this one always feels grippy into turns , and has loads of traction out of them, even with the crappy medium-grade radials equipped and no TCS. It helps that the xB has a rather car-like center of gravity, rather than a minivan-like center of gravity. The xB sometimes feels a little slow in turns with such tires equipped, and we can't always use the gas-pedal at the exact moment we'd like, but otherwise the xB does fine.

...All of this assumes lower-speed turns are being tackled, though

...during GT5's long list of easy racing expeditions.Now, if we take a gander at the tire monitors, we can actually see the xB is often at the very edge of disaster! Those front tires especially are constantly heating up to red. A track like Madrid or London is an example here. Such shorter tracks have cramped, tighter turns, and the xB survives these turns with any complaints being rare ones. Only once this bulkmobile happens to driving thru some longer curves (Route 246 for example) during which longer moments of punishment are being dealt, will the xB finally start to understeer mid-turn more heavily.

I drove an xB recently in the Clubman Cup. My box (see pic) had medium-sport tires now, which is like trading a pair of off-brand shoes from Payless for a pair of Air Jordans. The Scion (in this set of races, and on these tires) has handling traits that are still mostly desireable than they are awful. Late braking can be used reliably as a tool to get by others, for instance. The Box also still grips, and displays also major traction out of slower areas, even without a limited-slip device. The only complaint here is a very minor one. At Route 246, my Box had about 175 horsepower. Out of the final sharp turn, it started to display a few seconds of smokey wheelspin as I got onto the long "straight" area. This could have been cured with some LSD. But I still won the race (and with the stock 4-speed automatic transmission still in place!), so it can still be said that a limited-slip device is still very secondary.

Another complaint isn't so minor: understeer . It was encountered mostly at Tsukuba and Route 246, but it was just as easy to avoid this understeer as it was to explore it. I like that word ... "explore". This is a really safe car to drive in this game. For somebody who is a new to GT5, the Scion xB makes a great beginner's vehicle. This green driver can learn about all the fun intricacies of understeer: how it starts, and what we can do as drivers and tuners to avoid it. The xB is not the most understeery machine on the market, surprisingly enough, and for this reason it's a great teacher without being too demanding of a tyrant.

Summary

So overall, not bad. The xB is not a sports car by any means, but compared with a Caravan, Kia Sephia, or some other such vehicle made for soccer moms? The xB stacks up mint baby.

PROS————————————————————

1). Some fresh styling. Dopey Fresh!

2). Surprisingly lightweight.

3). Surprisingly tight handling, too...at least while the power is low.

4). What a low, low price. Great to start GT4 or GT5 with if you got some skills.

5). Power options on all three sides: NA, supercharger, and turbo. Torque band remains nice and flat, meaning power is generally guaranteed anytime (as meager as it is). 6). Great vehicle for beginners, and I think many beginners will choose an xB over Beetle or a Prius.

CONS———————————————————————

1). Honestly. This is not really supposed to be a race-car! There's a long, long line of us who'd prefer a long line of other cars left out of GT4 & 5 to the odd & boxy xB.

2). 4-speed tranny stock? Close gearing can only be used at the tightest of tracks and slowest of racing, meaning full-custom gears are eventually in this car's future if we're to pursue a fuller career with it.

3). Poor aerodynamics. The Box does fine with racing till it's hurdling down some straight with a hungry aero-coupe on its tail.

4). When power is stock, the front-drive system works like a devil on those tracks, mostly in a good way. But understeer and body-sway oversteer (especially in GT5) begin to steal these advantages as power gets upped.

5). The acceleration of a mailbox. Perhaps Scion was hoping real-life xB customers would be too stoned on extacy to notice.

6). The best power ups (Stage 2 turbo, Stage 3 na-tuning, and supercharger) take the xB a bit over 200 hp. Then the tuning is done. In GT4, the expensive Stage 3 natural tuning is your best way to go for $65,000. No intercoolers for turbos in GT4.

7). The Scion xB starts us off with a bang in the Sunday and Beginner's FF Cups, but ultimately has a shorter career than a PT Cruiser.

RazoE > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 05/15/2014 at 11:39

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Too bad the Scion xB never got this front-end. We got the "kouki" front, that was a refresh. Also the rear bumper/hatch is JDM spec. They got a handle with the license plate in a flatter rear bumper, we got a hatch with a squishy electronic handle, with a license plate holder, and an extended rear bumper.

RazoE > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 05/15/2014 at 11:40

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Bravo! I love my xB. Still though, I go for the Suzuki Wagon R in GT. But you have to have the stage 2 exhaust, not the 3.

Bad Idea Hat > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 05/15/2014 at 11:41

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I rally my xB. Actually, I rally all of the Scions, at least in GT4.

I am not a well man.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Bad Idea Hat 05/15/2014 at 11:43

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That's normal. I need to rally my xB.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > RazoE 05/15/2014 at 11:43

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Yeah. PD is just swapping the badge, like in second pic.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > RazoE 05/15/2014 at 11:45

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That's on my next review list, the Wagon R. We have the wagon R in Indonesia, and it's great!

Well, i'll try the 2nd exhaust then.

Frisky Dingo > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 05/15/2014 at 12:01

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I own one of these in real life, and I love it. It mostly drives like it does in the game. For a cheap, fuel-efficient ran-around-town car, it's great. I'll probably never get rid of mine.

DoubleDragon > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 05/15/2014 at 19:14

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Doesn't matter how many websites you check, curb weight for a car differs in different markets due to regional components.

DoubleDragon > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 05/15/2014 at 19:20

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Indonesia? what do you think of this?

"Four cars have different engine capacites:

Alpha: 1.79
Bolte: 1.796
Castel: 1.82
Dezal: 1.783

Which of the cars has the smallest engine capacity?

It's not a trick question. But over 75 percent of 15 year-old school children in Indonesia do not have the mathematical skills to answer it correctly.

Every three years, Indonesia's education system goes through the ritual humiliation of the PISA tests , comparing the performance of 15 year-olds in 65 countries in reading, maths and science. Indonesia has more teachers per student than most much richer countries, and an amendment to the constitution guarantees that 20 percent of the national budget is spent on education. And yet the 2012 PISA results, released this week, show that Indonesia ranked at the bottom of the heap in maths and science, and did only marginally better in reading.

A full 42% of 15 year-old Indonesians in school don't reach the lowest defined level for maths, meaning they can't "perform actions that are almost always obvious, and follow immediately from given stimuli". Three out of four do not reach level 2 in maths, meaning that they are not capable of making literal interpretations of the results of simply presented data, such as reading values off a bar chart. Just 0.3% of Indonesian students managed to score at level 5, the second highest grade, compared with 55% in Shanghai. Here's the full table of results (xls) ,in alphabetical order, though it's easier to find Indonesia if you look at the ranked chart below, because you just have to go straight to the bottom."

its pretty sad and tragic.

http://portraitindonesia.com/indonesian-kid…

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > DoubleDragon 05/15/2014 at 19:55

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Yeah, in Indonesia the Wagon R even had different engine. Somehow in here we got the 0.9l N/A inline-3. While in japan it's got 650cc Turbocharged if i remember correctly.

Hell yeah. We're not very bright. I see these reports everywhere. Simply because in Indonesia, instead of choosing what do you want to learn, you had to learn everything in here. And you're not allowed to do anything that is not written in the book, so the kids can't innovate.