MyFace Generation Takes on Scion xD

There’s no denying Scion markets its cars toward the younger crowd. You don’t see Lexus making ads that feature little gremlin deviants eating sheep people, do you? Being part of the younger MySpace/Facebook crowd — and scooting around in the car for a weekend — I found the compact xD to be extremely versatile and enjoyable, but I never got used to its funky styling.

The xD could have easily carried all my college gear back and forth from the dorm with its rear seats folded down, although that time is behind me. The average mpg display read 35-plus after a weekend of cruising around suburbia, which surprised me considering its 2008 highway mileage is only rated at 33 mpg. That means a daily commute to work wouldn’t be that costly.

For around $15,000, the base model includes standard iPod connectivity — which turned out to be my favorite feature on the car — among standard safety features like antilock brakes and a cabin full of airbags. With my iPod plugged in, I could scan through the major functions of my collection (artist, playlist, song and album) and pick each category, or simply put it on shuffle and scan through tracks with the steering wheel controls; the artist’s name, song title and album all displayed on the stereo. The iPod integration isn’t a new feature by any means, but to have it as a no-cost standard option is a slick deal if you ask me.

I’m not a fan of the car’s goofy exterior styling, but a set of five-spoke 18-inch wheels, lowering springs and rear spoiler — all on the xD’s option sheet — could easily distract attention from the insect-grappler-like front end and stubby front/rear bumpers. Personally, those are options I would consider for the xD — or any Scion — if buying one for myself. Even though I thought the car’s styling stood out, it didn’t solicit one “What the heck?” glance from bystanders or other drivers while stopped or cruising through the neighborhood.

Despite its appearance, the little bugger is fun to drive, especially with the five-speed manual transmission in our tester. I’ve spent time in the similarly priced base Dodge Caliber as a rental, and to say the Caliber was fun to drive would be a lie. However, the xD truly is, with its tight handling and surprisingly strong little 128-hp four cylinder. The fun-to-drive factor has its tradeoff on the highway, though, where a bumpy ride makes anything over 60 mph not so fun for highway travel.