First Drive: 2008 Scion xD

Toyota's Scion division introduces the all-new xD, hoping to jumpstart flagging sales in the critical 18- to 35-year-old market

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Bull terrier looks, tight handling, custom accessories

The Bad: Disappointing gas mileage, slow acceleration

The Bottom Line: A tight little hatchback with a high coolness quotient

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

Toyota (TM) continues to be the juggernaut of the auto industry, but its three-year-old, youth-oriented Scion division isn't doing very well. Scion's overall sales fell 28.8% in the first half of this year, to 61,004 units.

The inexpensive little Scion xA hatchback flopped and is now being replaced by the new xD, while the boxy xB has been totally redesigned for the '08 model year. Even the tC—by far the best of the three initial Scion models, in my opinion—saw its sales tumble 11.8% to 33,550 in the first half of the year.

One reason the tC has done so much better than the xA and xB is that it's the only model that really caught the fancy of the 18- to 35-year-olds Scion is targeting. According to Scion, the median age of tC buyers is a very youthful 24, as opposed to 38 for the xA, and 39 for the xB.

Will Toyota's rejiggering of the lineup be enough to get Scion back on track? I recently test-drove a preproduction version of the new xD and I'm not so sure. It's a nice little car, with cool, bull terrier looks, a practical four-door hatchback design, and some of the appeal of the tC. It's a much better car than the xA. However when you look at the basic car (as opposed to its hip, edgy, marketing and custom accessories), I'm not sure xD is fresh enough to make the big splash Toyota is hoping for.

It's hard to say exactly which rival models compete directly with the xD. The competitors that come to my mind are such practical, economical fixtures of the suburbs as Toyota's Yaris (with which the xD shares many components), Honda's (HMC) Fit, and Nissan's (NSANY) Versa.

Scion hopes those models will look stodgy next to the xD. The company is pitching the xD mainly to young, college-educated males, three-quarters of whom will be new to Toyota-made vehicles, and is crafting an edgy marketing program designed to appeal to that group. For instance, one element of the campaign is an odd online game called Book of Deviants. Players are encouraged to kill little creatures called sheeple and help the little deviants take back their city—not exactly the sort of thing that would appeal to most suburban soccer moms.

Another thing setting the xD apart is the amount of accessories you can buy to personalize the car, including several dozen your Scion dealer can install, and others that are being sold by outside suppliers. You can add an appliqué to the B-pillars ($75); a color-keyed spoiler ($385) to the rear deck; and a custom tip to the exhaust pipe ($76). Don't like the relatively clunky, standard steel wheels? Then go with the 16-inch alloy wheels ($795) and funky wheel covers ($78) and locks ($65). You can also add everything from even bigger alloy wheels and a quick shift system to an overhead console.

The basic xD is reasonably priced, though not cheap for an economy car. It starts at $15,070 with a stick shift, and $15,970 with an automatic transmission. However Toyota is hoping most buyers will spend a lot more. In addition to all the custom accessories you can also get the car with most of the usual upgrades, including a navigation system ($2,250), a Pioneer sound system ($689), XM or Sirius satellite radio ($449), and a gray, leather-wrapped steering wheel ($279).

The xD comes with a long list of standard equipment that includes cruise control and a trip meter, a tilt steering wheel with audio controls, a six-speaker/160-watt sound system, and tire-pressure monitors.