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There's no denying that the Scion xB has been a runaway success for Toyota. Some 32,000 of the boxier Scions have been sold so far this year (as of the end of July, 2005), demonstrating that there are a lot of people out there interested in expressing their youthful individuality without resorting to the traditional cheap coupe or compact pickup. The appeal of the xB to most buyers is clearly the looks, which are about as outlandish as you're going to find anywhere, and the fact that at $14,395 you've got low repayments and lots of cash left over to splash out on individualizing your xB. It's strange that such a tall, slab-side car can look so good on big wheels or covered in decals but that's the way the xB is and you rarely see one that isn't modified to some extent or other.
Quite why Scion has gone to the trouble of creating a range of special editions I can't imagine. This is the second xB special edition, which is called the Release Series 2.0 or RS 2.0 to mimic computer jargon, and for about $1,200 more than the basic xB offer you a sports muffler, clear-rear light lenses, a rear spoiler, yellow-fleck seat trim, mirrors with integrated turn signals, custom grilles and lots of "Series 2.0" stickers. It's only available in solar yellow and rolls on its standard 15-inch steel wheels, neither of which do much for the car's appearance, and when you add up the cost of all the individual pieces that comprise the special edition package, you see that it's not great value either.
The clear light lenses, the custom grilles, the spoiler and the muffler come to $900 if you buy direct from the dealer but can be found cheaper online without too much effort while the special seat fabric is the same as standard fabric except it has yellow fleck through it. Wonderful. The rest of the interior, with the exception of the RS 2.0 badges, is totally stock, as is the suspension and drivetrain. I'd love to tell you rush out and buy one of the 2,500 examples Scion is going to build but, frankly, it's not worth it. Instead, save that extra cash and put it towards some worthwhile mods. The fruity noise from the sport muffler is about the only option on the RS 2.0 worth having and that can be yours for just $300. If I were buying an xB I'd get the dealer to install the muffler and a new set of TRD springs and shock absorbers at a total cost of around $800. My next job would be to add something like the 17-inch ASA JS1s with Khumo Ecsta tires I found on sale at a major tire retailer for around $900, fitted, and then I'd have some Grillcraft custom grilles fitted for about $150. The test car in the pictures you see came fitted with $1,500 17-inch Team Dynamics wheels and they improved the grip no end, but the car lacked the stiffer springs needed to really nail it down in corners. It was also an automatic model, which really struggles to keep the xB moving with fast-paced traffic and is constantly hunting for gears. Again, I'd recommend saving your $800 and getting a manual model. The clutch and gearbox are so light that the daily commute won't be as tiring as you think and you'll have considerably more overtaking and on-ramp pep the rest of the time.
Equipped with new springs and shocks, new rims, some grilles, a kickass set of wheels and the manual gearbox, the xB can be a lot of fun to scoot around in, much better than the mawkish job Scion has done on the pointless Series 2.0. Hell, whatever you want to do with your xB is fine as long as you make it your own, which is what Scion is all about in the first place. To me it seems like Scion is negating its own marketing by pre-modifying the car and then charging the customer extra for the cheesy extras because it's a "Special Edition". If it were truly a "Special Edition" Scion would add proper sporting modifications or a decent appearance package for a few hundred less than the off-the-shelf price which would have buyers climbing over each other to get their hands on one. No doubt there will be some people who will like the options on the RS 2.0 or feel there is some cache to having Special Edition badges stuck everything but most Scion buyers are too savvy to be taken in. Some exclusive clubs are worth the price of admission, but in the case of the xB Release Series 2.0 don't waste your time.
View the ScionZone.Com 2005 xB Release 2.0 photo gallery
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