Our Cars--2004 Scion xA
Submitted by Roy "Griff" Griffis for Our Cars Week
This 2004 Scion xA is the first brand-new car I ever bought, and it came standard with air conditioning and power windows. I have a daily round trip commute of more than 100 miles, and the car now has more than 192,000 miles. It has returned a steady 30 MPG.
I have kept it topped up on fluids, and the only issues with the car have been a few components wearing out-- the alternator, water pump, power steering pump, and rear wheel bearings Other than the power steering pump, I was able to change the rest myself. Other than brakes and other regular maintenance activities, I’ve put maybe $1,500 into the car to keep it running that long.
It's a damn fine vehicle. It has lots of head room for a tall guy like me, and room to throw my bike in the back if needed. In fact, at 250,000 miles, I’ll pass it on to my teenage son, and find myself another 2004 Scion xA with lower miles to drive. I know it’ll last me another good, long, dependable time.
--Roy "Griff" Griffis
Robert on September 17, 2009 at 02:31 PM
Whoa, power windows! Hard to believe that many low-grade vehicles these days don't come with power windows. How much can it REALLY cost to throw in a motor for a window? My first car didn't have power windows, but my second car--an '89 Ford Thunderbird--had power windows, power seats, digital dash, power antenna, etc.
Anyhow, I've never been in a Scion, but they look like sporty cars and I've never heard anyone complain about the quality. Nice post.
David Colborne on September 18, 2009 at 09:40 AM
Robert: My '08 Kia Rio doesn't have power windows. Considering how easy it is to roll them down manually and considering how it's one less thing on the car that might go wrong, I'm not complaining. Coincidentally, I had an '89 Cougar with all of the same accessories that your Thunderbird had. I don't miss it, in no small part because I got the car when most of them started going out. It was fun watching the digital dash light up like a Christmas tree when the regulator on the alternator went out and gave the electrical system 16V for no apparent reason. It was less fun trying to move the power seats into position when the seat motor started going out; I usually had to push with all of my might while listening to the motor SLOWLY churn. Very annoying.
I'm glad to hear the Scion is running well for you. As someone with a 90 mile daily commute, I definitely feel your high-mileage pain and deeply enjoy learning of inexpensive commuter cars that can get the job done with a minimum of fuss. I'll have to add your car to the running list in my head.
Mochi Mochi on September 18, 2009 at 10:19 AM
power windows? such things exist? what ever do you do with them? ;) But seriously, this is about the Scion xA. I've not driven one but they seem like the right car for the times. Great size. Pretty good visibility. Good gas milage. Nice styling and a hatch. My only criticism is the instrument pod in the center of the dash - me no like... instrument pods should be directly in front of the driver not to the side. But that's a very minor problem in the scheme of things.
The xA is, or rather was, a great little car, and I will for ever hate the execs at Scion who killed it off. The xD? D is for dumb and no replacement for the xA which gets an A+ in my book. I also curse the execs and designers who replaced the beautiful original xB (B for Boxy) with the newer design that looks like a stick of butter after too much time in the microwave. It should have been called the xF - F is for fat failure.
One thing I have noted is that there aren't a lot of xAs or original xBs on the market. Aside from being great designs, $1500 in repairs over 190000 miles may be part of the reason.
High Mileage Cars Rock! on September 19, 2009 at 11:41 AM
That's really good gas mileage, especially if you're still getting that 30 MPG even with all the miles you've managed to put on the car. Although with a car that small, the MPG is definitely going to be up there anyway.
Out of personal curiosity, how are you tracking your fuel efficiency progress?
I love little cars because they're so economical, but I never feel safe in one. With all the monsters on the roads, like SUVs and Hummers, I feel like I'm crowded, surrounded...like an ant in the middle of a football field or something. I would be so afraid to get into a little fender bender and have the car crushed. Yikes!
To get to the point, though, I wish more people would consider figuring gas mileage in their auto purchases. I'm seeing so many new Hummers on the road, and I just don't get it. And you don't need to buy a hybrid to get good gas mileage, either.
Kudos to you for having such an economical car and keeping it in such great condition all this time. Fantastic that you have such a dependable little car to pass on to your son. Awesome!
Frbl on September 20, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Great post! I have a 2005 xA with 120,000 miles on it. I got it with 103,000 miles on it but hope to run it past 200K or maybe 300K. I love the car and love working on it. It must be one of the easiest cars around on which to work.
I would never thought I could say I added cruise control to a car, but I did with this one - the very same cruise control that most dealers added on (it did not come with factory cruise).
I, too, keep track of my mileage. Scangauge II has been a great investment for that and I highly recommend it. I had been getting 34mopg city and 40 highway, but I had a flat recently and had to buy set of tires without properly researching them first (I was leaving for a long trip later the same day). Bad mistake. They are Nexen tires and not only has my mileage dropped drastically, but they are the NOISIEST tires I have ever heard. Learn from my mistake - research possible replacement tires before you need them since you don't always have the luxury of getting them when you want to.
Good luck with your xA. And good luck finding a worthy successor when the time comes - that might be a difficult thing to find!
Steaming Pile on September 21, 2009 at 05:50 AM
'05 xA here! 35 MPG no matter how I drive it. And (@Mochi) I'm rather indifferent about the center-mounted gauges. As for the shortage of these cars in the used car market, you're probably right. People will drive these cars until they die, and that'll take awhile. Also note that the xA was Scion's slowest-selling car, which makes mine a potential collectible.
So let's here it for the first generation Scion cars! I bought mine a couple of weeks after Hurricane Katrina had us all peeing our pants about $3.50 gas. My wife wanted to get rid of her Subaru Forester (which I sometimes miss), and that was what was on the lot. "Oh, it's got stick," she said. "I can drive it," I said, and she got the Accord (and kissed a guard rail with it two weeks later).
I took it out for a test drive and fell in love with it. Man, that car was fun to drive. And yeah, the 1.5 liter squirrel in a cage motor revs to 3000 RPM at 60 MPH. And yeah, it takes bumps kind of hard. So did the old Volkswagen Beetles, and I'd have another one of those in a minute. Still, if I had a really long commute like @David C., I'd opt for a Corolla instead. After awhile, driving an xA on the expressway will seem like something you did for Lent.
My son got his license and learned to drive a stick with the Scion, which was a good thing, because I busted my leg that year and needed a car with automatic to drive for awhile. He got really good at driving stick, and I got to experience the unique joy of driving a Ford Focus ZX3 (it seemed like a decent car when I bought it) with all the apparently un-repaired first-year quirks just waiting to bite me in the backside.
So what did you get for your $14,000? The Echo's 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine that puts out 103 SAE horsepower, and a five-speed stick. This is, contrary to reports, more than adequate power, and trust me, you do NOT want to drive one of these with automatic transmission, although they'd have made you one like that if you really, really insisted. Power windows and locks, AC, anti-lock brakes, and a really nice stereo system (the later ones had iPod compatibility) round out the standard toys. They were designed from the ground up to be inexpensive, which doesn't necessarily mean cheap. What it meant was, they came from the factory with all the above toys standard, and there was only one level of trim. It simplifies things quite a bit.
There was also a dizzying array of dealer-installed "Pimp My Ride" stuff that went with these cars, everything from fog lamps to decals to racing seats to machined aluminum shift knobs to sport suspension to...aw geez...the list was endless. Most cars I see on the road are factory stock, and although Scion was supposed to be Toyota's youth-oriented brand, you rarely see anyone under 40 driving one. Yours truly included.
If there is anything at all I could complain about, it would be the tires. The xA takes 185 15R65 tires, which is apparently such an unusual size that you'll have a hell of a time finding decent replacements. I have Michelin Harmony tires on mine, which seem to be pretty good. Wal-Mart sells those, but you might have to special-order them. That, and they replaced the cool-looking tail-lights with the amber bubbles with something rather conventional and boring. And here I thought only Detroit actually subtracted cool and cuteness from its cars (case in point, 2nd gen Dodge Neon, current gen Pontiac Vibe, recent iterations of Ford Focus) with each new model year.
kenny heggem on September 21, 2009 at 08:03 AM
Small cars. Easier to maneuver (out of an accident" with a Hummer or other SUV. Biggest car I ever owned is my 92 GTI. That is as big as I will put up with.
Power windows....wish more cars were available "without them". Less to break. I like that.
jon Hantsbarger on September 21, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Check out the related article that I found on making your vehicle last longer.
http://www.precisioncarrestoration.com/musclecarrestoration/2009/09/21/
Mark on October 01, 2009 at 05:09 AM
After market cruise control is available for this car. Rostra 270-1755 is a bolt on unit that looks/functions like a factory cruise. If you look around you can get one for 200.00. They install in about 2 hours. I highly recommend it. Also available are Toyota keyless entry/alarm and generic electric lumbar support. The lumbar support is worth the effort but the keyless requires quite a bit of dash board dismantling.
JJD241 on October 28, 2009 at 10:12 AM
"Consistantly gets 30mph" brings up one of my pet peeves about new cars. I have a 91 T-Bird with 150K that gets as high as 30 and it is more of a mid size. It must weigh nearly 1000 pounds more than the scion and has a 3.8L engine.