2004-2006 Scion xA: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

Toyota's youth-oriented Scion brand launched for model-year 2004 with the xA 4-door hatchback and boxy xB wagon. These five-passenger compacts were underskin cousins, sharing a basic platform, a 108-hp 1.5-liter 4-cyl engine, 5-speed manual transmission and optional 4-speed automatic. The main differences were external. The xA had conventional small-car styling and was visibly shorter and lower than the xB on a 5-inch trimmer wheelbase. Scion was created to liven up Toyota's rather staid image and to increase dealer profits. The target was younger, style-conscious buyers who would, presumably, become Toyota customers for life. Marketers decided this group wanted affordable but well-equipped compact cars that could be easily personalized with a wide range of accessories available from Toyota dealers and independent sources. As a result, the xA included features unexpected in cars priced around $13,000: antilock brakes, air conditioning, power windows/locks/mirrors, CD player, and 60/40 split folding rear seat. Options were fairly limited. The main one was a package bundling curtain side airbags with front torso side airbags. Satellite radio and in-dash CD changer were available, as were remote keyless entry, alloy wheels to replace steel rims, fog lights, and rear spoiler. Perhaps because it looked like just another small car, the xA was outsold by the more-distinctive xB by some 2 to 1. Still, there aren't that many used Scions of any kind on the market just yet. It's worth noting that Toyota's slightly larger Echo sedan was a kissin' cousin of the inaugural Scions, using identical powertrains and the same basic platform. Echo, however, was one of Toyota's rare sales duds, and was dropped after model-year 2005.