Toyota says that it asked previous-generation xB owners what their cars lacked, and gave it to them in the new 2008 model. I disagree - from the looks of it, Toyota's R&D department did some research and figured out what made the original xB such a huge success. And then got rid of it.
Okay, that's a bit harsh - but what I (and buyers) loved so much about the xB was its anime-quality toughness at two-thirds scale. Unlike the slow-selling xA, the xB never looked modern, it never looked soft, and it certainly never looked bubbly. The new one tries to look all three of those, and ends up losing all of the original's charm.
But, I digress. It's not all bad. The 2008 xB rides on an all-new platform, and is numerically better in every way: It's twelve inches longer, three inches wider, and rides on a wheelbase that's four inches longer. Its rear discs are two inches larger. It holds eight cubic feet more stuff. And the best news is that the underpowered 1.5-liter four has been replaced by the tC's 158-hp 2.4-liter, solving my biggest complaint about the old model.
The new xB goes on sale late spring and rides on sixteen-inch wheels. Transmission choices are a five-speed manual or four-speed manu-matic. There are no options, and all xBs come standard with power everything, loads of safety equipment, and an iPod jack that enables the audio system to display song titles on its display.
So on paper the new xB is better in every way. It's bigger and comes with a 53 percent increase in horsepower. It's too bad that it's met with a similar decrease in coolness.
