2006 SCION XA NEW CAR BUYER'S GUIDE

What's New for the 2006 Scion xA?
For 2006, Scion's designers have updated the xA with a restyled front fascia featuring a revised lower intake, new headlamps, and a fresh honeycomb-style grille. Color-keyed rocker panels and bumpers, redesigned taillamps and new exterior side mirrors with integrated turn signals are also part of the styling mods. Inside, the xA's passenger cabin receives enhancements such as new seat fabric, a silver-face speedometer and a new steering wheel with integrated audio controls. The xA's audio systems have also been upgraded. All units now have portable audio mini-jacks and the optional Pioneer system has a special Apple iPod connectivity feature.

Advantages of the 2006 Scion xA:

• Full load of standard equipment
• Low entry price
• Myriad ways to customize to the buyer's tastes
• Reliability is expected to mirror products by parent company Toyota

Objections to the 2006 Scion xA:

• Small cars like this typically don't fare well in crashes with big cars
• Adding dealer-installed accessories causes the price to rise dramatically

Editor's Advice:
Generation Y Californians were the guinea pigs for an entire auto producing and marketing industry that wanted to see if Toyota's new Scion brand would successfully convince younger consumers to visit Scion showrooms and buy Scion automobiles. Clearly, the experiment has proven a success – Scions are now available nationwide and selling like the proverbial hotcakes. From our standpoint, the xA makes for a solid economy car purchase but it's the weakest offering in the lineup in terms of delivering Scion's promoted level of hip-hop cool.