(EXPANDED FROM 1/22/2021)
Toyota has had an enviably strong track record here in the United States, but it has had a few misses. They include its mishandling of the ill-fated Scion subbrand. Although one could point to a number of mistakes, I would suggest that one of the biggest ones was upsizing the xB.
The first generation of this econo-box sold around 46,000 to 54,000 units per year between 2004 and 2007. However, once it grew from a subcompact to a compact, after only one year sales fell sharply — and never recovered. Since the xB was the second best-selling Scion model behind the tC sporty coupe, that arguably contributed to the subbrand’s demise in 2016.
I grant you that a variety of factors could have contributed to the xB’s decline, but I would suggest that Toyota did it no favors when it added a foot in length, almost three inches in width and roughly 600 pounds. The post-2007 xB topped 3,000 pounds.
Meanwhile, Toyota was apparently concerned that too many old farts were buying the first-generation model (Hammonds, 2008). Thus, the xB was given a supposedly more “youthful” look, replete with a squat greenhouse that gave it a street-rod vibe.
Whatever the logic of these changes, the essential genius of the original — a versatile but small and simple car — was lost. Note that this is not just me talking. Car and Driver magazine was quite critical of the new design.
Car and Driver wags a finger at Toyota for ruining the xB
Car and Driver magazine described the 2008 xB as competent in many ways but nevertheless a “gross disappointment.” Writer Aaron Robinson (2007) complained that “Toyota has done to the Scion xB what it has done for the past 25 years at model changeover to the Corolla and Camry: made it larger, heavier, more expensive, and more mainstream. As such, Scion seems to be following the same iterative cycle that got Toyota into trouble with kids in the first place.”
Robinson (2007) went on to ask when “did America’s youth start asking for a junior minivan?” He noted that the xB was now closer in size to a Honda Element or Chevrolet HHR than a Honda Fit. Not only did that make the car less maneuverable, but it had “perhaps the greatest-percentage weight gain we’ve ever recorded during a simple model redesign, at least since the OPEC epoch.”
Despite the larger size, Robinson reported that the xB’s front-row space actually declined from 59 cubic feet to 53. In addition,”We thought the new xB swallowed a lot more luggage behind the rear seats until we checked the cubic-foot numbers: 22 versus 21 for the old xB” (2007; original italics).
“Ultimately, the new xB is an acceptable car, it’s just not very cool,” Robinson concluded. “We can’t help feeling that this corn-fed, overweight, thoroughly Americanized xB represents a squandered opportunity to give us something really different” (2007; original italics).
Toyota hands over econo-box market to the Kia Soul
Not very long after the xB was upsized, Kia entered the econo-box class with the Soul. Although it was somewhat larger and heavier than the first-generation xB, it was still notch below the second generation. And wouldn’t you know it, but the Soul sold far better. In 2015 the Kia peaked at more than 147,000 units — almost 10 times the number of xBs.
Now, it’s true that the Soul was a somewhat fresher design in 2015, both because it hit the U.S. market a year later than the second-generation xB and was given more substantial updates along the way. Even so, you would think that a Toyota product would have an automatic advantage due to the automaker’s reputation and the strength of its dealer network. The fact that the xB sold so poorly underlined how Toyota miscalculated.
One could argue that the second-generation models started off okay with sales of a little over 45,000 units — under 700 fewer than the previous year. But then in 2009 sales fell to under 26,000 and the next year to around 20,000 units. From 2011 through 2015 sales never topped 20,000 again.
The second-generation xB did so badly that it sold almost 18 percent fewer cars than the first generation even though it was on the market three more years.
Toyota failed to see that it had a modern-day Beetle
One could argue that an extenuating factor in the second-generation model’s lower sales could have been the Great Recession. But even as the economy recovered, xB sales continued to fall whereas the Soul’s took off. I suspect that Car and Driver was right in suggesting that America wasn’t clamoring for another junior minivan.
The fundamental problem was that the xB stopped being an exceptionally efficient and economical car. As Paul Niedermeyer (2013) once noted, the xB had the potential to be a modern-day Volkswagen Beetle if it had stuck with the first generation’s winning formula (albeit with a bit more power).
I agree except for one thing: The xB would have benefitted from better aerodynamics, particularly in the front end. The upright fascia and windshield were stylistic affectations that added nothing to the car’s practicality. Here the Soul’s more conventional front-end shape arguably had an advantage.
Once upon a time Toyota was smart enough to not slavishly copy Detroit’s fixation with making its vehicles bigger, glitzier and more powerful with each redesign. Alas, with the second-generation xB Toyota was absorbed by the Borg.
NOTES:
This story was originally posted on Jan. 22, 2023 and expanded on Sept. 11, 2025. Specifications and sales figures were from Wikipedia and Car and Driver (see citations below).
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Hammonds, Don; 2008. “First Look: Scion xB less eccentric, boxy but more flexible.” Pittsburg Post-Gazette. Posted August 14.
- Niedermeyer, Paul; 2013. “Curbside Classic/Review: 2008 Scion xB – A Case Study Of How To Kill A Successful Car.” Curbside Classic. Posted May 3;.
- Robinson, Aaron; 2007. “Tested: 2008 Scion xB.” Car and Driver. Updated July 31.
- Wikipedia; 2021. “Scion xB.” Page last modified Jan. 13.
- ——; 2025. “Kia Soul.” Page last modified Sept. 10.
PHOTOGRAPHY:
- 2008 Scion xB: Photo by IFCAR via Wikipedia public domain.
“I agree except for one thing: the xB would have benefitted from better aerodynamics, particularly in the front end. The upright fascia and windshield were stylistic affectations that added nothing to the car’s practicality”.
I do appreciate your article but seriously disagree with the above statement. For many of us who own especially the first generation xB, the upright fascia and windshield were two critical factors that contributed to the voluminous, if not cavernous interior allowing for sofa like seating and massive headroom.
Besides being a modern-day Beetle, I thought it could be a modern-day of another iconic car althought not as popular as the old Beetle in North America but got its share of fans around the world, the Citroen 2CV who’s mainly known in North America thanks to its cameo in a car chase scene in James Bond movie “For your eyes only”.
https://www.imcdb.org/v002024.html
I really liked the first generation XB and was planning on buying a used one. Then I discovered it’s poor crash test results and was dissuaded. The second generation did not appeal to me visually nor size wise. If the first generation had been even smaller it would have been even more attractive. I likened it to a large MINI. Old people buy practical cars that are comfortable to drive and inexpensive. The XB and the Maverick. Standards have definitely increased!
Oh, I have got to wade iron this one, having owned a first generation toaster.
In the first place, my reason for picking the car (bought used) was because I was looking for a car that could comfortably haul myself, my terminally ill wife, and her wheelchair. Thanks to the wonderful salesperson at Carmax who went to the back room and dug out the wheelchair they kept at the dealership for emergencies, I spent an hour shoving in and pulling out the wheelchair from various cars before I even started on a test drive. The xB won out over a Honda Fit because of seat height, and the luggage space was perfect for a folded chair.
At the time I owned the car, I also owned a Porsche 924S. The xB (forever in my mind as “the Maus Car”) was the only car I’ve ever owned that I could swap between it and the Porsche without feeling disappointed in the Toyota. With the five speed, it was an absolute hoot on the back roads. On the highway, it desperately needed a sixth gear. But, other than the interstate, it was an absolutely wonderful drive.
Why did I get rid of it? I buried my wife three years into ownership, and, quite frankly, keeping it was painful. Besides, there was this Fiat 500c Abarth cabriolet . . . . .
I got to drive a second generation xB. Congratulations, Toyota, you turned a neat little car onto a boxy Corolla. After years of doing things right, you finally pulled a General Motors.
Thank you for your story; I don’t think we “car guys” talk enough about how our automobiles intersect with the rest of our lives. I’m sorry to hear about your wife; you sound like you took good care of her.
An Abarth sounds like a cool next car.
I always liked the funny wrap around back glass on the xB, and I am a sucker for that plum color.
Condolences to George. Yes, life events do shape car choices. We’re driving a large sedan to accommodate an elderly relative, her wheelchair, and her aide. My son now has a long work commute, so he is driving my car.
“Old farts” do like the Kia Soul. There are a few of those in our church parking lot. Although it’s bigger, those who like the Honda Element like it a lot and work to keep them on the road.
I liked the utility of the Element but thought it was too big, heavy and unaerodynamic for what I needed.
I don’t think the Element had carpet. It had those suicide doors. People with big dogs liked them. Our first work pick up truck was a stripy model with rubber mat floors, and it was handy.
Oops… strippy model (though before that, he had old used Toyota / Datsun pick up trucks that invariably had a big stripe down the side of the bed. Each one was nicknamed “Stripe.”
In 2010 I cross shopped the Nissan Cube and Kia Soul. I went to the Toyota dealership to test drive a Scion xB expecting the first gen subcompact cubic one. When they presented a bulbous second gen xB I asked the salesperson, “what that f_ck is this?!” Such a disappointment.
I ended up in a Honda Element, which I still drive to this day.
ln the spring of 2012, l bought a new Scion tC. My circumstances had an unfortunate similarity to George’s above. Quite different from the Monte Carlo l traded in but the change was therapeutic. Amazing room inside for 4 – or lots of cargo. Five 6×3 rental tables fit with the hatch closed!
The Scion dealers l visited seemed anxious to foist an xB upon me. l did drive one or two demos that were a decent deal, and were fun to a degree. However, going from a Monte Carlo coupe (l know, they all are) to a “box” seemed too much.
l had no experience with the first gen xB, but the looks of the second gen did not sell me either.