It’s been said, mostly by mothers, that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. So I’ll keep this as brief as possible.
The Scion xD is a compact hatchback marketed at youngins like me, not unlike the Ford Fiesta I reviewed on these pages last fall. Scion is new to Canada for the 2012 model year, having briefly succeeded but recently languished in the American market, where it was introduced in 2002.
Scion, for the uninitiated, is Toyota’s “youf” brand aimed at hip young urbanites that are into vehicle customization and, apparently, marketing jazz. It’s Toyota’s answer to the Mini, the car that really jump started the small, funky, personalizable segment. The first generation xB 5-door hatchback, which you’ve probably seen in Canada as a grey-market import, was an endearingly boxy little runabout that exuded confidence and made the Nissan Cube look like it was trying too hard. The xB was everything that Toyota wanted Scion to be, and more. In the US, it was a smashing sales success. So much so that Toyota’s plans to refresh the vehicle every year to keep it plucky and crisp were back-burnered almost immediately. Instead, Toyota rode the wave of success before eventually messing with the formula in the worst way possible, resulting in this, the Scion xD: successor to the xB’s stablemate, the xA. Whereas the first generation xA and xB were immediately distinguishable, the new xB and xD can easily confuse even a discerning eye.
Previously only sold in the US, Canadians are now offered all three of Scion’s second-generation vehicles, including the xB hatchback and tC two-door coupe. Continue reading