[brodey1]

I've been lurking for about a week, seems to be a great place with tons of good info.

I've loved the box since they first came out, me and my wife were in need of a 4 door, 5 passenger, automatic.......not exactly thrilling parameters.

Since the Element (is that okay to say around here ) is a 4 seater, it did not even cross my mind that the similar but smaller XB would seat 5, big shocker there.

So I gave my wife a few vehicles to choose from that I would be willing to drive and she may like. It came down to a Subaru, the Mazda3 and the XB.

She went right to the XB and asked, "this will carry 5 people"? I said "sure does", she then told me how much she likes them...I had no idea, then again, she's usually down with funky stuff.

We test drove one yesterday, she and my 3 kids all fell in love with it!

So the search has begun, not many at all to choose from here in 'Bama, will likely have to hit Hot-lanta for one, and thats fine.

I do have a question, is there anywhere on this forum I can print off a "used XB checklist"? I'd love to have a car shop check them out for me, but that is not always possible. If a checklist is not available, even just a top ten list of stuff to look out for would be a big help.

We want one with less than 50k miles on it, so should not be in bad shape to begin with.

One last thing, I've seen varying numbers, but what kinda real world MPG's are you guys getting?
It will be an automatic, 1/2 our miles on interstate, 1/2 around town. I plan on going with some lightweight 15" wheels.

Thanks for taking time to listen to me, I'm really looking forward to spending lots of time here!!

I'm Audi5000..

[KatieMae]

First of all, Welcome to the forum!
I'm not sure if there is a used car check list here, to be honest...
But, as far as MPG's go, I was driving a 2006 5-Speed..
31-33 MPG was my norm.. Only time I ever dropped below that (30-31MPG) was when I was sporting 18" wheels... So as far as gas goes, you're smart to stick with 15's.

Anyhow, I'm sure someone with a little more used car knowlege can help you out... I bought my xB new, so I'm of no help there!

[bridezilla]

Hi, You guys will never go wrong with a Scion, Take that from the girl that sold Honda's. She will love the new XB but if I had my choice I would kill for the new hot lava XD Sexy plus better gas millage, Also Scion now has the best resale because there are not enough out there to get a hold of. Plus you get to be apart of this crazy scion family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[brodey1]

Hey ya'll, thanks for the friendly responses!
KatieMae, how much worse was your MPG's and ride quality with 18" rims?
There is an '06 with 18" chrome rims we are planning on checking out in Tennessee. It's going to be my DD with my wife and kids using it around town to save on $$$ instead of the Odyssey, I don't mind a harsh ride, I'm just worried that it may be too much for her.
I guess I could always sell them and but some smaller ones if needed.

Bridezilla, I wasn't familiar with the XD, didn't realize it was basically the new XA. I checked out the Hot lava, very sweet, and like you said, very good MPG's vs the new XB. Definitely something to think about!
Thanks again.