“Don’t it always seem to go,” sang Joni Mitchell, “that you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone?” Indeed. Looking back at the cars available twenty years ago compared to what’s available now makes you realize just how good we had it. Gone are the small cars, the simple trucks, the affordable two-door coupes—and the friendly, characterful little wagony things. And we’re worse off for it.
Those twenty years were not kind to some cars, like the cheap SUVs we looked at yesterday. From the sound of it, a lot of you liked the Dodge Durango in theory, as a V8-powered beast of burden, but the rust on that particular example scared you off. The much cleaner Mazda Tribute took an easy win.
I think that’s the right call. Realistically, both of these are best suited as sacrificial cars, bought only to spare some other, nicer car the ravages of winter. Run them in the snow for a couple of seasons until the rust gets too bad, and then send them off to the great used car lot in the sky. And for that purpose, the Mazda is the one I would volunteer as, um, tribute.
It’s hard to predict what’s going to become a cult classic. Some things just don’t catch on at first because they’re too weird, but then become better understood and admired as time goes on, like Twin Peaks. Others are a complete flop because they’re terrible, but their terribleness ages well and they gain fans despite (or because of) it, like Xanadu. If there’s a car equivalent to Xanadu, it’s probably the Chevy Vega or the Yugo; they have a couple of redeeming features (the Vega’s styling, the Yugo’s rev-happy engine, Electric Light Orchestra), but overall, they just don’t really work all that well. And yet, their fans adore them. The cars we’re going to look at today are more like Twin Peaks; you may not have gotten them back then, but now you look at them, and it all makes sense. Kinda. Let’s take a look.
2005 Scion xB – $4,499
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5 liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 198,000 miles
Operational status: I’m going to assume it runs and drives fine
It’s hard to create a youth-oriented brand. Get it right, and you get Red Bull. Get it wrong, and you get Steve Buscemi holding a skateboard. Toyota’s Scion brand wasn’t quite wearing a “Music Band” T-shirt, but it didn’t send throngs of young folks flocking into dealerships, either. Its most well-known model, the rectilinear xB, based on the Japanese-market Toyota bB, found more buyers among older folks than it did among first-time car buyers.
As is common among imports to America, we only got the larger of two engine options here, a 1.5 liter four making 108 horsepower. Japanese buyers could also choose a smaller 1.3 liter version of the same engine. Japanese buyers were stuck with automatic transmissions; here in the US, the Scion xB was available with a five-speed stick, but the majority of them, including this one, are automatics. It’s just shy of 200,000 miles, but we all know Toyota’s reputation for building engines that last. Sadly, the dealership selling it couldn’t be bothered to actually mention anything about its mechanical condition, only its features. Seriously, guys, how hard is it to type “Runs Good?”
One thing I never really liked about the Scion models was the center gauge arrangement. Toyota did the same thing on the Echo and Yaris, and it just feels awkward to me. I suppose you’d get used to it after a while, though. It’s in really good condition inside, but we all know how stain-resistant these things are. It’s shockingly hard to mess one up.
Outside, it’s that pewter color that so many of these were, but it’s nice and shiny at least. And it still has the lower valance on the rear bumper, which is often missing. It has hubcaps on one side, but not the other. It reminds me of a Bronco II that an ex-girlfriend owned; it had pinstripes on the driver’s side, but not the passenger’s. Hey, you can only see one side at a time, right? If it were me, I’d just ditch the hubcaps on the other side. These look pretty good on plain black steelies.
2005 Honda Element EX – $4,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4 liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, AWD
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Odometer reading: 200,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
Hey, so, I know we already make a compact crossover SUV, but we’re gonna make another one. Except this one will have weird doors, and the rear seats will sit about a foot higher than the front. Oh, and it will look like it’s waterproof inside, but it won’t be, really. And it’s going to look like one of those Rubbermaid storage tubs you keep your Christmas decorations in. Doesn’t that sound cool?
The Element actually makes a lot of sense in practice. It uses the same basic platform as Honda’s CR-V, with a 2.4-liter K-series engine and available “Real Time” all-wheel-drive, which this one has. You could get it with either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic; this one has an automatic. It runs and drives great, according to the seller, and has just completed a cross-country road trip.
Even if you can’t actually hose it out, the Element’s interior is pretty tough. A friend of mine had one for years, and the only thing he couldn’t clean out of the interior was some glitter his niece spilled in the back. Damn thing had a sparkly back seat from that point forward. This one looks good inside, no glitter to be seen, and the seller says the air conditioning works great.
Based on the photos of the interior, I think this Element used to be orange, not silver. The door sills still are. It’s a shame, because that “spicy orange” color was one of the best colors of the mid-2000s. It looks OK in silver, I guess. At least it’s shiny where it’s supposed to be shiny.
I suppose, technically, there are plenty of cars like these around these days, smallish two-box wagony things with tall seating positions, but they just aren’t as charming as these are. I know a lot of you are going to say these are both overpriced, but the fact is that both of these cars are still in demand, and I bet both of them sell. But what about you? Which one are you willing to spend the money on?
The Honda, because if it just recently completed a long road trip, and that’s a very good sign.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to road-trip an xB under almost any circumstances.
If one option is an Element, I don’t even look at the other car. Elements are just about the most awesome car/wagon/whatever ever built.
Realistically I’d pick whichever was the most comfortable in the driver’s seat for me. The color change on the Element is a red flag though, and I think I’d rather have normal doors than AWD, so I’ll have the xB.
Both are solid choices (for once!)
It’s a both day for me.
Honda Element
Hands down.
It would have to be really really bad for me not to pick it.
We need a new Honda Element.
Look at both, drive both, pick the one that has the best seats. Either way you’ll end up fine with today’s choices.
I went Scion because like Devo I had a gut feeling. No slapping mammy, tho.
The Element is cool, my ex-girlfriend had one for years and loved it. I still like them.
But I’ve owned two xB’s, a 2006 auto and a 2004 manual. The ’06 I put about 150k miles on it, which included a few trips to TotD, vacations, even a few autocross events (it was lowered and had some other suspension goodies so they let me play.)
I could also carry a clothes dryer, 3 bags of luggage, an in-the-box RC car, and still room for the GF up front. This thing did it all and zero maintenance issues. Right before I sold it the water pump started going out, but even that gave me plenty of warning beforehand.
The ’04 I bought super cheap because my current GF showed me a listing of a MINI she thought I’d like. Kept scrolling and saw the white xB, turned out to even be a manual. I had some fun with it but it had lead a harder life than I realized, and I had a big trip to Chicago coming up.
The xB is cool, but it’s “the Element we have at home” in this case. Gimme the Honda and a garden hose…no wait you can’t do that…
We have long term ownership experience with all three offerings today.
Each has plus and minus aspects, especially with the auto trans.
BTW my old man had this gen of xB, but not for long. He was constantly banging his head on the door frame as he tried to get in it, but he was in his eighties by then. We would laugh our butts off every time.
Karma and old age and all that.
Personal preference is the Scion for most of my intended usage. YMMV.
We have long term ownership experience with all three offerings today.
Each has plus and minus aspects, especially with the auto trans.
Personal preference is the Scion for most of my intended usage.
Going to have to go element here. But I wouldn’t complain about the Toyota either.
I am obligated to vote for the xB, since I own the exact same year and spec. I’ve been driving it since new, and it has handled everything I have ever thrown at it with aplomb. It’s not going to get you anywhere fast, but it will get you there.
That said, I don’t think anyone is wrong for choosing the Element. No bad choices today.
The repaint/condition gives me a little pause, but still going Element. More practical and with automatics it will be nicer to putter about with the 2.4. Manuals might have tipped me toward the Scion.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if the Element is wrapped? It should be a crime to cover that gorgeous orange.
It’s a desert car, the paint could be absolutely trashed under that wrap.
Could be; the only cars I think I’ve seen wrapped a plain silver are Teslas.
Makes me think it’s covering something else, like some exterior body panels were replaced with those from a silver car and they painted the rest to match. Even with a respray, I would think a cheap orange job would still be less effort than trying to hide it with a lighter shade respray.
Or maybe it isn’t all that nefarious and could have been some kind of delivery/promotional vehicle in a past life that had a wrap or something on it and just worked out this way when it got covered up.
I hadn’t considered the possibility of a company wrap that may have been left too long and trashed the paint when it was removed. Easier to just re-wrap it.
We didn’t get the first gen xB in Canada for whatever reason, only the watered down second gen. It would have been on my list back then if we did. In 2005 I was intended to buy an Element, test drove one and liked it. I wanted it to be AWD, manual with ABS but the dealer didn’t have any interest in either ordering that or finding it for me. Colour wasn’t important. In hindsight I could have just gone to another dealer but I was so soured on Honda from that experience that I kept my car another year and then bought a used Mazda.
Honda dealer was next to the glass place where I was getting a windshield replaced. Should have gone to the Burlington dealer, they are way better than Sterling Honda (and really all the ones owned by that family).
The Element is probably the better/more rational choice here, its larger, has more power and has the bonus of AWD, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the first gen xB. This one also looks to be very clean and no visible rust which is a bonus. Most of them in my neck of the woods (New England) are getting pretty crumbly by now. Yeah the auto is disapointing but both are so it’s kind of a wash.
Scion for me. I like the slightly oddball looks and I’m an unapologetic small car fan. I’d love to have one of these for a spare car, errand runner.
The Element has an edge over the Scion but I do have to say the unpainted plastic cladding was a mistake. Some can be “back to blacked” but many are too far gone today.
I’ve always dug the xB, mainly for the Weirdness Factor. In contrast the Element seems plain ugly. Sometimes, “ugly” grabs me, but not in this case.
Driving-wise, there isn’t much difference, really. The Scion is likely to be a little more reliable, maybe. After so many miles, it’s a crapshoot, anyway.
They’re both automatics, which keeps me from wanting either, but if we have to choose, I’ll save a buck and go for the x-Box.
Gotta be the Scion.
No brainer for me today. I’ve been wanting an Element for years now. Only once did the stars align and a manual one came up RIGHT AFTER I bought a Beetle convertible for my daughter. It’s a poor decision I think about often. Doesn’t really make sense for me any more but would still love to have one.
One of those vehicles, when it was first released, I regretted heavily that I didn’t buy it when I was shopping for a new vehicle.
I simply wasn’t mature enough, at the time, to realize it was the vehicle I both needed and wanted.
This is a genuinely tough one. I went with the Element, though that xB is shockingly clean looking for it’s age. I wouldn’t be sad owning either.
Something to note though. The pre-refresh Elements, I believe ’06 and earlier, do not have rear curtain airbags. Considering the suicide doors, side impacts are basically a death sentence to rear passengers. If you want a better, safer Element, get an ’07 or newer. I nearly bought an ’06 myself about 4 years ago that only had 60k on it, but I couldn’t get myself to pull the trigger because it would have been our primary family car.
The xB looks like it’s in great condition but.. it’s sooo damned underpowered, especially with the auto.
I had one with the manual for 3 years and vowed to never again have an engine so small and weak. But if you have the means to swap something powerful in there, go for it.
I tried very hard to buy a manual 1st gen xB right around the time the 2nd gen came out. Unfortunately, all the left over 1st gens still on the lots around me were automatics and I never found that manual xB I wanted. While I appreciate the Element, xB nostalgia wins the day.
My sister has had three Elements, and they all hit about 300k miles before rust broke something that wasn’t worth fixing. The benefit of the Element over the Scion is that its larger size and large door openings make it as close to minivan utility as you can get in a small CUV.
Both seem like fine options for a cheap daily.
XB looks cleaner and stock. Based on the size, I bet it drives better too.