“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?
I’ll take the Element. I know I’ll fit in it, whereas I know I won’t fit in the Scion.
I really dislike all vestiges of the “box car” era, both of these fall into that category. Out of the two, I’ll go with the Honda – at least it’s AWD.
In theatre, glitter is referred to as herpes- you’ll never be rid of it entirely.
I always did dig the 1st gen XB, so this is a bit tougher than it should be. But in this case I would still probably go the route of the Honda. Just because of the AWD. Both are probably perfectly fine short term beaters though.
I’ve driven both of these cars and liked them both. If the Scion xB were a second-gen car I’d probably have voted for that (I know the first-gen is more iconic, but the second gen is more comfortable and has more room for dogs in back). In this case, I wound up voting for the Element, even though I’d prefer it with the manual. My only concern would be the reason for a repaint. I’d definitely pay for the car’s history to make sure there hadn’t been a serious accident. They’re really good cars if you value practicality above all else, and I happen to like the way they look too. 🙂
It’s a tossup between the two… so I’ll go for the xB because I like the style better.
I have an ’04 XB (5spd) that just sits unused in my driveway. I have to go out of my way to drive it once in a while to blow the cobwebs out. I really need to sell it, but have been having a hard time actually going through with that. Every time I clean it up and think about listing it, I remember how much I love this stupid thing and would miss it. It’s just so damn useful, and their is nothing else even remotely similar to it out there these days…
I’m guessing I’d feel the same way about the element if i had one – but, i dont. So, xB all the way.
Assuming the ad is legit, the Element is more car for the money. I like the xB, but a manual would go a long way to making it enjoyable.
I went with the Element, mainly just to break-up my always picking the Toyota habit (and it’s pre-K swapped), but it’s a coin flip.
I daily a second gen xB that we got as a cheap replacement for my wife’s totaled car that grew on me over the first year. If you haven’t driven one, I really can’t accurately describe just how good this class of car is as practical transportation. They may be boring, but they’re great at just about every non-performance thing you’d ask a car to do.
Also, the xB’s do look oddly good with black steelies. Mine spends about 4 months of the year on them with my snow tires/wheels.
So that Element looks ragged for the mileage, and as others have pointed out the interior shots are sus, or from a completely different listing.
I know the xB pretty intimately, and they are thin on the ground here in this condition, so that’s where I’m wasting my 4.5K today.
Went xB today, since I really like the styling on them, and a boxy/cool Yaris sounds like a really practical car!
Also, as I understand it, the first-gen xB was never sold in Canada, since the Scion brand as a whole didn’t come here until the second-gen was out. I still see first-gens around occasionally (importing from the States isn’t that hard), but it makes it more desirable to me!
I’m not sure you remember this correctly, Twin Peaks was a pop culture phenomenon in it’s heyday. Yeah, they didn’t pick it up for a second season, but everyone was talking about it. There was even a tribute song based on Cherry Pie written about it.They used to play that on the radio so much it’s actually more prevalent in my brain then the Warrant version. A quick Google turned up nothing though.
I will take the honda. It has a K24, and I work with 2 people with Elements with 250K plus miles that are still going.
“How Do You Like Your Little Wagony Thing?”
Half to a quarter of the prices here and with DIY shifting.
I picked Element. That’s likely just a replacement door that’s orange.
Voted Element today. I remember when both of these came out. Weird kind of bread truck things. As time went on, I saw a lot of older folks driving them. A friend’s mom said it was really easy to get in and out of and she could see out of it. Weird, esp. after all those hip commercials targeting kids.
The Element always seemed to be aimed at a certain niche. Kind of outdoorsy with a lot of room to haul stuff. And I had always thought that you could hose it down on the inside. A friend who had one was an archeologist. he would come back from job sites with the thing covered inside and out with mud and red dirt. First thing he did was to always hose it down, inside and out. Nothing wrong with either car but the Element seems more interesting and useful.
both of these seem way overpriced, but those interior shots of the element show it’s been completely repainted or of a completely different car?
so xB
They’re both overpriced shoeboxes.
No thanks.
I voted for the Honda, but neither of these seem like good deals.
The Scion is way overpriced. There are several similar cars listed on Autotempest for $2,500 or less. There are multiple listings for second generation xBs with far fewer miles for $4,500 – those cars even come with four hubcaps! Also, I’m just kind of annoyed seller listed it for $4,499. You aren’t fooling anyone by listing if for $4,499 instead of $4,500. It still isn’t a good deal.
I don’t know what to think about the Honda. The half assed repaint is weird. If you own an orange element and want a grey one, why not sell the orange one and buy a grey one? That probably would be cheaper and look less sketchy. That aside, the car is at least presentable and these are very useful vehicles. They are also way more comfortable than an xB. I wouldn’t pay $4,500 for this particular car, but there are at least some 20 year old, 200k mile Elements where that price is perfectly reasonable.
I picked the xB because I am getting a weird vibe from the Element. Anyone that would cover up that orange with silver is capable of worse atrocities that I don’t want to be a victim of.
Otherwise, I prefer the Element. The rear seat configuration and doors are so practical. I immediately wanted one when they came out, and have shopped them throughout my life, about 10 yrs ago when they would have made sense for me to buy (cheapish ones were available without being 200k+) I realized they get pretty poor fuel economy for a 4cyl so I stuck with wagons but every once in awhile I am tempted by a 5spd model.
Hmm, both?
Like Steve Buscemi dressing up as Steve Buscemi for Halloween (google it) I’m going for the Scion
“I like square butts and I cannot lie . . .
… So your girlfriend rolls a Honda, playin’ workout tapes by Fonda
But Fonda ain’t got a motor in the back of her Honda’
As has been mentioned, the Honda looks to be a shady listing. I’m taking the Scion.
The Element listing is very fishy. The interior shots seem to show an LX, not an EX. A reverse image search finds the same interior shots in a listing for a 2003 in CA. I’m highly suspicious that they would repaint from orange to silver without painting the jams, that would stand out like a sore thumb with the large panel gaps. Also, AWD badging is missing.
I just went through this exact lineup a month ago looking for a new commuter beater. I didn’t end up going with either an xB or an Element, but I looked at both but couldn’t find one in good enough shape and low enough mileage for my limited price bracket.
For the cars above, I voted Scion simply because the Element might be hiding a crash history under that silver paint (or wrap).
The XB is cleaner, but the Element is a damn near perfect utility vehicle. The AWD is certainly a bonus.