“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 own an ’06 xb, my son has an element, dunno the year. i get better fuel mileage, his is big enough to camp in. the ‘elefant’ as he calls it is an automtic. that xb is over priced, the automatics make them painfully slow. the element was a truck in japan, it’s rather big compared to a rav4 or cr-v. the xb is close to kei car size, great for the city.
I have an Element and recently took in an 06 xB for a friend who bought it to take back north.
Element every day, mostly in that the K series engine in it makes it so much more drivable. But both are incredibly useful little unkillable boxes.
These rigs are the same approach to two different lifestyles. The xB is urban, the Element is outdoorsy.
The xB is motivated by a variant of the same engine as powered the 2nd gen Prius. With non-Atkinson valve timing, it isn’t as efficient but neither does it need an electric motor to make up for otherwise nonexistent low end torque. It is essentially unkillable; these engines routinely blow past 300,000 miles without fanfare. The xBox, as I like to call it, is a tall hatchback that completely fills out its footprint with maximum occupiable space for the driver and passengers, with a small footnote, ironically at the nose, for the drivetrain. Even without a hybrid drivetrain, it’s a very thrifty way of getting stuff around town.
The Element is, like the xBox, a tall boxy hatchback with gobs of interior space, modest power and a similarly no-frills approach to moving your stuff. In this case, moving your stuff not around town but out. We all know how stout the Honda K series is and the Element uses one that is tuned considerably below the output of most models, just to leave a buttload of durability on the table.
In my estimation these are equally desirable cars and the deciding factor is the buyer: what kind of life do they lead?
The Scion is boxy, but the Honda is boxy and so much more!
Glitter is the worst. Some years ago I was part of a show during the Hollywood Fringe and at one of the info sessions at our theater, they said that no shows could use glitter. No exceptions. They referred to glitter as “stage herpes”. Once you get it you can never get rid of it.
I’m pretty sure even MB-Tex is vulnerable to glitter.
Favorite license plate: IM IN MY
No choice no information vs information, except for that if take either. However salty coast vs dry desert, Portland vs Vegas everything about the Honda is just a little bit better. So caution to the wind I’ll spend the extra dollar
(Literally shitBOX Showdown! Ha ha)
Element! Never xB…I can’t stand those ugly boxes of junk & the gauges in the center are fucking stupid. Yeah, it’s Toyota but that doesn’t matter to me as far as this shitBOX. Yes, both of these are boxes unfortunately, but I’d much rather have the Honda. It will last a long time and it’s very useful. I love how the seats go up against the windows and it’s great for sleeping in. I’ll enjoy going camping in it…or
“live in an…ELEMENT DOWN BY THE RIVER!”
So your saying in the Honda you are in your Element?
I’ll take the Elephant, ‘scuse me, Element.
The styling on the xB always bugged me. That completely flat back always seemed like something was missing. Like, the crease should have followed the window line all the way around the body instead of terminating at the fender.
The 5speed Element I moved from L.A. to Denver in is the only car I miss.
Scion. I have an 06 with 93,000 on it and it’s holding up well. It’s also a perfect city car. The Honda is bigger and taller, but I’m over lifted cars.
I went xB as well, ex-wife still has her ’06 we bought new, 5 speed would be a better choice, that car was pretty peppy in town with the 5MT. of course being shaped like a shoe box highway milage wasn’t great, but being shaped like a shoe box you can fit a lot of stuff in one.
I had a 06 xB. My sister had an Element. The Element was a better overall vehicle, but I loved my xB. Wish I never got rid of it. People 6’4 could easily fit in it.
And five actual grown ups
am I the only one who thinks a 200K mile penalty box based on the Toyota Echo is CP at $4500? Maybe at $3K but for $4500 I’d much rather have the quicker, roomier, more practical, better build quality and more capable Element in my front yard
You may be right. I suggested one for my wife, but she fell for a Fiat 500, and if you don’t need the space it’s a surpringly comfortable long distance car
The 11 year old me in 1980 really liked Xanadu because I really really liked looking at and listening to Olivia Newton-John.
I’ll take a Nissan Cube with a manual, please.
Scion. I literally flipped a coin. Hey! I saved a dollar!
The xB for me. It would get the job done, and get better gas mileage.
My parents bought the last special edition first-gen xB (that bronze/reddish flop color whose name escapes me) new in 2006, with the manual transmission. It is *just* about to hit 100,000 miles and have no intention of getting rid of it, even if they stop driving. As I start to age myself, and it’s in such nice condition, it may end up the last car for both me and my parents!
The first-gen XB is one of the most awesome cars ever made. Lots of space on the inside, small on the outside. Classic Toyota Quality/reliability, easy on gas, and easy on the wallet.
Too bad they ruined it with the corn-fed fattened-up second-gen XL XB
I’ll admit mine is the “corn-fed fattened-up second-gen XL XB” (very funny description BTW) but my old coworkers nicknamed mine the TARDIS because it’s bigger on the inside. I had the only vehicle that wasn’t a crew cab full-sized pickup that would comfortably fit 4 guys for lunch outings.
Always loved the first gen xB – that’s my pick, hands down.