I’ve sort of been waiting for this particular photo opportunity for a while, and it presented itself yesterday. And no, I didn’t actually park in the handicapped zone, just pulled in for a quick shot. And made sure our front bumpers were exactly lined up. Anyway, the only real similarity is that the gen1 Xb equals or exceeds the interior passenger room stats of the Tahoe and Suburban in every dimension, except width (how far away do you want to sit from your sweetie?). That holds for the front and rear (second row) seats. Obviously, from there back, things change a bit. Of course, when it comes to the driving experience, they are black and white.
What is it about people with smaller cars having issues with cars that are bigger than theirs? Is it envy?
Carmine; what “issues” are you talking about? Is it because I picked a black Suburban? Please explain…or is your GM defensive meter so hypersensitive that if I even show a GM car in a picture it goes off?
I am a very visually-oriented person, and am always looking for “photo ops”, big or small; significant or insignificant. This is simply a shot to dramatize the visual difference of two very disparate vehicles, that also happen to have essentially the same seating dimensions for its four passengers. I’ve posed my Xb with a variety of vehicles for fun and contrast.
Anything else that you’re reading into it is your paranoia. I said absolutely nothing in my text to warrant your comment that I have “issues”. Here’s what I think: you must have big car defensiveness. Just as bad (or worse) than big car envy.
FWIW, big cars are just hunky dory with me; I used to have a pretty big one when I had three kids to schlepp around. Now I have no need or desire for one. But envy?? Why would I envy a Suburban (or any car, big or small)? Because I can’t afford one? I could afford several dozen new Suburbans actually, fully loaded, without going into debt. So why would I have Suburban envy? I’m cheap, not poor.
The whole “my car has the same interior dimensions or better thing” as if the person with the Suburban was some sort of wasteful pig and driving the small XB is a more “righteous” thing to do.
That was they way I read it, maybe I’m wrong. Nothing to do with the Suburban or GM.
Have you ever heard me say or imply something like that? Ever? I’d like to think I got over that quite some time ago.
If there’s a message, it’s this: I think some folks that are drawn to Tahoes and such just might be well served by some of the new generation of boxes. I say some, certainly not all. But I think some folks have an aversion to even considering them, even if it might serve them well.
I run lots of super short errands a lot; the main use for my car. That means lots of city driving and parking. And a Suburban would be an impediment in that kind of use.
But if I needed to haul a big trailer, or drove it long distance regularly, It might well be a better choice indeed. The Xb has some strengths, but some very real limitations. As I said, to each his own. And no judgement is, was, or will be implied, or should be assumed.
No doubt there are some good things about the XB, there are very roomy for something that size, many people could do with “less car” but hey, if they want to buy and feed the thing, more power to them.
A brother in law and his family of 6 lived in Texas for awhile, and they were not just a Suburban family, but a TWO Suburban family. This did not seem to stand out around Dallas. Then they moved to the Philadelphia suburbs. Two Suburbans in the driveway certainly stood out there.
I don’t have issues with the drivers of these cars – both my wife and my parents drive box-shaped cars, after all – but I do find myself pointing out to people the fact that a lot of those cubic feet of interior space in the tall cars are in spots that aren’t terribly useful. I suppose if you’re an NBA center, 7 1/2 feet tall, all that headroom is nice, but for those of us who aren’t so tall, the foot worth of headroom above me might make the specs look good but is functionally useless.
Mmm, no. I’d say it’s closer to pity. Or contempt. Yes, that’s it.
The width is actually a pretty big thing with a family. We have squeezed 5 into our Honda Fit, but the three in the back are not terribly comfy, even when they are skinny teenagers. I would also suspect that there is some additional seat-cushion thickness in the Burb that may be lacking in the Xb. My Fit has fairly thin seats that are not all that great for long trips. Maybe the Xb is better here.
Your picture reminds me of my wheelbase dilemma. The difference between 111 and 124 inches is only 13 inches. This would not seem that significant in the context of an entire passenger compartment in a car, particularly since some of that difference may be in the hood. But spend some time in a 71 Scamp and then in a 68 Newport and there is no doubt that one car is massively bigger than the other. I wonder if your black and white comparo is the same kind of thing.
It’s super for four. The fifth passenger will never be totally happy in this small of a car, but it’s pretty good back there for three in a pinch. How many folks actually ride three abreast anymore, other than in a pinch?
Well golly, I guess I’d consider width a pretty important measurement if we’re going to imply an argument about total interior volume. I suppose if the only consideration of the prospective buyer is head and legroom, the Xb is a far superior choice to a Suburban!
It is also a fact that the 5.3L engine in the Suburban meets or exceeds the stats of the Xb’s 1.5L engine, except in gas mileage (how far away do you want to sit from the gas pump?).
I say we call it a draw! And thanks for the handicapped zone disclaimer, I got a chuckle!
I don’t think it’s a draw. I would prefer the Toyota Cube in just about every thing but trailer towing.
I’ll take the Burban, I’ve driven an XB and I’ll be polite and just say, no thank you.
To each their own, but there’s no need to make “issues” out of it.
Our family has a full size, loaded SUV and a Nissan Cube. After owning the Cube for two years it now gets used for 90% of our errands and local hauls. The Cube is easier and more fun to drive, uses less than half as much fuel, plus holds an incredible amount of stuff when needed. If I could only keep one vehicle it would definately be the cube.
There is always the joke that some people like big vehicles to compensate for other deficiencies. Who knows.
My parents have an xB and my wife has a Cube, and the one thing the Cube has over the xB is width. The xB is sportier to drive but you end up rubbing elbows with the other person in the front seat.
I see lots of those Toyota boxes about and in Daihatsu disguise too they seem popular the Suburban nah, GM tried badging them as Holdens in OZ to move a few but noone wanted them you just cant go anywhere with one unless you tow a fuel supply along.
My sister had a used Suburban, also black with 4WD. Bought it from a funeral home owner friend who used it for pick-ups. She drove it mostly in town. I drove it a couple of times to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut from Mass and to Easton PA from Scranton. Other than needing a tug boat to park it and the gas mileage I kind of liked it. When gas prices went through the roof in 2008 she got rid of it. They did pull a snowmobile trailer which I doubt the Xb would have handled happily. She has 3 boys, a Xb would not have worked to well. You want as much separation as possible, so they won’t kill each other or you them.
“The Xb has some strengths”
and I use these every day – 33 MPG, great visibility, great reliability, low maintenance (tires, etc), great manueverability, as much interior passenger room as a large SUV, tremendous headroom, the ability to haul wife plus three kids around the area when needed, and enough room with the seats down to haul anything I have.
“but some very real limitations” – that I rarely miss including a lack of ability to tow a boat, move the contents of an apartment, and…I cant think of any others.
No issues, just love my car
Not being able to move the contents of an apartment has its advantages.
I was reminded of a comedian that joked the older people got they wanted to drive larger and larger vehicles so they could take more and more of their stuff with them.
Dan, is your name change new? Or am I just slow on the uptake? Either way, congrats.
Now you need a new avatar: How about this one, of Leslie Nielsen as a school principal in “Prom Night”?
Or this one, with a youthful Jamie Lee Curtis
Or this? Very principaled looking, indeed.
How about the principal from Porkys?
I actually tried a jpeg of “Dean Wormer” and the dang thing won’t take… lol
That’s hitting a little close to home, in more ways than one.
I have a friend who is somewhat physically disabled and the XB has been wonderful for her as it is one of the few vehicles she can enter, exit, and drive comfortably. She was in a bad accident in the first one and while it was totaled, no one was injured and she immediately bought a new one that she continues to love driving.
I have no problem with folks buying and driving what works for them but I admit that because I live in a densely populated urban area of SoCal with extremely limited parking – including undersized parking lots for grocery and other stores – I tend to resent the amount of space occupied by Suburbans and their ilk because the rest of us have to squeeze in and around them. I shop for cars with good interior space and a minimum of exterior bulk and the G37 fit the bill for me. No doubt there are those that resent my use of fuel; so it goes…
I was waiting in the bank parking lot in Gig Harbor today while my wife was in the bank, parked beside what looked like the same black Tahoe. This nicely-dressed woman came out of the bank with her two 8-10-year-old kids. They both climbed onto the Tahoe’s running board and entered the car through the rear door window, a sight I hadn’t expected to see.
I’m a fan of the bread box styling of the first gen XB and the NIssan Cube. Slightly disappointed that Toyota strayed away from that first design and went more mainstream with it. I don’t seem to see as many 2nd Gen XB’s on the road as I did with the Gen 1 version when it first came out……or maybe the bland styling has made it blend in more with the othe non-descript modern cars on the road today!
FWIW during every price hike in gas, our local news media is out and about at the gas stations and the vehicles they always seem to gravitate towards are the large pickups, SUV’s and the like in order to capture a quote from the beleagured motorist with the 100 dollar fill up. I never recall an XB owner, or a VW TDI owner interviewed!
I wasn’t too wild about it either, to put it mildly: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2007/05/scion-xb-2/
I like the dark red painted wheels; way better than the dinky plastic wheel covers. Have you ever considered adding baby moons or trim rings?
My $6 (of spray paint) rims? I have though of it, but haven’t acted for two reasons: it’s too low of a priority, and I drive a lot on rough, gravel backwoods roads, so keeping it simple and rugged is a priority too.
I keep telling my friend to pain his black and then adding a red “A-Team” style hockey stick style stripe up the side and over the roof, but he says no.
Write enough articles for CC and Paul will buy you dinner and a beer AND take you in style in the Xbox! I’ve been wanting to check one out for ages and I was impressed.
I want to see that XB parked next to a 22-foot-long great white shark.
Click the pic for a much bigger view.