Why are Scions boxy?

Thanks Is it as unsafe at high speed as it looks and as has been suggested here? It really looks like - drive me to the store and back - but no further.

Reply to
Undisclosed
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"Safe" and "unsafe" are relative terms. The larger a car is, the more space there is for crumple zones to absorb the energy from an impact. In a collision between two vehicles, the occupants of the larger vehicle tend to fare better than the occupants of the smaller vehicle. On the other hand, smaller vehicles make smaller targets, and smaller vehicles tend to be more maneuverable than larger ones.

The xB passes federal safety standards.

Reply to
Ray O

That's why you order one with the front air dam and the spoiler on the roof!

Reply to
Hachiroku

So does motor bikes. I would be more interested in such relative factors as does this vehicle have adequate power at hi speed (60-75mph) and is it relatively stable at that speed? This is all compared to other products in a similar price range.

Reply to
Undisclosed

Yup, that it does.

A flat rear surface attracts dirt because of the vacuum created going through the air. That's why drafting large truck works.

The spoiler disrupts the airflow, and stops the suction...

Reply to
Hachiroku

Don't you believe that the balded-faced liar "Mike Hunt" is one, either. It's just a troll.

Reply to
dizzy

snipped-for-privacy@sources.org opin'd thus:

The xB is not "unsafe" -- unless it's hit by a Suburban head-on (or maybe worse, from the side; no side-curtain airbags). It's a SMALL car, so naturally it's not as protective in a crash as a larger car would be. The laws of physics dictate that.

Or did you mean does it handle OK, and at what speeds?

I use mine mostly for going to and from work, about ten miles from here to there on county roads and a couple of miles of city streets. But I've driven it to and through Minneapolis-St. Paul several times and on a couple of longer trips to northern Minnesota, driving at speeds to keep up with and surpass traffic, and I *like* the way it handles city traffic and freeways. Unsafe handling? Not at speeds up to the high 80s where it stays nimble and stable. Faster than that, I haven't pushed it, but it seems like it has more to give even at that speed.

I should mention that mine is a stick, and to get decent acceleration, I have to rev it to near redline more often than most small cars I've had, but that's to be expected with the small engine the xBox has.

The only drawback to its boxy-ness that I've noticed is that it can be a handful to drive in high winds, but as a motorcycle rider who's ridden through crosswinds going across South Dakota more than a few times, that's not much of a challenge, relatively speaking.

-Don

Reply to
Don Fearn

Hachiroku ???? opin'd thus:

Heh, heh, heh . . . yeah, right.

I can tell you that like the spoiler on my Camry, the spoiler and the air dam on my xB are all about . . . LOOKS.

The story I told my wife to justify the spoiler -- and this might have a kernel of truth -- is that the flat rear window stays cleaner with a spoiler than it would without. She bought it; both my story and her half of our xB.

-D

Reply to
Don Fearn

Hachiroku ???? opin'd thus:

Wow. And, therefore, also improving the MPG of the vehicle?

I'm gonna have to tell my wife that!

Oh. No need; I already got the spoiler. But maybe if she brings it up as another of my "unnecessary" expenses, I'll be ready . . . .

THANX, H!

Reply to
Don Fearn

LOL! Glad to be of assistance!

Reply to
Hachiroku

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