[iowaxb]

Hey everybody. I love the xB. Trying to figure out if it will work for us. Have three kids. 10, 14 and 16. Hitting the age where we are not in the car as a fam as much as we used to be and I am thinking maybe the xB could be the car we are looking for budget and size wise. We live in the country, put on a lot of miles.

One worry...I'd like to use it for a twice a year road trip to see family out in AZ. 1500 miles. Is this the right vehicle for us. Again, we'd love a Venza or something larger but we love the xB style and price.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Geezer]

The xB is a great ride and a lot of bang for the buck. It's no rocket but, has a good balance of performance and economy, comes nicely equipped and is relatively comfortable...plus it has the Toyota name behind it. It's not available in AWD, but does fairly well in snow with the traction control. It should serve you well if you can pry the sixteen year old's fingers away from the steering wheel. Otherwise you may have to buy a beater for the rest of the family.

We didn't take any road trips last year when gas was $4+ a gallon, but have been to Ohio, Maine and North Carolina in the last three months. The xB served us well, but with up to four adults and luggage it was a full load. If the whole family is going to AZ you'll probably need to get an aftermarket (i.e., Perrycraft) roof rack and carrier box for all of your stuff, and the 10 year-old will probably grumble about sitting in the middle.

 

[Hellen4Wheels]

We make two long road trips a year, one to northeastern Tennessee (2,000 round trip) and one to Michigan (2,400 round trip). That's two adults, our luggage, and whatever goodies we get to bring home from our moms. We were surprised that we could pack all that stuff in the back without having to put the rear seats down.

My 2009 xB is my daily driver which means it also gets used for all the errands. Oh, and the ten-year-old might not mind as much sitting in the middle since there is no hump in the floor.

 

[jrl91789]

Ask your 16 year old for opinions about the xB...