5 years between my Scion & I

September of this year marks 5 years between my vehicle [Scion XA] and I. I never planned to buy a brand new car when I first went out car shopping because growing up I had always driven nice used ones, and as my Grandma Betty used to say- "Cars just need to get you from point A to point B" but I started to consider them when I wasn't finding what I wanted. I just wasn't very impressed with the typical look of a mid-sized sedan and when spending MY money on a considerably big purchase, I wanted to be wowed. 


Thankfully, my parents were willing to go around and do lots of shopping with me and one night I came across the new line of Scion cars at a dealership. I was drawn to their sleek and cool look, then the price, and last their impressive gas mileage. Really, I didn't really understand much about gas mileage, only that my Dad and the salesman kept saying it was really good. When I asked if I could take it for a test drive, I couldn't believe it when the salesman told me the one I was looking at drooling over was a special order for a customer who pre-ordered it and that these won't be out on the market for a couple more months. Leave it to me to fall in love with something I couldn't have, but I didn't stop there. I made him tell me the other dealerships around that would be getting them in, and gave him my name to be put on their waiting list. Days past and I still couldn't get this car out of my head, so I did some online research and learned that the brand Scion is just a spin off of Toyota (similar to Saturn being a part of GM) and that this car comes with lots of cool stuff, like a iPod plug-in built right in (this was REALLY big 5 yrs. ago) and, a standard fin on the back, sporty black seat covers, and collapsible hooks in the back seats for you to hang your purse! I somehow tracked one down in Provo of all places and drove out that morning to pick it up. I had yet to even drive it at this point, but I knew this was what I wanted. When we arrived I hopped in it, drove it around for a few minutes and before I knew it, the keys were mine! I had to have been that salesman's easiest sale of the day.


Driving home I was even more WOWED with multi-colored lights rotating in the dash board, and a front compartment that glowed like a nice warm candle welcoming me home. At age 24 I found a car that felt just right for me and had one of those moments when you think that everyone must be looking at you when really you're just experiencing an out of body moment with yourself. I tried my BEST not to get in an accident as I continued to drive home....here I am 5 years later, still as happy with it as I was when I drove it off the lot- now how many people can say that about their car?  I've also yet to ever have anything go wrong with it, and I now fully appreciate it's awesome gas mileage!


How awesome is it....31 town 38 highway, although I hear that they keep getting better with age. Unfortunately they no longer make the model XA anymore but you can buy new XD's which are pretty similar. Other questions that I often get (this car seems to be quite the conversation starter), are....


"How do you pronounce Scion?" 


The answer is like this: "Sigh-On." 


"How is it with a kid?" 


"We were able to fit a rear facing Chicco seat behind the passenger with still enough room for someone up front to sit but not adjust their seat. We can fit our Chicco full-sized stroller in the trunk. There's also an option for the back seats to drop down 60/40 so that you can have full access to a flat bed in the back through the hatch back. Right now our Britax car seat fits great forward facing in the back seat with full room for the front passenger. We also like that we don't have to worry about the car rolling since Scions sit lower to the ground."


Is it as small inside as it looks?


No! In fact, that's one of the first things people say when they get in "Oh, this isn't as small as I thought it would be!" 


So, thank you Ms. Scion for 5 really good years of safe, stylish, and happy driving. I know that one day our family will out grow you, but until then I'm still enjoying the ride, lovin' the cash saved on gas, and peace of mind that I'm helping by polluting less in the environment.