I must admit that when it comes to parallel parking. . .well, I must have missed that day at drivers ed.  So imagine my delight and amazement when I managed to slip the xA into a diminutive slot on a congested street in downtown Plymouth. . . and then realized that there was a group of young ladies across the street who were admiring. . . the car.

While not as in-your-face as its sibling the boxy xB, the xA has a form that is close to nothing but the Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe, but more well proportioned that that car.  The xA—with a wheelbase of 93.3 in. and an overall length of 154.1 in.—is an ideal urban transporter.

Thanks to clever engineering, the interior is comparatively spacious, though like some vehicles many times its size, the rear seat leg room isn't exactly capacious, and although it is said to be able to seat five, two out of the three in the rear seat had surely be friendly.  But up front, things are very well done in terms of relative comfort; this is not a luxoliner, but simply some stylish, solid transportation.

One design trick that enhances the driver's sense of spaciousness is the positioning of the speedo and other gages.  Rather than directly in front of the steering wheel in the IP, the xA has its cluster on the top surface of the IP, centered.  Consequently, there is an open space in front of the steering wheel so the driver's forward view is uninterrupted.  Although the positioning of the cluster takes a bit of getting used to, I've had the opportunity to drive other vehicles that put their info centers in a similar location and don't find it to be off-putting.  As the ideal demographic for the Scion line hovers around age 23, there probably aren't as many hardwired driving habits that need to be overcome for that cohort.  (One consideration of the center location: it makes it easier for the vehicle manufacturer, Toyota, in the case of Scions, to produce right-hand steering models.  The Scions do have their genesis on the streets of Tokyo, so that's not a trivial thing.)

The 1.5-liter, four cylinder engine is rated at 108 hp @ 6,000 rpm and 105 lb-ft of torque @ 4,200 rpm.  It has the kind of pep that's ideal for squirting along in low-speed settings—like urban gridlock and residential side streets—yet freeway driving isn't off-putting: I merged onto and then drove it on I-275, keeping up with traffic, without the sense that the engine was about to explode.

The five-door vehicle is well put together and doesn't feel or look as though it has a sticker of $13,795.  After all, this comes with all of the creature comforts that we have come to expect in vehicles nowadays—from power windows and locks to air con—as well as an engine with variable-valve timing (now all Toyota cars and light trucks have engines of that type) and anti-lock brakes, which is certainly an option on models in this price vicinity from some cost-conscious but seemingly customer-unaware companies.

Here's the real deal about the car, however.  A 15-year-old nephew looked at the xA with covetousness.  Noting that the vehicle I brought over wasn't customized, he told me, with a tone of longing, that one of his pals is getting an xA (his mom is buying it for him) and that his pal, who has "been working forever" (certainly a long time when you're 15), has $3K in the bank, all of which is going to be spent on tricking out the xA.  So even though he was looking at what is arguably a blank canvas, he could see the possibilities.  Possibilities that he wanted to realize at some point.

My sister-in-law wasn't moved by the story.  I'm betting on my nephew.