Five-Point Inspection: 2013 Scion XD TRD

The thought of a performance version of the Scion xD may not set our souls on fire, or anyone’s really. Based on the Toyota Yaris platform, the xD starts out life lacking any performance DNA to speak of. And, with the current generation of the Scion xD having been on sale since 2008, the vehicle is getting a bit tired and old as only minor updates have occurred during its lifespan.

But all of this hasn’t deterred Toyota Racing Development (TRD) from having a go at the sub-compact to make it more exciting and keep it interesting. So can TRD take the $16,500 xD, add $4,600 worth of style and performance upgrades, and make it something you’d want to buy?

And it isn’t just wasted money; the upgrades do work. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. They work within the context of the vehicle they are applied to; you can’t take Rush Limbaugh and expect him to run a 10-second 100 m after a few trips to the gym.

The most obvious improvement with the new parts is tighter, more precise steering, which is now second best in the Scion stable, trailing only the fantastic rack found in the FR-S. Body roll is greatly reduced and the xD becomes slightly more neutral. Not that it’s going to ever rival the FR-S, but it does make the car slightly sporty instead of tragically dull.

The tires grip so well with the new planted stance that the vehicle holds on in corners better than expected, and, as a bonus, ride comfort is actually not hurt by all these upgrades.

Note that there haven’t been any real power upgrades, so it should be expected that straight line performance remains the same. The 2,665 lb. xD is powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder developing 128 hp and 125 lb-ft of torque, which on paper doesn’t sound that bad. In real life, however, it just feels like an old dog; especially with the four-speed automatic.

With so little power to drive the Scion out of corners; the handling improvements from the TRD upgrades becomes even more evident; maybe a TRD supercharger is in order to balance things out? Even if the car is slow, at least the axle back exhaust is quiet when cruising, but makes some good noise when getting hard on the gas.

Inside the Scion xD is a sea of patterned hard plastics. The seat is not height adjustable and steering wheel is not telescopic. This makes finding a comfortable driving position hard and awkward. The interior seating material and seats are cheap and tired. This is perfectly fine for a sub-compact when the xD first came out, but the problem is that b-class cars have come so far in the past few years that this one is looking drastically out of date.

Thinking about buying a new car? Interested in a Scion xD?

Visit AutoGuide’s new car buying section here. If you want, you can skip to Scion.