The 2008 Scion xD replaces the efficient and cute xA, after just four years. The xA was popular, but Scion's grand plan is to offer new models frequently, so the xA had to go. Although the xD is all new, it's basically just a name change, or the second generation of the xA.

On paper, the Scion xD has the right stuff, with a longer wheelbase and wider track, but virtually the same overall length as the xA. It gains 20 horsepower over the xA, with a slightly larger 1.8-liter engine using the latest version of Toyota's brilliant VVT-i technology. But the engine has 300 more pounds of curb weight to carry, so acceleration is lost. The EPA-rated fuel mileage figures drop 6 mpg from the xA, down to 26 city and 32 highway, but that's partly if not fully a reflection of the EPA's new testing methods that take effect on 2008 models.

Unfortunately, the xD comes with a traditional four-speed automatic transmission. Performance seriously suffers with that four-speed automatic, and it feels like it needs a fifth gear. However, the five-speed manual transmission is fine.

Also, the xD offers less interior room than the old xA did, in particular less legroom: a critical four fewer inches in the rear seat, and one less inch in front. The good news is the 60/40 rear seat reclines, slides, and folds totally flat, creating an excellent cargo space.

The xD has a new boxy roofline and bulbous hood, and we think it has lost the spunky look of the xA. It looks much like the new xB. Before 2008, the xA and the xB looked totally different, but now the cars have morphed into sameness. However, the xD can be dressed up and made to be very good-looking and even distinctive, by purchasing components from your Scion dealer, starting with wheels. That's the idea. The Scion is all about personalization. It might be called My Scion, for those inclined to want everything labeled Mine, not anyone else's, but Mine Mine Mine.

The basic problem with the styling is that the new xD that replaces the xA looks too much like the new xB that replaces the old xB. We attended an introduction of both vehicles, and they needed to be parked side-by-side to tell which was which. The xA was a sporty little thing and the old xB was a unique box; now they're each sort of a blended box. After a while we learned the differences, but people on the street probably never will, an irony for the carmaker whose platform is distinction.

The Scion xD is only half an inch longer than the xA, on a wheelbase that's 3.5 inches longer. This good engineering brings shorter overhangs and a better ride, and usually more room inside (although not with the xD), but the styling department hasn't kept up its part of the deal. The roofline has been boxed in at the rear corner with a wide C-pillar (like the xB), the fender flares appear to have lost their smooth shapeliness, and the hood is now longer and quite bulbous, which robs the car of its former cool steep slope from the top of the windshield to the front bumper. The basic dimensions of the 1.8-liter engine aren't much bigger than those of the 1.5, but something under the hood must require that space, it would seem.

The halogen headlights themselves are sleek, but their pinched shape isn't compatible with the roundness of the hood, which has a chrome Scion emblem stuck on the front. The grille, now a wide slot, is separated from a larger lower air intake by a bumper fascia that's bulkier than before. The combination of elements makes the xD look like a kid with a fat face, pinched eyes, wide mouth, and chrome ring in his nose.

The three available wheelcover styles do nothing for the car. The wheels are 16 inches (up from 15 inches in the xA), and the wheelwell gaps have been tightened, and these things are good. But you're looking at wheelcovers, not wheels, and it's as if Scion were deliberately trying to make them ugly, to stimulate a purchase of accessory wheels. A good set of wheels will go a long way toward bringing the xD alive. We've seen photos of an xD with six-spoke, 18-inch polished alloy wheels available from Scion, and they totally change the bulky looks of the car. The 17-inch black alloys look great too; and if you don't want to buy new tires, there are also 16-inch alloys. Add a rear spoiler to extend the lines of the roof, and you've got something worth showing off.

But it's that reduced rear seat legroom that's the killer. The rear seat slides, with six inches of travel, but that's obviously not enough (presuming, of course, that Scion measures the maximum rear seat legroom, not the minimum). It also reclines 10 degrees, a small consolation for passengers whose knees are jammed. Scion says that the rear seats have a "slim sporty design that creates openness," which we take to mean that they had to be made slim because there wasn't much room back there.

Cargo space is a better story, important if it's stuff you carry, and not passengers. The rear seat folds totally flat, providing 35.7 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the front seats. Also, small compartments under the cargo floor hold the jack tools and leave some extra room, though not enough to hold and hide a laptop. The xD follows the lead of the Honda Fit here, although not all the way, as the Fit's front seat folds flat as well. And that's a world of stowage difference.

The dark charcoal fabric seats are handsome, especially when compared to the cloth that comes with some other cars in this class. They're firm but not too firm, and provide decent bolstering, which is good because many xD owners will be ripping around corners after they add the TRD suspension components.

The trim is ordinary vinyl. The instrument panel is not ordinary, with something Scion calls a concentric combination meter, meaning a speedometer and tachometer in one gauge, centered over the steering column. It's another one of those Scion things, designed to be different rather than better, and it's a mess. It's confusing to read, with two needles moving in opposite directions around a circle. The long speedo needle moves from 7 o'clock to 2 o'clock, and the small tach needle moves through small squeezed numbers from 6 o'clock to 2 o'clock.

The standard 160-watt Pioneer sound system with six speakers is loud and clear, and should be plenty for a car this size, although many xD buyers might want more, so upgrades are available. The standard system is wired for iPod, MP3/WMA, and satellite, and includes an auxiliary input and Organic Electroluminescent welcome screen that can be customized (maybe to organically greet you in electroluminescence with "This is MY Scion Sound System"), and Scion Sound Processing and Retouch Digital Equalization, which sure sounds good.

The small storage areas are plentiful. There's a 5.3-liter upper glovebox and 5.7-liter lower glove box (for perspective, consider that 5.7 liters is volume of the cylinders of a Chevy V8). There's a box in the center console between the seats, a small compartment for change, a small storage tray that slides out of the dash, and eight cup and bottle holders.

The air conditioning worked well, and the xD was fairly quiet. Special attention has gone into the areas of HVAC (heat, ventilation, air conditioning) and NVH (noise, vibration, handling). The air conditioning motor and vents have been redesigned to be more powerful and less noisy, and much sound-deadening material has been used in many places. We were only given the opportunity to drive the car for about 40 miles at the introduction, as Scion's priority was for automotive journalists to be presented with the Scion marketing theme, not the performance of the xD, so we can't say much more about the effectiveness of the HVAC and NVH improvements.

We can say the interior is airtight, which would be one result of thorough NVH work. With just the driver's window slightly open, there's a thump in your ears. So you have to crack a second window to let the air out. Many cars thump with a rear window open and the driver's window closed, but this is the first car we've encountered that thumps with just the driver's window cracked open. Not a great feature.

The xD needs a five-speed automatic transmission; its four-speed automatic is inadequate for all but the pokiest of drivers, as its acceleration vanishes in the gaps between the gears, especially at slower speeds. We made a U-turn at 15 mph, put our foot down to get out of the way of traffic, and nothing much happened, in second gear. So we recommend the five-speed manual, which we didn't get to test, although we're confident it's good.

The 1.8-liter engine in the xD makes 128 horsepower, which is 20 more than the engine in the prior xA, and there's also 20 more pound-feet of torque, but the xD is 300 pounds heavier than the xA, so much of that extra power is swallowed up. It's gutless on a freeway on-ramp. It's better at higher revs (that 128 horsepower comes at 6000 rpm), so once you're on the freeway it easily keeps up with traffic, but it doesn't zip around town without work.

In stop-and-go freeway traffic, the throttle response was too abrupt. It was hard to get on the gas smoothly, each time the traffic moved again. So it won't likely win our best commuter car award.

Our 40 miles of driving included some hard twisty corners as well as a stretch on a crowded and choppy Los Angeles freeway. The suspension felt nice at some times, too soft at some times, and too firm at other times. The ride is good when the road is smooth, but if you try to push it in switchback corners the front end wants to dip and rise. We hit some downhill bumps and ripples at 30 mph, and felt the front wheels shake and rattle. Out on the freeway, it was sometimes harsh over the rough spots. Generally, the sharp little bumps seem to nickel-and-dime you to death. It's not a good sign when a car's ride wears on you after just one hour. Could that be the reason Scion offered so little seat time at its introduction?

We were able to test the brakes fairly well, using them pretty hard during the twisty parts, and they did a good job. They've got the full complement of electronic assistance. The rear brakes are drums, however. Maybe it's too much to ask that they be discs, in a car of this size and price, but the xD is heavier than before, and Scion does claim to be a technology leader. Which brings us back to the four-speed automatic transmission.

With the bigger engine and 300 more pounds, fuel economy suffers. The 2008 xD is EPA-rated rated 6 mpg lower the xA. Part of that is due to EPA test procedures that will provide consumers with more realistic figures on 2008 models. All cars will come down, relative to 2007, and small cars tend to suffer more than large cars. In any case, the 2008 Saturn xD will be EPA-rated 26/32 mpg City/Highway with the automatic, compared with the 2007 xA's 32/38 mpg.

Sam Moses filed this report to NewCarTestDrive.com from Hollywood.