Believe it or not, the Scion xB sort of has the limo look going for it. Maybe even a gangster look, like a sedan from the '20s. It's that new roofline with the thick C-pillar that's located all the way at the back of the car, and the uninterrupted dark tinted windows. The roof-to-floor B-pillar is hidden between the doors, covered by parts of the black frames around the windows.

There's also a subtle 1.5-inch taper from the height of the windows at the front of the front window to the rear of the rear window, adding to the effect of reducing the squareness and making the xB look longer. The optional rear spoiler, as on our test xB, extends the roofline even more.

A new face vastly improves the looks of the xB from head-on, the three-quarter front angle, or side view. The old chin stuck out from under a thin grille, but the new unit is cohesive, still with a thin black grille but it's almost flush with the bumper below it. The headlamps are more shapely now, swept back, although they stick out at the sides, like bubbles. Below the thick plastic bumper under the grille, there's another black grille that sucks in air for the bottom of the radiator. At each side there are thin vertical black rubber things, apparently meant to be faux air intakes for brakes. They lend depth to the otherwise massive and flat valance.

The longer body, wide C-pillar, rounded fender flares and loss of the protruding chin make the xB look less square, from any angle.