I replaced the Panzer with....

Review:

Having never drove one prior to this one, my one-word summary is "useful"

The ride is choppy (partly due to her 17" aftermarket wheels). With my head stuck under there, it appears as though the springs and dampers are stock... and with only 57k on the ticker, probably original. Handling is fair but very forgiving. Acceleration is what you'd expect; 108 hp and 2500 lbs to move, but at least the manual tranny ratios are well-suited to the power band. The 4.27:1 final drive matches the power/weight ratio, but does keep things buzzing around 3000 rpms at 70 mph, but the good news is that road noise drowns out the engine noise :)

Given the crippling potential of the low profile tires on this one, I can only assume that stock setups show excellent steering feel. With the reduced pneumatic trail of her tires and the increased friction, it could tend to make things twitchy, but on-center feel is excellent. The ratio is a bit fast for high-speed highway driving (probably fine on 15") but nothing that can't be solved with 0.25* camber and careful toe settings.

The best dang part about this beast is the ROOM. The seating position suggests "sporty" about as much as Roseanne Barr suggests "sexy" but the driving position is comfortable and visibility is incredible. Nearly vertical windows make almost no glare. Everywhere you turn, there is storage. There are shelves in front of the driver and passenger with he center mounted instrument panel. Then, in front of the passenger there is a cavern at knee level and a large glove box. There is room under each front seat for a small 5-year-old, and under the rear floor there is about a 0.5 cuft space for some handy stuff.

Some photos that show the space:

If you want to downsize the wheels, be advised that Craigslist is chock full of 15" MINI Cooper wheels. They are 100% fit WRT width, offset, center bore, lugs.

The Cooper uses 175/65R15 which are close enough to the stock 185/60R15 to work just fine.

I bought one set with pretty decent tires for $200, and a second set with fair tires for $50.

On the 175/65, the ride is as pleasant as you'll get on this car, without much sacrifice in handling. OTOH, they are so skinny that the car tramlines a bit on grooved highways.

I can't link a pic for some reason. See it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14198428@N03/4750047886/

I run my 16" MINI wheels on my wife's Xb. They work well, but they aren't hubcentric. Xbs have a 54.1 mm hub and a MINI is 56.1. We're running some 195/55/16 Firestones and they ride and handle well for the intended purpose of the car. The only thing I'd change would be the rear seat leg room. It has tons of room back there and I'd rather have the seat a little further forward to give a bit more space in the rear. Otherwise, I love this thing as an everyday, errand runner. It has averaged just over 30 mpg from new, it's as dependable as a fridge, looks decent (in a quirky way!) and can be used for longer trips for the two of us. A good buy if you need that sort of vehicle.

DeadSkunk wrote: I run my 16" MINI wheels on my wife's Xb. They work well, but they aren't hubcentric. Xbs have a 54.1 mm hub and a MINI is 56.1.

Agreed, and perhaps I misspoke. Neither car uses a hubcentric mounting system - that is, neither car uses the hub as a centering device. Acorn nuts do the centering.

The extra 1mm of centerbore radius is essentially meaningless. In fact, if I hadn't known the hole in the MINI wheels was 2mm larger in diameter, I wouldn't have seen/felt/noticed the issue. It is entirely irrelevant here.

That being said, I would add that one could not mount OEM Scion wheels on a MINI, because they wouldn't sit right on the hub. But OEM MINI wheels on a Scion are just fine.