I bought one a year ago...despite all the varied opinions about it, who really cares what anyone else thinks of your car?! I sold my 3series BMW to get it. I had a fancy car that had shit for gas mileage & was outrageously expensive to maintain. My Scion was $15K out the door, bought it in about 1 hour and have been happy for a year i've owned it! it gets great gas mileage (i drive about 50 mi a day to and from work) and of course to the DZ. I can get it dirty, scratched, full of junk & don't have to worry about it.
For me, I just wanted a car that I didnt have to worry about (repairs, mileage, etc...) Some people like it, some people hate it, but it's a really fun car to drive. Go test drive one & see how you feel about it. It's only a CAR, people!! And i'm not in high school, nor a "homey" nor anything else but a poor skydiver
Thats my 2 cents!!