Pardon me... I sort of segwayed this because I forgot to throw in my part about looking at the xD.
I found its interior to be comparable to the xB. I did not take it out on the highway, but the engine did not feel as strong as the 2.4l (obviously - I wasn't expecting it to), but the whole car seemed sort of sapped of snap. Add the dreadful interior quality, and it made me walk the other way.