Mileage was not too bad, but the tank is small so you have to fill it pretty often. Seats were comfy. The 115volt outlet is handy for your cell phone charger but the little door gets in the way of the power pack. The radio has too much bass and no treble, at least an aftermarket radio can be fitted, although different speakers would be good enough.

Brakes were really good, even in the rain. I drove at 80 in a rainstorm and it was very well behaved and stable. I don’t care for the motorcycle inspired dashboard but that is just my opinion. Speedometer was off by 3 miles per hour, at any speed. 90 on the clock was really 87 on GPS.

This car has lots of great places for french fries in the various compartments in the dash, great for McDonalds runs.

The rear door tends to hit you in the head, due to it’s shape and where the pivot points are. Anyone who opened and closed the door found out the hard way.

I think it si a good car but I would buy the Toyota version just for the name to protect resale. As unfair as it seems, the Vibe will probably resell less than the Matrix, for the sued shoppers the Vibe is a good choice since you get a Toyota for a Pontiac price. Avis rents them so check out their used sales.

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but several years ago I remember seeing the 4-year residual values of a Vibe being 56%, while the Matrix was 63% or so. That’s the power of branding on fairly identical cars!

My guess is the differences are due to sampling error and/or variations in buyer demographics and driving style.

Couldn’t help but ponder what my life would be like if I rated vehicles for a living.

A car rater covering the Vibe would make me a…

VibeRater.

It’s bad in that GM plays the same old rebate shell-game to make it appear that their version of the Matrix is a good deal (a little research and comparison with similiarly equipped vehicles reveals that it’s not). So new Vibe buyers take a big hit on depeciation simply because their erzatz Corolla wears a Pontiac badge.

Of course, this goes back to ‘good’ for used car buyers in that it’s possible to get a used Vibe for less money than a Matrix of the same vintage. Some of the most reliable, best deals on used cars have been the GM-branded Corollas, be it a Nova, Prism, or now, Vibe.

I once knew a guy who had an ‘86 Chevy Nova that I think paid maybe $500 for it a decade ago. The last I heard, it had over 250,000 miles and was still running (although I think he was having trouble with the brakes).

Granted the scion is more of a box and has an impractical center dash, it has more bang for the buck.

“Majority of commentors always mentioned Mazda and compare it another car. It is like comparing Pepsi,Coca Cola, Sarsi,RC,Mountain Dew,Dr Pepper and etc etc. They all taste different and people who buys them like them and it’s their money.”

If you don’t understand the reasoning for comparing one car against another, have you learned nothing from this site? Seriously, how do you know how good one car is unless you compare it to something else? There must a basis for acceptability. That basis generally comes from a class average. How do you get to the average? Comparisons.

Many of us who own Mazdas like to talk about them. Own one and you’d understand. I have an ‘02 Protege5 (5-speed, BTW) with nearly 50K miles and I’ve not had a single mechanical issue. None. Contrast that to our other vehicle, the Ford Freestar, which keeps us on a first name basis at the dealership, and it’s clear why we get excited to talk about our Mazdas.

I don’t think we even really disagree much. I am always much relieved to get back to my 3 from the Vibe. But I’m not sure it’s a fair comparison. The 3 is designed around the driving experience, while the Vibe, umm, isn’t.

I was taken aback by your hatred of the Vibe,but now I just see that you hate any cars that are poorly executed. I can sympathize with that. This is certainly the place to rant against crappy cars. I just don’t think the Vibe deserves pure hatred. Really, it’s not that bad.

Getting close to time for a new car, though…Have to check out the CX-7….

Thanks for the feedback. The Vibe has 27% less displacement than the Mazda3, so I would hope it would get better gas mileage! The engine is not the worst I have ever driven (that prize might be won by my wife’s saturn Ion ecotec).

Again, and I’m sorry but I’ve said this 3-4 times now, I am not commenting on it’s ability to traverse space and time and require no maintenance (reliability) or it’s miserly fuel consumption. I am commenting on it’s design coherence, or lack thereof. And not in the art department. I mean the individual parts.

Regarding the Prius vs Vibe pricing, my comment was: “is not to get people to cross-shop the Vibetrix and Prius; it’s merely to point out that the Vibe has equal acceleration to a similarly weighted and sized hybrid.”

There are many automotive disasters out there. My father’s Toyota Tacoma is one. Between the bench seats that need to be pulled up to the chinsy rubberized dashboard (god forbid your father is 5′7 and you are 5′10′….cause you be eating dashboard, boy!). The 2.7 liter (4-cylinder, mind you) tied to yet another ridiculous toyota 4-spd automatic. It’s 4×2 personality.

But above and beyond all that, the fact that it’s a pickup truck that, coming from the factory, can not have a hitch attached to it because the bed section does not have the proper framing. You need to get that framing installed (~$900 MSRP).

Listen, I consider my in-laws ‘01 or ‘02 Subaru Outback a drivetrain disaster. It’s weak-kneed combustion chamber is tied to a 5-spd manual that crunches, whines, and complains when engaging gears. Oh, and try to get a smooth shift without slipping the clutch god awful. Just try. The clutch engages at a different point every shift, guaranteed. It’s gotta be a special feature to “keep ya guessing after all these years”. Worst-transmission-ever.

I can go on and on. There are certain cars that are disasterous for everyday driving in my opinion, and deserve a very low rating. It’s not to knock on their ability to reliably transport human and inanimate objects from place to place, or to say they don’t get good fuel mileage. It’s to say that enough of their parts are so sub-par in comparison to their modern equivalents that, to paraphase an earlier comment, falls somewhere between “I never want to see it again” and “I don’t like it”.

My test drive of the Vibe left me feeling that way. Everytime I drive my wife’s Saturn Ion, I feel that way. Everytime I hear the clutch slip like crazy in my in-laws Outback, I feel that way.

And that’s why I’m ranting in a comments section on thetruthaboutcars.com

Hi, my name is Joe O. and I have an addiction.

I don’t want to try to be the great defender of Vibes. I’ve already stated that I wouldn’t want to drive one every day. But there are much worse products out there. You say the engine belongs in a graveyard, and that it can’t haul the 2800 pounds. But it gets class leading mileage and is reliable. I’m sorry, but when I see what some modern engines, including my own 2.3 in my Mazda, get for mileage, I have to say the Vibe’s engine is fine. My wife could care less if it takes 10 seconds to hit 60.

I don’t notice any particular creaks or groans. I’m sure there are some, but 60k of Milwaukee freeway driving will make a BMW lose a few screws. As for the plastic cargo area, ours came with a spiffy mat. I’m sure the plastic under there is as shiny as the day we bought it.

As for the price? Please, this is a GM product. If you can’t find at least 2k of incentives, you aren’t trying. Try to get a fat rebate on a Prius.

A disasterous design? Is it pretty? No, but disasterous is pretty strong. My company has Ford Focus wagons for fleet use. My God those things are horrible. If a Vibe is a disaster, a Focus is an atrocity against humanity.

Anyway, as offerings from the Big 2.5 go, this is not so bad. True lumps like the Grand Am and Cavalier have gone away, but the Vibe is still no where near the worst thing coming out of GM.

Sorry I didn’t provide a link for that edmunds article. Anyway, I’ll restate and say that it’s possible for the 128 HP Vibe to hit 0-60 in 10 seconds (as you stated) with the 5-spd manual, though I think it’s closer to 12 seconds with the automatic.

Again though…most Vibes, as optioned to the modern standard, would come in closer to 19-20k (after rebates).

My point was that a brand new prius costs slightly more, but offers far superior fuel economy, not-too-dissimilar hauling capacity, and equal acceleration. This is not to get people to cross-shop the Vibetrix and Prius; it’s merely to point out that the Vibe has equal acceleration to a similarly weighted and sized hybrid.

If you have driven the Vibe in auto format, I believe you would understand my sneering derision. It is a combination best left in the museum of unnatural history.

Joe

Here’s a quote from edmunds.com (insideline) on their full test of a ‘03 Vibe GT 6-spd (the 180 HP 1.8 liter):

“Pontiac claims the Vibe GT will scamper to 60 mph in the “low eight second range”; that’s not Mustang GT territory, but it is enough to give some sport coupes a run for the money.”

Now….subtract 52 horsepower, add a terribly geared 4-spd power-sapping slushbox, and you get a 0-60 time more around 12 seconds.

I am not comparing the Vibe to the HHR, PT, etc….but I understand your comments. Those vehicles, though I have not driven them, would probably receive equal derision.

Again, my counterpoint is not about whether or not the Vibe retains value or is reliable and economical transportation. Those things are more fact than opinion. My counterpoint is that it is a terrible choice in today’s market for all of the reasons named above.

By the way, your priced out version has manual windows, door locks, and exterior mirrors. You do not have a sunroof or keyless entry. You are riding on hubcaps. You do not have stability control; you may or may not have a CD player.

16,400 without the things I just named? C’mon now.

BEAT – I drive a 6-spd Honda Civic SI, and my wife drives a Saturn Ion 5-spd (of which I would also give 1.5 stars). Your comments seem fairly in ignorance about the auto vs manual wars of nowadays. A few points:

1. Some automatics get better gas mileage than their manual counterparts. Case in point: the 06+ Honda Civic’s automatic gets better highway fuel mileage. Why? It is a higher gear ratio for highway cruising.

2. Plenty of modern automatics offer better acceleration than their manual counterparts. Also, I find that plenty offer better “real-world” acceleration. For me, I’m so busy taking my time rev-matching (up and down) that I’m not in any rush when swapping cogs on a daily basis.

3. Driving a manual in traffic can be rough, depending on the car. My car has very herky-jerky characteristics at low engine speeds due to poor drive-by-wire programming and very tight gear ratios. A toyota corolla is quite the opposite.

4. Again, it has become fairly standard for modern manuals to allow user control over which gear is selected, so it is no longer a “weather advantage” to own a manual. Anyone can drive safely in snow; it just takes some common sense.

I’ll leave it there.

Joe O.

What is good about manuals”
1. It save on gas
2. accelerate better than Automatic
3. Misconception about driving a manual in traffic is terrible. (drive like a truck driver meaning don’t tail gate).

4 it is faster than a Howling Automatic and you can control your car during snow storm.

5. You don’t have to race to get to the red light which is a very common driving style of Americans

6. If you drive a manual you are a better driver according to State Police.

They are good products Period. What else do they have to prove?

Majority of commentors always mentioned Mazda and compare it another car. It is like comparing Pepsi,Coca Cola, Sarsi,RC,Mountain Dew,Dr Pepper and etc etc. They all taste different and people who buys them like them and it’s their money.

I rarely comparison Hyundai,Kia,Opel, Mitsubishi,Alfa Romeo,Lotus, Bentley, Rolls Royce etc etc…these cars sells like hot cakes all over the world but here in USA they are being snob and kick/shoved all over the place

I’m mostly not seeing how the Vibe’s engine warrants such venom. Even with the four-speed automatic, instrumented road tests peg the 0-60 time between 8.5 and 10 seconds. It’s thrashy, and I wish Pontiac didn’t try to mask the modest HP with abrupt tip-in, but it’s certainly par for the class. Consider the alternatives: the HHR’s bucolic 2.4, the PT’s gas-sucking 2.4, the Caliber’s even weaker, thrashier 1.8…

Typical buyers might care more about fuel economy, anyway, which tops the compact hatch class: 30/36 with 5-speed or 29/34 with auto, by the EPA’s old reckoning. To do better, you’d have to stump up a few grand more for a Prius, or buy something from the next size class down.

I always figured that the reason GM priced the Vibe slightly above the Matrix was because Pontiacs never sell for MSRP, while Toyotas sometimes get away with it. Padding the pre-rebate bottom line, in other words. Anyway, I agree that the Vibe is fairly pricey for what it is, especially since ABS and other “musts” are optional. But it’s also dead-nuts reliable and holds its value reasonably well, which must be factored into the value equation (to my mind, it works out to about class-average).

The interior plastics are indeed hard and shiny, but again, it’s relative. The insides of the Focus and Caliber are far flimsier. A bigger issue for me is the goofy arms-out, legs-tucked driving position inherited from the Corolla.

Regarding that plastic load floor: a conventional fabric cargo mat is a $60 accessory. It should be standard, of course, but at least Pontiac did the wipe-clean thing right: they covered the rear seatbacks in the same material. The Dodge Caliber leaves the seatbacks trimmed with fuzz, defeating the purpose of the plastic load floor when you actually transport something messy back there.

Priced out as I would buy the Vibe (with a stick and ABS), Edmunds tells me to expect a $16,388 tab. Naturally, I’d spend the extra $1,200 on a similarly-kitted Mazda 3 hatch. But for people who care more about cargo space and MPG (the Vibe does markedly better on both counts), I’m seeing a relevant product here. A base Forester costs thousands more and gets worse mileage, while subcompacts like the xD and Fit have less much less cargo space.

You’ve stated my case well. I agree, it appears to be a reliable and economical solution to needing a 4-door hauler. It’s the whole Point A to Point B argument:

For those who just want a Point A to Point B car, there are lots and lots of solutions for them. My brother, God bless him, drives a 94 Subaru Impreza. It no longer goes into park (he leaves it in neutral and puts the parking brake on), it rattles to death, and it looks like crap. But it gets him to his job and back, and various errands, and that’s all he cares about. Why is it a piece of crap car if it does that?

And that is the mentality you seem to be approaching the Vibe with…

Me, I look at the Vibe and see an engine that belongs in the automotive graveyard (though the engine itself is not too terrible). The transmission is 1970’s technology. Slow to shift down, eager to shift up. 4 speeds, with ratios wider than the grand canyon. Uninspired. Insipid.

And when it’s put into a 2800+ pound car, the Vibe, it’s a combination of disasterous proportions.

Point in case: The Prius, approx 21k base price, comes better equipped, gets much better gas mileage, accelerates faster, and has not-too-dissimilar hauling capacity (it’s a hatchback and it’s seat folds). It’s drivetrain is a masterpiece of technology in a similar price range.

The interior: Now, many people don’t mind hard, ugly, shiny, black plastic. And the Vibe has that in spades. But do you want a car that’s full of very thin, fairly flimsy, hollow plastics? Because that’s a recipe for creaks, rattles, gouges, scratches, poor fits, and other bad things that happen to cheap cars as they age.

Next…when you have a big hatchback, with lots of cargo area, you don’t want cheap hard plastic loading area. Yes, it’s durable, and it wipes clean easily (when it’s not scratched up from use). But it makes a lot of racket when you leave stuff back there, or have it loaded. It scratches and looks like crap when actually used regularly.

Take a note from Subaru or some other manufacturers. Use durable rubber flooring and carpeted walls…or just carpet it all in something medium gray or darker and thick pile. It lasts better, functions better (it also holds your stuff in place moreso), and it looks decent after 60,000 miles of use.

My absolute despise of the Vibe comes from the asking price for what is delivered. In today’s world, it is unreasonable to ask people to pay this amount of money for this level of product. I don’t care about the eventual discounts….why not just price it 3k less than MSRP to begin with?

The Vibetrix is a cheap, uninspired, disasterous design of a car too horrid to pawn on your worst in-law as a suitable alternative to modern-day transportation.

If you doubt me in good faith, I beg you to price one out as YOU would buy it and then drive 3 of it’s competitors at the same price point. Just for giggles, try out the Mazda 3, Subaru Forester or Outback (the current 2002/2007 Subaru Impreza has enough of it’s own problems, though it’s better overall). The Scion xA or xB for less money.

No one deserves to buy or to be sold a piece of crap (as a new car). The Vibe is a remnant of a time best left behind and I applaud it’s nearing demise.

Joe O.

We wanted to test drive the Pontiac Vibe, but the Pontiac dealer wasn’t so enthusiastic about it and said it’d be the same experience as the Matrix. Instead, they wanted to sell me a Magnum (hello? I’m here for a economy hatch, not a station wagon). So we left…

The Ford dealer didn’t let me drive the car (the sales person did) and gave us something close to $7000 CDN discount (less than $19000 for a fully loaded Focus). I didn’t want to buy a Focus anyway since I had heard of its poor quality and reliability, but I still wanted to get a feel for it. The steep discounts was quite tempting. To this day, I don’t regret my decision, especially every time that I see a focus hatch from behind and see how the lid and the bumper don’t align on the left side.

The Protege5 was produced from mid 2001 to mid 2003. It is a fine used car with awesome driving dynamics (some say better than the 3), but I wanted the extra oomph, better brakes, 17″ rims and slightly better interior of the Mazda3. Combined with low depreciation of the Protege5 (it was hard finding one for sale in the first place) and low interest rates we decided to go for the Madza3.

I think the Matrix actually looks better than the Vibe. I thought the original Vibe was quite sporty looking while the revised model was just an abomination. However, the revised Vibe sold much better than the original, so I guess I have a different taste than the general public. Still, I think both cars look better than the Nissan Versa (which is just fugly).

Anyway, to us the worst part of the Matrix (Vibe) was the loud engine noise which sounded like a chain saw. Even the Mazda Protege5 was a quieter car than the Matrix. The Mazda3 engine just wants to be revved in the 3500-6000 zone (where the VVT kicks in) while Matrix was just awful at anything above 3000 rpm. Note that while the 1.8L engine is slow and loud, it’s quite good on fuel economy.

However, the Matrix cargo area seemed a bit larger than the Mazda3. We’re small people and can fairly comfortably sleep in the hatch with the rear seats folded down (hence the hatch preference; makes for fun short camping trips). My wife also liked the full hard plastic cargo area of the Matrix which is supposed to protect the interior better against heavy equipment.

I think the Matrix (Vibe) interior and driving position is more like a minivan or a truck. I’m not really fond of having the gear shift lever that high and far away from me either.

I think with all of it’s short comings, these cars are still quite good compared to many others in their class (Hyundai/Kia, Chevy, Nissan and Chrysler offerings) even after being neglected for so many years. There are a lot of Matrix/Vibes (more Matrix than Vibes) here in Vancouver, Canada. Perhaps people buy them for their reliability rather than looks, power and driving dynamics.

Oh, 41k later and I still love my Mazda3 and (ab)use it every day to and from work with zero problems.

Now, lest you think that’s just more TTAC anti-domestic groupthink I’ll give you my latest reason why: the G6. A good friend of mine is the sales manager for the local Pontiac dealership. When I was in the market for a car a few months ago, he was willing to give me a great deal on a demo that had been driven exclusively by the dealership’s owner. My girlfriend and I test drove it for about 30 minutes and we agreed it was one of the worst modern (say, 2000 and up) cars we’d ever been in. I can’t believe that thing actually gets passable reviews. And don’t even get me started on past Grand Ams and Grand Prixs I’ve driven, or my best friend’s old problem-a-day Firebird, or another friend’s POS Sunfire…