2009 Pontiac Vibe
Don't quibble - We can drive it to work
With the consolidation of UAW Legal Services Offices and resulting transfers, many of us are finding that we have to drive a lot farther to go to work each day. The automobile that was sensible for the purpose a year ago, is now unaffordable. The 2009 Pontiac Vibe should be arriving at your local dealer any day now. The introduction of the revised Vibe is notable because the Vibe is one of the few UAW-built small cars that we are allowed to drive to work under our collective bargaining agreement. (The Vibe's sister under the skin, the Toyota Matrix is another. Other than that, it's just the Ford Focus and the Chevrolet Cobalt/Pontiac G5.) Is the Vibe worth buying?
The Pontiac Vibeand the Toyota Matrix are both built on a Toyota Corrolla platform in the UAW-staffed Nummi plant in Fremont California. While historically, Toyota is known for its persnickity attention to quality, the NUMMI plant has had its share of quality control lapses in the past, so the reliability scores of the Matrix and the Vibe have generally run about average overall. Most of the information below about the Vibe also applies to the Toyota Matrix as well. [CORRECTION 2/12/2008 A UAW REPRESENTAIVE PASSED WORD TO ME THAT THE TOYOTA MATRIX IS NOT BEING BUILT AT FREMONT. UNTIL I HEAR OTHERWISE, YOU SHOULD PRESUME THAT THE MATRIX IS NOT AN "APPROVED" CAR. SH]
The 2009 Vibe is the first major update to the nameplate, which debuted in 2002. Even so, this isn't a ground-up redo. The underlying mechanicals were touched up, and the body was restyled with a little more swoop and less Aztek. As a side effect, the Vibe makes do with a wee bit less room this year than last. The interior was modernized with the requisite chrome-ish metal trim and iPod jack. There's a cool cargo divider in the hatch that should come in handy when you are shopping for groceries.
If there's any element of the Vibe that's disappointing, it's in the powertrain department. The base-model vibe's engine received a mild horsepower boost, from 126 to 132 horsepower, but torque is only up 2 lb./ft from 126 to 128. The added power lines up against an extra 150 lbs of weight (mostly added safety equipment such as airbags all-around), so this car is perhaps not as sprightly as the car it replaces. It doesn't help things that the Vibe may be one of the last new cars to be introduced with a 4-speed automatic transmission. The GT model and AWD model of the Vibe receive a 158 horsepower version of the 2.4 liter engine from the Toyota Camry. None of the Vibe models are class-leaders in fuel economy. The 1.8 liter manual transmission base model is rated at 26/32 MPG. The 158 horsepower AWD is truly disappointing at 19 and 25. It is likely that a Vibe/matrix will have worse fuel economy and performance than the larger Pontiac G6 or Toyota Camry parked next to it on the dealer lot. This will be especially true for the 2009 model year when the G6 is slated to receive a 6-speed automatic transmission for its Ecotech 4-cylinder engine. IMHO, the Vibe probably would have been better off with a GM powertrain.
Still, if you are looking for a handy, small-ish hatchback, and it has to be UAW-made, you might as well start and end your search with the Vibe or Matrix. Ford no longer markets a hatchback Focus in the US. The hatchback versions of the Cobalt/G5 are more sporty than functional, and the Dodge Caliber, despite a few interesting features, doesn't really come off as a quality piece of work.
For more information check out the
Autoblog coverage
carofthefuture blog coverage
Official Pontiac Site (Turn down your speakers, the distorted rap music is very annoying.)
Picture: Pontiac Underground Blog
Edmunds coverage
Don't quibble - We can drive it to work
With the consolidation of UAW Legal Services Offices and resulting transfers, many of us are finding that we have to drive a lot farther to go to work each day. The automobile that was sensible for the purpose a year ago, is now unaffordable. The 2009 Pontiac Vibe should be arriving at your local dealer any day now. The introduction of the revised Vibe is notable because the Vibe is one of the few UAW-built small cars that we are allowed to drive to work under our collective bargaining agreement. (The Vibe's sister under the skin, the Toyota Matrix is another. Other than that, it's just the Ford Focus and the Chevrolet Cobalt/Pontiac G5.) Is the Vibe worth buying?
The Pontiac Vibe
The 2009 Vibe is the first major update to the nameplate, which debuted in 2002. Even so, this isn't a ground-up redo. The underlying mechanicals were touched up, and the body was restyled with a little more swoop and less Aztek. As a side effect, the Vibe makes do with a wee bit less room this year than last. The interior was modernized with the requisite chrome-ish metal trim and iPod jack. There's a cool cargo divider in the hatch that should come in handy when you are shopping for groceries.
If there's any element of the Vibe that's disappointing, it's in the powertrain department. The base-model vibe's engine received a mild horsepower boost, from 126 to 132 horsepower, but torque is only up 2 lb./ft from 126 to 128. The added power lines up against an extra 150 lbs of weight (mostly added safety equipment such as airbags all-around), so this car is perhaps not as sprightly as the car it replaces. It doesn't help things that the Vibe may be one of the last new cars to be introduced with a 4-speed automatic transmission. The GT model and AWD model of the Vibe receive a 158 horsepower version of the 2.4 liter engine from the Toyota Camry. None of the Vibe models are class-leaders in fuel economy. The 1.8 liter manual transmission base model is rated at 26/32 MPG. The 158 horsepower AWD is truly disappointing at 19 and 25. It is likely that a Vibe/matrix will have worse fuel economy and performance than the larger Pontiac G6 or Toyota Camry parked next to it on the dealer lot. This will be especially true for the 2009 model year when the G6 is slated to receive a 6-speed automatic transmission for its Ecotech 4-cylinder engine. IMHO, the Vibe probably would have been better off with a GM powertrain.
Still, if you are looking for a handy, small-ish hatchback, and it has to be UAW-made, you might as well start and end your search with the Vibe or Matrix. Ford no longer markets a hatchback Focus in the US. The hatchback versions of the Cobalt/G5 are more sporty than functional, and the Dodge Caliber, despite a few interesting features, doesn't really come off as a quality piece of work.
For more information check out the
Autoblog coverage
carofthefuture blog coverage
Official Pontiac Site (Turn down your speakers, the distorted rap music is very annoying.)
Picture: Pontiac Underground Blog
Edmunds coverage
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.