Is VIBE a good car?

[stavid]

My wife and I are thinking about getting a VIBE. We wanted something with a hatchback and good mileage.
Don't know much about the reliability though.
Anyone on the forum have any good or bad experiences?
What seems to be the concensus about the car in general?
Thanks ahead of time!
Stavid

[cmhj2000]

Be aware this is a Toyota Matrix with a Pontiac badge. Basically the running gear is from the Corolla so that alone should tell you something.

I have an 05 base w/Auto. Only has 30K miles but it has been a good car.

If I behave myself it'll give me mid 30s with no problem on the highway in summer driving. Have seen 36-38 a few times. I run my Amsoil 5W-30 XL, which helped a bit too.

Overall if you like how the car fits you, it should be a good unit if maintained properly.

[jdmccright]

As mentioned, it's a rebadged Corolla and a Matrix twin, so you have the Toyota quality underneath. I've had ours (an '03 AWD) for a few months now and I'll say that it's good for a commuter and around-town car, but I wouldn't choose it for a road trip.

Road noise is noticeably louder than our Camry and Envoy (my preferred road tripper for the family) due to the wider tires and lack of underbody sound deadening material.

Me being nearly 6' tall, the seat position makes me feel like I'm reaching for the steering wheel...again okay for around town but uncomfortable on long trips.

The engine is peppy if somewhat loud and the AWD is a great feature, but it leaves me wanting for more oomph.

The radio/nav system is good but not spectacular. Mine doesn't employ a touch screen, so I'm forced to fiddle with a joyknob to select menu items (please tell me they have touch screen in the new ones!).

I don't know what the new models have done to alleviate the issues I've laid out, but I'm going to say that it isn't the best car in it's class but I'd consider it on Toyota's reliability alone. If they improved in what I griped about then all the better. Decent alternatives might be the Honda Fit, Subaru Forester or WRX, or perhaps the Chevy HHR.

good luck!

[pcjunkie7]

I just got a 2005 Vibe with 72K on it and it is still in great condition besides the CD player doesn't work. I really like it and I'm sure it will be very reliable. If you look at Consumer Guide, the ratings are awesome.

[paudashlake]

the 2009 vibe gets signifigantly less milage than the 04-06 vibe and to me looks plain ugly. The 09 gets around 29 on the highway, about as much as a minivan. The 06 is your best bet with around 35 highway and 30 city.

[nathyrin]

I don't know what you guys are doing to get such bad fuel mileage, but my '07 gets around 40-42 mpg mixed hwy/city. But mines a manual. I just bought it a month ago and I love it. I run a rural paper route and deliver pizzas with it. If I fuel up before I run the paper route and then fuel back up when I get back I've seen 50+ mpg.

[jdmccright]

If you have FWD, then that would be the easy answer to your higher numbers...manual transmission helps, too. AWD sucks some power and has more parasitic losses from friction. And the auto tranny is just poorly programmed.

I will temper what I wrote a while back, the road noise I have is partially due to older tires (crappy Goodyear Eagle RS-A) and some bad wheel hub bearings. But there is still significant road noise.

And now the OEM radio/nav system is being flaky not playing burned CDs properly...very finicky on which CD-R brands work. I attribute this to old tech, but annoying.

Nonetheless, the wife gets Toyota quality, 30-31 mpg, and AWD piece of mind for the price of a Pontiac. I'm not complaining.