Base price: $16,900; GT, $19,900; 4wd, $20,100
Vehicle type: front-engine, rear- or 4-wheel-drive; 5-door 5-passenger wagon
Interior volume, F/R (cu ft) 50/43
Cargo volume, seats up/maximum (cu ft) 19/54
Wheelbase 102.4 in
Length/width/height 171.9/69.9/62.2 in
Turning circle 36.7 ft
Curb weight 2700–3000 lb
EPA city/hwy mpg 25–29/30–36
Fuel-tank capacity/range 11.2–13.9/291–403 mi
Passive restraints driver and passenger front and side airbags
POWERTRAIN
1.8-liter DOHC 16-valve 4-in-line, 123 or 130 hp; 1.8-liter DOHC 16-valve 4-in-line, 180 hp; 5- or 6-sp man, 4-sp auto
SUSPENSION
F ind, struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar
R ind, multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar
BRAKES
F/R vented disc/disc
ABS standard
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PONTIAC VIBE
Although there is ongoing confusion over how to classify such so-called crossover vehicles as the Vibe—car? sport-ute? minivan?—the truth is that all of them are variations of the venerable two-box hatchback design. That is, there’s one small box for the engine and transaxle and one big box for everything else.
But there’s a lot that talented designers can do with a couple of boxes, and we think Pontiac’s stylists gave these joined cubes a snappy and distinctive style. The Vibe shares its architecture with the Toyota Matrix and is built at the same plant in Ontario, Canada. But the Vibe doesn’t look at all like the Toyota and shares almost no exterior sheetmetal with it.
In keeping with its basic tall-wagon profile, the Vibe’s interior offers room enough for four adults to trundle around in comfort and has a nice airy feel, thanks to the high roofline. The front buckets would feel right at home in a Celica GT-S, the upholstery fabric is a high-grade mesh knit that looks as though it’s a few price categories classier, and aside from the familiar Luftwaffe-red backlighting, the instrument panel is mercifully free of the usual Pontiac fighter-jock gingerbread.
The Vibe’s seat-and-cargo setup is minivan versatile. The rear cargo deck has a hard plastic floor that’s far better suited to abuse than carpeting, and the split-folding (60/40) rear seatbacks are clad with the same material.
The wide hatch opening makes it easy to get at cargo, and the glass portion flips up separately. There’s also ample small-object stowage throughout the cabin.
Like the Matrix, the Vibe offers either a 130-hp, base four-cylinder engine or a 180-hp, DOHC 16-valve (GT) aluminum four that comes with a six-speed manual transmission from Toyota’s Celica GT-S. We suspect that most people will be happier with the 1.8-liter base engine; it makes almost as much torque (125 pound-feet at 4200 rpm versus 130 at 6800) as the GT and allows the option of a four-speed automatic transmission. Also, the GT doesn’t offer the choice of all-wheel drive.
However, the GT can do 0 to 60 in 7.3 seconds and covers the quarter-mile in 15.7 seconds at 91 mph. This is respectable by small sports-sedan standards and verges on the phenomenal for a compact wagon.
Like the Matrix, the Vibe is a Corolla underneath, with a front-drive unibody riding on struts up front, a twist-beam axle at the rear (all-wheel-drive models have an independent control-arm setup in back), and anti-roll bars at both ends. Steering is rack and pinion with variable assist. This hardware provides ride quality that’s well within the range of acceptability for a vehicle operating at the fringes of ute-dom.
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