Thumbs up/Thumbs down on the 2009-10 Vibe?

[bikeman1]

Hoping this is not a repeat thread mods -- I've been driving around my new 2009 Vibe and making mental comparisons to my beloved 2003 Alpha Vibe (now happily in a new home nearer the beach than WV)Let's all much our lists of features in the new Vibe than we a) like better than the old Vibe (2003-08)b) wish they had not done or left "as was"The Vibe has certainly changed, even though I think Pontiac has been very honest to the tradition. But this Vibe has been tweaked, for sure. Second time Vibe owners who have seen both: What are your favorite "tweaks" ? And what do you miss from the "classic Vibe"?Let's make sure we are comparing apples to apples -- try to focus on actual model changes, not what was on your build sheet....

[bikeman1]

I'll start...Boy the stock interior seats/upholstery on the 2009 is really an upgrade!! I love the firm texture and the dark pattern. Hope it holds up as well as it looks!

[bikeman1]

and one for the side....the blind spot aft of the passenger seat was always there, but now it is larger than before (shrunken side cargo window; shorter hatchback window; and is it just me or does the roofline dive a little lower). Its more of an issue on right-hand merges, for sure.

[ToolGuy]

My dad has an 08 and an 09, both with 1.8L's. Both with wheel covers too.The 08 has more miles on it then the 09 of course but we are not talking tens of thousands. To be exact, I am not sure. I think the 08 has close to 25,000 by now, he drives far for work. According to him, the 09's trans shifts smoother and the interior is quieter. Obviously the 09 trans and fluid are newer then the 08, so that could be the reason. The 08 also has not had a fluid change yet. He also says the A piller on the 09 bends in more and he has to watch his head getting in. Not sure if it is seat placement, but again, according to him. I have not driven the 09, other then moving it out of my driveway. I just have not had time to drive it and he lives in Ohio.

[bikeman1]

Tool Guy - the new Vibe (I have the 2.4) is > quiet in comparison. Probably multiple reasons for this. The engine idle is so low....and perhaps some of the sound came from the venerable roof rails.

[TONY TAT2]

I like my 09 vibe more than the 07 G5 I traded in

[lowincash]

the blind spot on the 09's are pretty bad but you'll get use to it. took me a couple weeks to get use to it and now it's not a problem at all. i did have a few close calls when merging on the fwy when i didn't see the car to my left lol other than that there's nothing much i hate about the 09's. only thing i wish they had were powered seats so i can get the adjustments just right lol

[lowincash]

oh yeah one thing i like on the 09's is that the sunroof has that rubber thing on the side that covers the metal arms and stuff. a nice touch and it also makes it less noisy when you have it on tilt driving at high speeds. that's the first thing i noticed when i first got the car. my previous cars didn't have that on the sunroof and it's noticeably noisier without it. not sure what that thing is called but hope you know what i'm talking about lol

[bikeman1]

more on the old/new vibe comparison after a few weeks in the new saddle.....first, Xm (though I am not sure I'll renew for $12/month... would do it in a heartbeat if they had a reggae channel plus a channel in which Martha Stewart and Howard Stern were on air together....)Onstar I can see where the safety aspects would appeal to some people. I would have rather seen a decent GPS hookup or unit. I wonder what the percentages of "re-ups" are, and how long Onstar will continue

[bikeman1]

now here's a real compared to the old Vibe, not highly publicized....On the old Vibe, when one shut down theengine with the windows down, you had to flip the power back on to raise them (mumble mumble..... for years Ford and others have kept power to the windows after the ignition was off till the door opened. The "new" Vibe fixes this, at least from the driver side. Nice job GM!

[northvibe]

cost aside, I like the new vibe and would buy one. but the 03/04 vibe still looks good.

[vintagegz]

Brakes are much better on the 09, so are the seats. Vision to the back is worse, and miss the pop open rear window on the hatch. I feel the styling was better on the 08, but overall the 09 is the better ride.

[ned23]

As far as the 09 vs. the 04, I miss the pop-open, upper-rear hatch and I miss the extra 12V plug that was in the center console. I preferred the softer driver demand curve of the 04 accelerator to the touchy 09 pedal. Just about everything else is just as good or better on the 09 as the 04:The 09 seats are much more confortable. The 2.4L power is much better as is the 5spd auto transmission. The VVT engine gas mileage (compared to power) is better on both the 1.8 as on the 2.4 when you consider the power boost.The 09 car handles better and the traction control and ABS is a major improvement. The 09 sound system is better. The rear-quartering visability seems about equally marginal to me on either model, but I've made do, ok. I don't consider it a deal breaker by any means.

[BahamaTodd]

Quote, originally posted by bikeman1 »now here's a real compared to the old Vibe, not highly publicized....On the old Vibe, when one shut down theengine with the windows down, you had to flip the power back on to raise them (mumble mumble..... for years Ford and others have kept power to the windows after the ignition was off till the door opened. The "new" Vibe fixes this, at least from the driver side. Nice job GM!Do you have to set it to do this? I can't even control the windows when the ignition is in ACC mode. I love that feature in my truck. I can take the key out and all the accessories (windows, radio, wipers) still work until I open a door.

[bikeman1]

points well made on the seat comfort and the brakes and on the loss of the flip-hatch and certain console changes (I think that moving the console cig lighter down at the base of the shifter was also poor -- try putting a cell charger there....plus that goes in the goofy little tray besides the radio? And I miss the quarter holder left of the wheel (or did that get made an option?)but the 2.4L is really fine -- gas mileage hovers around 30 highway . The throttle is touchy but on the standard anyway, I though that was the clutch Overall, I agree its a great ride.nice analysis ned

[bikeman1]

Quote, originally posted by BahamaTodd »Do you have to set it to do this? I can't even control the windows when the ignition is in ACC mode. I love that feature in my truck. I can take the key out and all the accessories (windows, radio, wipers) still work until I open a door.I didn't do anything to set it so I assume its standard.....

[bikeman1]

Here's a for me anyway. My (as well as most of the new vibes I have seen) were missing side-body trim which is pretty fundamental door protection. Can't see whay that stopped being standard equip. I put an aftermarket color-match trin on for $75 that looks good as well as offering some protection. Good outcome. Hope it sticks. Will put up some photos....Being fond of cladding (my wife once wreaked $1400 worth of damage in backing out of a parking spot and the Vibe cladding showed nary a scratch....) I also wish there was some better protection for and aft on the bumpers....but as others say -- this is a great ride. The 03-08 had magnificent points but the 09-10 would be a keeper too....

[Old Tele man]

...the two 1.8L engines are different!...over all, the '03-'08 1ZZ-FE (1,794 cc) engine seems to get better MPG than the '09-'10 2ZR-FE (1,797 cc) engine...regardless of manual or automatic transmission....and, it appears the transmissions are the same, but with different shifting load points...at least the gears/axles are the same, because the 'RPMs vs. MPH' numbers for our '04 and '09 Vibes are identical (both 4-spd auto).

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »...the two 1.8L engines are different!...over all, the '03-'08 1ZZ-FE (1,794 cc) engine seems to get better MPG than the '09-'10 2ZR-FE (1,797 cc) engine...regardless of manual or automatic transmission....On what do you base that conclusion? The EPA numbers changed (forget what year) due to the way the govt. did the calculation. The 09-10's might be a little heavier due to the added weight of standard multiple airbags, abs and stability control.

[Old Tele man]

...based upon "real-world" tank-fillup numbers collected and posted at different websites, such as EPA, TrueDelta and ecomodder...and, we own both an '04 Vibe and an '09 Vibe, so I have MY own numbers too. We log every tank-fill and every service and have records from "...day one." Done that since my first car (a '53 flathead Ford Crown Victoria)!