Pontiac Vibe -2006 - FWD and snow

[catwoman466]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I will be purchasing my Vibe on Friday. Got a great deal, I feel ... the guy won it in a golf tourament and it only has 500 miles on it. It has the sun and sound package, preferred package, and Premium Monotone Package. It is 4spd, with the 2.96 axle ratio. Got it for 15,900, sticker price is over 22,000. It is Salsa Red and a beauty!My biggest and only concern is how it will drive on ice and snow. I live in Kansas City, so we only get usually 10 - 20 inches of snow, and the car comes with All Season Tires, but I'm wondering if anyone could give me their experience or thoughts on driving a Vibe in snow?This looks like a cool site, I'll be coming back often!Thanks,Cathy

[NoIAmTheCheese]

Congrats on Joining!(1st time I've gotten to say that..)I live in Connecticut and go to school in Massachusetts...Personally, I think the Vibe handles prety well in the snow...You just have to be careful that you don't try and push your luck...There is enough power to break loose if you aren't careful...But thats pretty obvious...I've only actually lost control about twice...Once was backing down a very steep driveway with just a powdercoating...I hit the brake a little to hard and started a skid I couldn't stop...The other time I took a turn a bit too hard in packed down snow...P.S. The heater works well...P.P.S. My parents bought me an "Electric Ice Scraper" for Christmas last year (obviously not the top gift), I looked at the thing and it's basically a toaster attached to a piece of plastic (not a good combination). The Heating elelment doesn't even have a cover on it... There is no way I am using that on my car... Am I insane? Has anyone else seen these? Or what...

[catwoman466]

Well, I know you get a TON more snow in CT/MA than we do here, so that's good to hear. Do you have All Season Tires or Snow Tires? And, about the scraper, just tell them you want coal next year! This is my first new car (buying it used, but it is new) and I'm pretty psyched. I drove a 95 Monte Carlo for about 9 years, still love it and its power, so it will be something to get used to a 4 cylinder again. Do you get good gas mileage?Thanks again,Cathy

[catwoman466]

Well, I know you get a TON more snow in CT/MA than we do here, so that's good to hear. Do you have All Season Tires or Snow Tires? And, about the scraper, just tell them you want coal next year! This is my first new car (buying it used, but it is new) and I'm pretty psyched. I drove a 95 Monte Carlo for about 9 years, still love it and its power, so it will be something to get used to a 4 cylinder again. Do you get good gas mileage?Thanks again,Cathy

[catwoman466]

Sorry for the multiple posts...it kept locking up on me! Hopefully my new Vibe won't do that!Cathy

[NoIAmTheCheese]

No... It won't...I have all season...And I want to say I average somewhere around 30mpg...Its probably slightly lower than that...12 Gallon Tank (I think) and I usually fill up around every 300 Miles...(I don't let it drop down to E though)Yeah, I probably should figure the MPG huh...And yeah, at least I could do SOMETHING with coal...Maybe I'll make a heat gun out of the stupid thing...

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by NoIAmTheCheese »P.P.S. My parents bought me an "Electric Ice Scraper" for Christmas last year (obviously not the top gift), I looked at the thing and it's basically a toaster attached to a piece of plastic (not a good combination). The Heating elelment doesn't even have a cover on it... There is no way I am using that on my car... Am I insane? Has anyone else seen these? Or what...I have one. It's a friggen joke. It works better AS a toaster then an ice scraper!

[northvibe]

Hi and welcome to genvibe!i think this tag spray is making me high....euww im never using this again....anyway, My fwd base vibe has the Eagle tires on it (not all seasons i dont think) and I live in duluth MN and it was fine this last winter. At the very worst you just need front winter tires which I will prolly grab some cheap ones on stealies for this upcoming winter. As for mileage, I drive very nonconservatively and get about 28-30mpg. When I drive conservatively I get like 34+.Ragingfish - HAHAH i just saw your quote from house, I love that show!!!

[ToolGuy]

Welcome! I have a FWD Vibe, no snow tires and it handles and drives just fine on snow and ice! It is my wifes car...

[the1stacekiller]

We usually get 2-3 Feet of snow (over the winter here in the GTA) last winter we had maybe 1 week total of snow on the ground.. so a very warm winter... but when it did snow the Vibe handled just fine.. just needs to be driven slower oh and if you do have a long commute in the snow.. I would suggest getting winter tires / rims.. everyone here in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) has winter tires / rims on there Toyota Matrixes that have a long commute. I pretty much see 9 out of 10 Matrixes with winter tires during the winter.. about 6/10 Vibes..cheersMartin

[Mavrik]

my front wheel drive lowered vibe does just fine here in alaska.

[AKLGT]

snow no prob.. ice, well that is tougher. lolusually in the snow, we didn't (neither Mav's vibe nor my old Vibe GT) have any issues. however, in my Vibe GT, in the ice or up hills, i wasn't going anywhere. of course, i also drive 85% of the time in my car, so it will depend on how much driving you do and if on major roads or small roads. Mav drives all major roads that are plowed first before any others, so he had no problems at all. when I had mine, I lived on small neighborhood streets that got plowed last and like i stated earlier, drive 85% of the time in my car to wherever and all over. so, needless to say, even with studded tires, going through a foot and a half of snow (at one time) i didn't fair as well. and really, the snow wasn't too bad, but it was mostly the ice. this was one of the biggest factors when i traded my vibe in for a Subaru Legacy GT last year = AWD.no problems last winter except sliding into a truck (i was driving on my stock tires and NOT winter tires... ya, i should have known better LOL). got some winter tires shortly after and car handled fantastic!if you are just driving to and from work, on mostly major roads, then you should have no problem in the vibe. i lived in Bellevue, NE for 3 years before we moved to AK and i will say their winters are more cold than snow, much like KC. you should be just fine. if you are concerned, then get some good winter radials. congrats!

[GMJAP]

According to the guy in the following post, it does much better in the snow than his friend's AWD Outback, so they always take the Vibe on ski trips:http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...82188

[MRCN RCE]

hey welcome to genvibe i live in southern cali and have only driven with a minimal amount of snow on the ground up on one of the mountains up here and was fine. but like cheese said, you'll be ok as long as you're careful.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by GMJAP »According to the guy in the following post, it does much better in the snow than his friend's AWD Outback, so they always take the Vibe on ski trips:http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...82188his buddy's outback must have been crap then. no way in hell i'd have gotten my vibe gt in all it's glory up here:and even when i got half way up to the ski slope when Phil came to visit me back in Nov 04, we started sliding DOWN backwards. scared the crap out of me!like i said before... usually on flat roads and snow, no probs. but ice or going UP a hill = bad.

[GMJAP]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »his buddy's outback must have been crap then. no way in hell i'd have gotten my vibe gt in all it's glory up here:But his isn't a GT. And you've admitted in other posts that your own performance mods made it less drivable in the snow. The less torque of the base will be much better.catwoman / Cathy - it sounds like it came loaded as a prize package - so there's a good chance it has Stabilitrac/Traction Control (new on 2005+ models). Check that out - if so it will also help you a lot.

[drunkenmaxx]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »his buddy's outback must have been crap then.not to mention, ugly as hell!

[AKLGT]

we don't take mav's BASE VIBE in the snow up those hills either.... remember, we owned BOTH base and GT models.. still have the base vibe.however, if you do have stabilitrak, that will most certainly HELP!

[ArcsVibe]

Welcome to the site! We get lots of snow here in Montreal. Invest in a good set of winter tires and you will be fine.

[Atomb]

welcome to the site.the vibe's not bad in snow...but i still think my old VW golf did better in the white stuff....the vibe may be a little 'light' infront and has a tendency to float a bit...

[northvibe]

yeah the vibe is light, i think my sable/taruas handled better in the snow because the big v6 held the front end down. but yea winter tires are a big helper

[BlueCrush]

Yeah, if you have a good set of all season tires you should have no problems at all especially since you don't get that much snow. You should have really no need for snow tires. Just drive safely and you'll do fine.

[808 Vibes]

Sorry I can't help you with the snow, just wanted to say CONGRATS...how exciting!!!!! And Welcome!