4,000KM (2,500 Mi) Road Trip Report

[Fast Eddie]

Just got back from a six day road trip. Toronto>Detroit>Cincinatti>Louisville>Nashville>Memphis>Little Rock>Memphis>St. Louis>Indianapolis>Flint>Toronto. The Vibe performed perfectly. No little squeaks or rattles, decent passing power, comfortable seating for 8+ hour drive days and handled any hill without problem.Went through some heavy down pours in Tennessee. The whole region was under severe weather/tornado warnings thoughout my trip. I was afraid I would get hit with large damaging hail on my poor little Vibe. Fortunately my itinerary was flexible enough that I kept away from the worse weather. The Vibe handled well in the wet stuff. Loved all the cargo room because I did a lot of shoping now that the Canadian dollar has gone up against the U.S. $. Kept the right rear seat down all the way to give me a better rear view. Love the cruise control. First car I every owned with cruise and would want to do any more long distance road trips without it. The cruise control helped the tempation to speed in the more flat traffic free parts of the interstates. Also since my reason to go down to Little Rock AK was to participate in the Inaugural Little Rock Marathon, I could relax and stretch out my right foot and calf instead of having it pressed against the accerlerator for hours upon hours. The driver seat was also good for a nap when reclined. Good thing I took a pillow with me. Didn't want fatique to lead to an accident with my still relative new Vibe. Picked it up in November and with the 4,000 Km I just put on, the odometer is now at 6,300 Km. One very noticable fact is that I only spotted ONE another Vibe during my whole trip. That right, just one satellite Vibe going the other way on I-75 in Detroit. I did spot a car carrier full of Matrixs lining up to cross the border in Detriot (the Matrix is made in Cambridge ON about 45 minutes west of Toronto), but that dosen't really count. Where are all the Vibe/Matrix hiding in the Plain States? I guess the Vibe isn't all that popular in pickup country. I did spot a Chrysler Pacifica near Lansing MI and again on a car carrier in Windsor and this vehicle has only been out for a couple of months. Other things I observe that the percentage of foreign to domestic vehicles in the south seem to be about 30/70, where in Toronto it's about 50/50. This percentage of foreign/domestic was about 5/95 in Michigan. Saw only a couple of Acura RX300 and now Lexus MDX, while I usually seem at least one or another at every stop light in Toronto. Mitsubishi cars seem as plentiful as any other import in the states I visited, but Mitsubishi just entered Canada last year and are still a bit rare hear. Didn't see any Saab in the States either. Me and my Vibe are going to hoping have a long and happy relationship together. Next trip, maybe in the fall to Des Moines Iowa for another marathon. Need to find some twisty road that were missing on this trip.

[michaelgt]

Fast EddieI have started to see 5-10 Vibes a day in the metro Detroit area. I think the March discounts helped many GM employees (or eligible family members) to purchase. I use my Vibe as my commute car, and my kids love it. This is my best commuter yet!

[Keely]

AtWork, I think you and I with our GTs will be doing a little more passing and a little less cruise control on our road trips! In two weeks, I'm heading down to Moorpark, CA for a field hockey tournament. I'm so looking forward to it, especially after all the positive comments from like Fast Eddie on how comfortable their Vibe is. If I have any interesting pics with the Vibe, I'll be sure to post.

[Big_Red]

My longest trip in my Vibe has been to Montreal and back (1200 km)....but it was a great drive, no complaints.

[Chris]

Hey there At Work... it's sometimes a complaint but, in your case it will be a benefit... remember, the passenger cannot see the dials Just ease the speed up and complain about all the drivers who don't keep up to the speed limit!Happy driving