Car and Driver Comparison pans the Vibe

[Frosty]

Hey All!Pick up a copy of the latest Car and Driver. The rag trashed the Vibe and Matrix, put it behind the PT Cruiser! I am so glad that I cancelled my subscription. They nitpicked the Vibe to the back of the pack. I will be writing a rebuttal to them. When you read it you might as well! Cheers, Ken.

[neptunevibeawd]

Car and Driver may have bashed the vibe, but Motortrend gave the Matrix XRS a great review. I know it's not a vibe, but it is the sister car to the vibe gt. The two cars that it beat was the protege and the WRX hatchback.

[zeroaxs]

Car and Driver also gave the Vibe a great review on their website. Just go to http://www.caranddriver.com and search for the Pontiac Vibe
[Modified by zeroaxs, 10:10 PM 5/17/2002]

[Fformula88]

I like car and driver because they are not afraid to give their opinion. I am disappointed they didn't like it as much as the others tested, but at least they came out and said why. I certainly would not buy a PT Cruiser ahead of it, but thats just my opinion.They did give the Vibe GT a good review in their first test of the car (not a comparo test) and said they thought it would be a hit.I also read the Motor Trend review... they must have been really impressed with that Matrix to put it ahead of their WRX long term tester.

[CoalMiner]

What I thought was wierd was they compared the base vibe to the Matrix XRS which is the equivlent of the Vibe GT. God only knows what they were thinking when they did that.

[Frosty]

All:Since I made my original post I broke down and bought the magazine. I was particularily interested because the configuration they tested is the same as mine, base Vibe with a 5 speed, so I wanted the performance data. 1. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think the so called testers knew that the "twins" had a height adjustment on the driver's seat. They went on and on whining about the ergonomics and how you don't sit up high enough, were they kidding? What is the big deal. Those of you out there under 5'9" (average) do you find the seat height too low?2. Why were there no kudos or mention of the efficiency of the base Vibe. According to their data the base Vibe hits 0-60 in 8.5 seconds and averaged 31 mpg. That gives it a tie for acceleration and 1st place in the economy challenge. 3. No mention that the Vibe was the quietest in the test. Just that gas cans would rattle around in the back. Give me a break. 4. Not a word about the emergency lane change manoever win either. Just a complaint that the tires give up on the skidpad. Big deal. The easiest item to replace to improve handling are tires. The Matrix XRS's performance would show what the Vibe is capable of . I am going to send the above to Car and Driver's "Back Fires" letters dept. Can someone let me know about the seat height I mention above?Cheers, Ken.

[Frosty]

Furthermore from http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2131.shtml ..... Supportive buckets with manual height adjustment give you a fairly high and SUV-style commanding view of the road. A tilt wheel is standard. Red lit gauges hide deep inside chrome trimmed pods and are easily read at a glance Does this sound reasonable? Cheers Ken.

[mmickk]

My wife is 5'3" and loves the way she can sit up and see in the Vibe. I made the mistake of buying a Bonneville for her a while back, it was a good car but she sit so low in it she could not see the corners and kept cutting corners and scraping wheels. Give it to 'em for us all!

[Frosty]

Here Goes. Watch for this in the next car and driver. Car and Driver: I was very disappointed at the low opinion you had of the Pontiac Vibe in the recent comparison test and surprised that it didn't do better against the Focus and PT Cruiser. Some of your comments aren't consistent with other tests on the Vibe/Matrix. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think the testers knew that the "twins" had a height adjustment on the driver's seat. 5'3" ladies find the visibility excellent. Why were there no kudos or mention of the efficiency of the base Vibe. According to their data the base Vibe hits 0-60 in 8.5 seconds and averaged 31 mpg. That gives it a tie for acceleration and 1st place in the economy challenge. No mention that the Vibe was the quietest in the test. Just that gas cans would rattle around in the back. Not a word about the emergency lane change maneuver win either. Just a complaint that the tires give up on the skidpad. Big deal. The easiest item to replace to improve handling are tires. The Matrix XRS's performance would show what the Vibe is capable of . Was there any consideration for reliability, quality and lineage? Focus owner satisfaction was been quite low. If you were building a car out of a parts bin which bin would you choose? The Neon bin or a Toyota one? Ken Shields, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

[SlamPoet]

Toyota's 1.8-litre VVTL-i engine, which powers the Celica GT-S, Matrix XRS and Pontiac Vibe GT, just won the Best 1.4-litre to 1.8-litre award at Fourth Annual International Engine of the Year Awards ceremony, held at Engine Expo 2002 in Stuttgart, Germany. What award did the PT Cruiser or Ford Focus engine get ?? btw, this is a note from the news:Editor's Note : The International Engine of the Year Awards 2002 are presented by industry magazine Engine Technology International, published by UK & International Press, a British company that receives no advertising or financial support from any car manufacturer or distributor. [Modified by SlamPoet, 12:28 AM 5/29/2002]
[Modified by SlamPoet, 12:29 AM 5/29/2002]