Vibe - Surf Boards - WSJ

[jake75]

"ME & MY CAR - Jonathan Welsh 5-28-08A few weeks ago Chris Peterson of Plainfield, Conn was looking for trucks, SUVs or wagons that could carry surf boards while getting close to 30 mpg. After recommending small pickup trucks with fuel economy that fell well short of the target, I received notes from several readers who said I had overlooked the Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe. They were right."I was one of the readers who sent him that comment. This guy probably makes decent bucks writing this column and appears to have a somewhat limited comphrehension of the vehicle choices available.

[waveresponder]

lol..it doesnt take that much effort to look up what vehicles are being offered nowadays...

[Whelan]

Somehow I don't think he will be able to pull 30mpg with the air drag of surfboards.

[jimincalif]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »I was one of the readers who sent him that comment. This guy probably makes decent bucks writing this column and appears to have a somewhat limited comphrehension of the vehicle choices available. Interestingly, it was in reading this same WSJ column back in 2003 that I first learned of the Vibe. I don't recall if Welsh was the author at that time.

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »Somehow I don't think he will be able to pull 30mpg with the air drag of surfboards.We're talking about folding the front seat down and carrying the surf boards inside. My recollection is that this is no longer a feature of the base 2009.

[prathman]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »Somehow I don't think he will be able to pull 30mpg with the air drag of surfboards.A surfboard should be able to fit inside, but even on the roof I wouldn't expect it to hurt fuel economy too much. A surfboard is at least somewhat aerodynamic and I got 32 mpg driving with a boxy couch on top of the Vibe along with having the inside packed from floor to ceiling. Sidewinds sometimes made things interesting.And even avid surfers are likely to drive more miles without the surfboard than with it. Buying a big vehicle for the carrying capacity you only need some of the time seems wasteful. Options like roof racks, small utility trailers, or even renting a vehicle can take care of unusual cargo while letting you drive something more economical the rest of the time.

[lovemyraffe]

Last summer I had 2 kayaks on top of my Vibe and got 38 mpg for the trip. About 50% on the freeway.