Thoughts on My First Test Drive of Vibe

[Artvibe7]

Hello everyone! I was able to finally test drive the new Vibe yesterday...and I loved it! I have plans to place an order soon for one, still deciding colors- between shadow and satellite. (I am still mixed about the option for the monotone look, I like it with the trim too!) As for the interior, I think the seats are very comfortable, the knobs and controls are well within reach, and I enjoy the rounded silver "cockpit" feel to the dash. Best of all, I am giddy over all that cargo space! During my test drive of a beautiful Frosty monotone yesterday, I noticed all sorts of looks from fellow drivers. I didn't realize until I was on the road at a stoplight that the Vibe sits much higher than a regular car. It has a nice, safe feel to it. I plan on getting the side airbags installed as well. A few complaints are that when backing up, the view is a bit limited, I will have to rely on my mirrors a bit more than before. The red dash lights are set so deep that they are hard to see, and I wish the speed gage was digital instead of a dial. All in all, I loved my first test drive of the Vibe. I really like this car very much and look forward to having one of my own soon!

[BanditWS6]

Welcome to the board, Artvibe7!Glad to hear you enjoyed the test drive and came away with a positive opinion. Your experience sounds similar to mine...I first test-drove the Vibe on Monday, and really liked the ride and the car as a whole. I'll agree with you about the somewhat limited rear visibility, but that's something to used to. Additionally I thought the steering wheel was hard to position properly (couldn't even find the tilt lever, although the other folks here tell me it does pivot an inch or two). Overall though it feels like a great car. I'm primarily acquainted with low-riding muscle cars so the somewhat taller ride height was new to me, but I liked it. This will be my wife's car primarily, so since she's happy, I'm happy. Good luck with your factory order -- I hear they're pretty backlogged right now, so you will probably have to wait a while. If you don't want to wait in excess of several months, you'd be best to look around the lots of a few dealers for one. But I doubt you'll find many with side airbags installed...and I have not found one in 200 miles that had ABS!Once again, welcome -- this is a great place to learn stuff about the Vibe.
[Modified by BanditWS6, 3:44 PM 6/28/2002]

[Artvibe7]

About that wait for a new Vibe, I had no idea that there was such a delay. The salesperson I talked to said a special order for a Vibe would take only about 10 days. I realize now that he may really have had no idea how long the wait actually is, (he admitted he was new working at that dealership.) Thanks to this site and these posts I am able to prepare myself for the wait ahead!

[NSimkins]

quote:... The salesperson I talked to said a special order for a Vibe would take only about 10 days...This may be the actual "build+ship" time... but the time waiting on the list to be built is the part that will take the time... average from what I have seen is at least 8+ weeks.