GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm very seriously considering the purchase of a Vibe, and I was just wondering if anyone could tell me -- with the rear seats folded down -- the internal length from the rear of the vehicle to the front of the folded down seats. In other words, what is the actual length of the cargo space "floor" with seats down?The reason I ask... and this will probably seem silly... is because I occasionally go on weekend excursions to concerts/festivals and such, and want to know if there is room to throw a small twin air mattress in the back?My other question is for the manual transmission owners. I've heard some people complain that the position of the shifter takes some getting used to. Is it really positioned that much different that a normal stick? Though I test drove an automatic, I didn't really like the way it shifted (or the power) when passing and such, so I think the standard might be a better option.Anyway... Thanks for any advice.?

Hi there:check out: http://home.comcast.net/~vibeowner/camping.htmI personally haven't camped out in mine but I don't think it'd be that bad for an overnight....

The actual 'floor' is pretty short, about 58". But if you slide the front seats forward and tilt the seatbacks up there's a little over 6' of space from the hatch to the back of the front seats. So I think you'd have enough room if you brought along some boxes or a piece of plywood to extend the floor forward a bit. Assuming you wouldn't need to have anyone sitting in the front seats while the mattress is in place.As to the shifter, I didn't find the position to be anything out of the ordinary. I did find the engagement of the clutch to be a bit sudden which made it easy to stall - but not too hard to get used to.

Also---the auto doesn't do too bad w/ passing if you turn the overdrive off...

Yeah, that would seem likely. Unfortunately, I didn't even notice the overdrive disable button until I after my little stretch of highway testing. The dealership I was at is nice in the sense that you have some stop-and-go traffic on the main street, some twisty country roads about a mile away and some nice open 4-lane right nearby too.I was quite surprised by the way it hugged the turns on the back roads, and pretty satisfied with low speed acceleration. It was just that punching it at above about 45mph seemed pretty wimpy.... not that it's a big deal, as I'm no speed demon... but I live in a major urban area where sometimes (for better or worse) you need to be able to jump on the accelerator to merge into beltway traffic, etc.I really wish I had noticed the overdrive disable button on the gear selector earlier... I didn't have time to take it back out on the highway after discovering it.So you think the automatic idoes OK with the overdrive off when accelerating from above 45-50mph?Anyway.... Thanks for the reply.

58" is pretty short... as I'm almost 5'11" (71")... As long as you can get about 6' of room to the front seats, it might just work out. I come from a family of wood workers, so I could easily bribe a relative into to building me a fold up "platform" of sorts... cut to fit into the area to create a nice 6' flat surface.Of course, no one would be in the front seats at the time. It would just be nice to be able to crash in the back overnight, maybe 2 or 3 times a year. Of course, the Napier "Sportz Dome To Go Tent" seems like a pretty cool item too... If I do secure myself a Vibe, that tent is one of the top items on my "addons" list.... my current tent is falling apart anyhow.. Thanks for the feedback... It's greatly appreciated.

as for the shifter: yes it is strange. It's actually the reason I didnt buy a GT. While in 1st and 2nd gear, the shifter knob rubs against my right knee.

I'm actually surprised someone said the vibe had low rpm acceleration.I find the opposite.The Vibe's engine makes most of it's power in the higher rpm's.I've had to sleep 2 of us in the back of the Vibe when we were camping,not a huge amount of room but it can be done.

> I'm actually surprised someone said the vibe had low rpm acceleration.> I find the opposite.The Vibe's engine makes most of it's power in the higher rpm's.Yeah... I'm fulling willing to admit that I didn't really have enough time with the car to get a really accurate feel for things; a 20 minute test drive can only tell you so much. I didn't mean to say that the Vibe had good low rpm acceleration, I meant that say that accelerating from 0 to 20mph seemed to have a bit more punch than accelerating from from 45 to 65mph... for example. Of course, I was in an automatic where I hadn't yet discovered the overdrive disable button. My current car is a 4 speed automatic with a 3.1 V6 which has pretty flat acceleration from 0 to 65. But in overdrive, it too has lousy passing acceleration -- until it finally gets around to figuring out that it needs to drop down a gear. So unless I'm already on the highway in light 60-70mph traffic, I usually don't bother with overdrive. (Ironically, I get better gas mileage this way too.)I'll also admit that I was pushing the Vibe a little bit harder in the test drive than I probably would in "real world" driving. BTW, do you have an automatic or a stick? I've become pretty convinced that my next new car will be the Vibe... I just need to decide on the auto or the stick.... I suppose I should test drive a manual before making any real decisions, but I have not yet had that opportunity. I think I may just be a bit bit biased against automatic transmissions matched with 4 cylinder engines. Having driven numerous other cars with similar sized engines, I always found a manual provided for a much more satisfactory driving experience... But I really should take another test drive.(Maybe next time I'll drive my girlfriend's automatic 2002 Cavalier to a dealership... I'm sure a manual Vibe would seem like a genuine sports car by comparison. ) > I've had to sleep 2 of us in the back of the Vibe when we were camping,> not a huge amount of room but it can be done.That's pretty much what I was looking for... something where it's at least possible to sleep (somewhat comfortably) in the back. Especially on a simple overnight somewhere, where setting-up/tearing-down a tent might not be worth the time or effort. Anyway... thanks for the feedback. It's appreciated.

I have an auto.But I am not stock with a few mods.I know what you mean about the stick with a 4cyl.For reliability I would go for the auto,but you do give up a little performance.Like I said in my earlier post,all my power is from the mid range up so I was surprised you thought it had good lower end power.If you think it's good,than that's all that matters. .I have a slept in the vibe when we get caught in a major rainstorm when we are camping.I have a twin air mattress that fits in,it's tight though,but It's way easier than lugging a tent around,plus you get to snuggle up with your partner. .

We have one of each (our daughter's is a 5-spd manual and my wife's is an automatic). I don't notice much difference in the performance which was a bit of a surprise since I've also generally found that small engines work better with manual transmissions. Definitely find a manual one to test drive before you make any decision. Although I've gotten used to it, I still don't find the clutch in the Vibe to be as nice to operate as the one in my '87 Nova. And reports here seem to indicate that it may not last as long either (almost 170000 miles in the Nova/Corolla on the original clutch).

wow.. precisely the answer i had been looking for so many days.. and spent lots of time searching up if i could find some answers, technical drawings of the interior or anything like it.. finally it seems i got my keywords correct .. and with your answers it makes the vibe the ultimate car in my opinion.. something you can live off completely.. the only thing else you might need is supply of fuel to keep the 110v socket working and supply you with shakes and toasts (i am assuming it is good enough for that.. am i correct?)length more than 6' works for us.. any inputs on how wide it is? i read that you have done this earlier with 2 people.. still any figures would be welcome..we have been considering a vibe too.. and we will definitely buy one sometime in the future.. for now we're considering a good priced elantra to start off as our first car.. and when we do buy it, it'd be for life.. which leads me to my next question.. what is the life of the vibe? might be interesting to see what is the maximum miles anyone has recorded on their odometer yet.. thanks

Well I just got back from hauling 3' x 5' cement board back there, and there were a few inches to spare on the sides.I have slept in mine while mountain biking, I put my pillow on the passenger seat back folded flat. I am 6' even, could sleep two in a pinch, but would give up some comfort. btw the antifatigue mats work great for sleeping too.

I thought for sure that if you folded the passenger seat down flat, you could get 8' 2x4's in with the trunk closed??? Kinda like a PT Cruser... ?

Quote, originally posted by infoblues »might be interesting to see what is the maximum miles anyone has recorded on their odometer yet..our odometers will only go up to 299,999 and then stop counting. you can use the trip odometers after that. there is one member here that has a taxi service, and their vibe hit it's max, and is still running strong with just the routine maintenance. here's the link to that member's post: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=23466btw, welcome to genvibe

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »I thought for sure that if you folded the passenger seat down flat, you could get 8' 2x4's in with the trunk closed??? Kinda like a PT Cruser... ?i've put 8' pieces of wood in the back of mine with everything closed, i just had to fold the front passenger seat down. if i needed to leave that seat up for any reason, all i'd hafta do is open the hatch glass, and they'll fit fine. i might be able to get the wood in with the front seat upright if i load it diagonally, but i didn't try thatEXTRA BONUS: when the hatch glass is open, it acts like a spoiler, which gives you extra downforce resulting in a 42 hp gain because it pushes the vehicle closer to the ground, so there's not as much air to cut through j/k ok enough ricer talk for today

Thanks for the welcome and the answers.. I am excited to be part of this group... now moreso because I have reason to be.. am a Vibe owner myself now ... the elantra thing did not work out.. and in the past few hours we sealed the deal for a certified used frosty white 2004 Vibe FWD with 25k miles.. am very excited.. my wife sealed the deal.. and I am still a week away from laying my own eyes on it... cant wait..