An Economobile by Any Other Name

[dutchvibe]

An intresting take on the Matrix and Vibe form a Washington Post staff writer.http://www.washingtonpost.com/....html

[CoolAKid]

Thanks for posting that. It made for interesting reading.My '06 Vibe was the perfect choice for me. I'm in my 50's, own three dogs, and do some occasional moderate cargo hauling. I try to be reasonably environmentally conscious, not to mention enjoying saving a bit of money when I pull up to the pump.My Vibe gets 33-34 mpg highway. The fold flat rear seats are perfect for hauling the dogs, or any other kind of cargo. I love the rear glass that opens independent of the gate. I use the (small) roof rack as the base for hauling my 14 foot canoe. I'm fairly tall, and even with the driver's seat almost all the way up, I have headroom to spare. I find the front seats extremely comfortable. And to top it all off, the Vibe looks kind of sporty. Which even though that doesn't top my list of priorities, I'm not so old that I don't appreciate that little fact.I test drove several other vehicles before purchasing my Vibe, including the Toyota Yaris, the Scion XA, the XB, and the Dodge Caliber. The Vibe was an easy choice, though I was abit taken with the XB in a weird kind of way. But all in all, I don't know that I could have come up with a more suitable car for my purposes if I had designed one myself. I love my Vibe!

[VivaVibe]

Another irrational review that makes no sense. If the reviewers chosen were the econo commuter type, then why did they review the sportier version of the car? Shouldn't they have been driving the base model without the sport suspension, etc? Or chosen reviewers that were interested in the added features?I might add, I don't think the designers were trying to make a sporty car. What they aimed for was an econo-utility vehicle cross-over, and added the sportier options for those that want the advantages of econo with a little more handling and umph. It may be the marketing that is off, not the design.However, I do agree with his premise that makers would be better served designing cars that maximize their segment. i.e. econo cars that are the most economical, sports cars that are the most sporty, luxury cars that are luxurious, ute vehicles that are truly useful, etc. It think they tend to include too much in each category. There was a time when a truck was for work, and didn't come with so many comfort and sport features. If they want to offer options, fine. But, that should not detract from the basic idea and design of the car.

[prathman]

Quote, originally posted by VivaVibe »Another irrational review that makes no sense. If the reviewers chosen were the econo commuter type, then why did they review the sportier version of the car? Shouldn't they have been driving the base model without the sport suspension, etc? Or chosen reviewers that were interested in the added features?I might add, I don't think the designers were trying to make a sporty car. What they aimed for was an econo-utility vehicle cross-over, and added the sportier options for those that want the advantages of econo with a little more handling and umph. It may be the marketing that is off, not the design.I agree that it seems silly to choose the sportiest version of a car to test and then complain about it having sporty features. But I also think the marketing folks influenced the design in ways that may well have been counterproductive. The Matrix/Vibe were clearly marketed at a much younger demographic than actually ended up buying the cars. That led to styling them as cross-overs with relatively big wheels and a high but steeply sloped roofline. But they're really Corolla station wagons and might well sell better to their actual (as opposed to envisioned) market with smaller (14 or 15") rims for a smoother ride (and less expensive replacement tires) at the expense of some handling , lower height for better aerodynamics and economy, and less of a roofline drop at the back for more wagon-like cargo space.

[jake75]

So this "Warren Brown" thinks the Vibe/Matrix were intoduced in the 2000 model year and both are made in the same NUMMI California plant. Don't these writers do any research?