GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello, new member here.
And quite possibly a new owner.

My name is Chris. I have a son on the way and currently own a yaris. The Mrs. has a 2 dr car, so I was looking at a car or 2 for either her or me. She wants an SUV, but I don't want her getting anything too big, and she actually likes Aztecs which comes with a 3400 I believe.

If I could have any car, it'd be a Fiero, I'm definitely a Pontiac guy.

But while looking at Pontiac, I just discovered the 09/10 gt vibe. What the heck. These have amazing body lines. Like probably the best out of any hatch I've seen.

Then there's the interior, (removed), gt seats, cockpit dash, and a center console shifter like the 06 civic si!! Hard back seats and more!

The only down side to be would be the engine. Which is the scion tc/2nd gen xb engine correct? Isn't this engine notorious for burning 1qt+ of oil every 3k miles?
I wish Pontiac stuffed a v6 in there. It'd be that much easier to cram a 3800sc into it

I did some googling, but I don't know if what I read was accurate. Done guy said the 5 speed has a plastic housing or something? I'm liking at a 5 speed right now. Is this accurate?
Do these have the oil burning engine?

I was originally looking at g35/37s for speed, but I'd DEFINITELY take a vibe gt over that. Vibe gt is supposedly about as fast as a tc (I've owned a tc) so it's much faster than a yaris.

Any additional info will help. I'm looking to buy soon

The Vibe is essentially a Corolla in sexy hatch form.

It does not drive like a Pontiac. It drives like a Toyota (because it is a Toyota). If you get into this expecting Fiero or even Civic, you'll be disappointed. It's an extremely damped, disconnected sort of driving experience, which is one of the reasons I sold mine and went with an Impreza.

kumquat wrote:The Vibe is essentially a Corolla in sexy hatch form.

It does not drive like a Pontiac. It drives like a Toyota (because it is a Toyota). If you get into this expecting Fiero or even Civic, you'll be disappointed. It's an extremely damped, disconnected sort of driving experience, which is one of the reasons I sold mine and went with an Impreza.

Geez not even a civic huh...
Is there not an aftermarket for the 09? Could I fix a lot of the stuff holding it back?
I mean these look really, really good.
I'd definitely consider a non GT as well.

They're really good cars. Mine took a while to grow on me. I'm only about 6' and it does feel a bit weird to drive. It drives like you're high up but it feels and looks low to the ground. You do feel somewhat disconnected from the road and you get blown around a lot. I have a ton of headroom but my knees either touch the dash or I'm grabbing the clutch with my tippy toes.

Other than that I love mine. The fuel mileage is awesome and the ride is exceptionally smooth. I also use mine to tow a trailer and to haul miscellaneous items around. It can be a great tool.

chriswf wrote:Geez not even a civic huh...
Is there not an aftermarket for the 09? Could I fix a lot of the stuff holding it back?
I mean these look really, really good.
I'd definitely consider a non GT as well.

They do look excellent, which is one reason why I got one. Upgraded from an older Grand Am which I loved. I wanted an attractive, practical Pontiac hatchback.

I sold it about a year or so later.

Take one for a nice long test drive and see what you think. It's pretty quiet, and reliable (though I do hear the 2.4 has the oil problem). I found the seats hard and the ride rough; it gets blown around easily; and it has relatively poor traction. I wanted to love it so much. It's incredibly practical, especially if you live somewhere that never gets snow. Lots of cargo room, a huge hard reinforced plastic flat back deck, and it looks really good outside and in.

I had a 10 GT for about 2-1/2 years and over 40 K miles (77K total) and had zero problems with it. No oil burning or anything. Supposedly that was isolated to early build 09 models, like before November 08 or so. There are several members with them and I don't recall reading of any with excessive oil consumption. I'd still have mine if it was not rear ended.

I really enjoyed the handling of it, but would have preferred a manual trans instead of the auto that mine had. I don't "autocross" or anything, but it was the best handling car I've owned in 35 years. Didn't accelerate like my Mustang, but it handled a lot better. I plan to buy another one in the next couple of years when my twins reach driving age. I had the K&N intake on it, and others have put the Magnaflow exhaust on theirs and it has a nice sound with those accessories.

I agree, you should take one out for a long drive. It is a firmer ride due to the 18" wheels and low profile tires, but I liked that about it. Very tight vehicle. Did I say I want another one? I keep looking for one local to test drive with a manual, but haven't found one yet. I'll probably end up bringing it home if I do. Plus the design is "timeless" now that there is no a new model to make it look old!

Good luck on your search!

Welcome to GenVibe Definitely keep your sights on getting one of these great little cars. The two that we have (My red one, and my son's Blue one) have been extremely reliable so far. Some minor oil burning on my son's but NONE on mine so far. Mine was bought new, whereas my son's was a lease turned in at 36k miles. It was badly abused by it's first owner thus we got it for a very good price! Let us know what you end up finding. Good luck

FWIW, my mom and I love our 2009 GTs! We have not had any issues with either one using any oil. They're both currently around 63,000 miles. Both were bought brand new. Build dates were 10.29.08 and 11.17.08. The ones using oil seemed to be early 2008 build dates. We average 27-28 MPG with 50/50 driving. Both have K&N short ram intakes with AEM Brute Force Dryflow filters and AEM air filter wraps. Mine also has the Magnaflow catback exhaust. Both have added a little more power, more pronounced engine sound and a 1-2 MPG increase.