Costcutting measures make for bad Vibe
Both cars are the result of a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors.The 2009 model year marks the debut of the second-generation Vibe.It’s about one year late to market, according to industry insiders.The unofficial reason for its tardiness is that Toyota chose to delay the introduction of the Corolla and Matrix — which share key mechanicals with the Vibe — in order to resolve some quality control issues and to ensure a successful launch of its bread-and-butter cars. With the Corolla and Matrix delayed, the Vibe also had to wait.Now that it is here, a few key facts should be noted.First, the ‘09 Vibe’s overall dimensions are remarkably similar to its predecessor.Its sheet metal is all new and the car features a more steeply raked windshield and revised lighting elements for a sportier look. At first glance, however, it still looks very much like the outgoing model.The Vibe’s powerplants are identical to those of the ‘09 Corolla/Matrix duo.The base car gets a 132-horsepower, 1.8-litre four-cylinder, six more horses than the outgoing model, and it’s mated to either a five-speed manual transmission or an optional four-speed automatic.Moving up to the GT model or the all-wheel-drive version gets you a 158-horsepower, 2.4-litre four-cylinder.This latter engine is also offered as an option on the base car, but only the GT or the upgraded base car offer a choice of five-speed manual or five-speed automatic gearbox.The AWD model is only available with the four-speed autobox.It is also worth noting that both the GT and the AWD variants are again available in the Vibe lineup — they had been dropped from the previous model’s lineup a couple of years ago.During the new Vibe’s introduction in Montreal, the only cars available for testing were the AWD variety, so my driving impressions are limited to it.The fact this model now gets the uprated 158-horsepower, 2.4-L engine is welcome news as the car tips the scales at 1,495 kilograms, a whopping 200 kg more than the base car with manual gearbox.Still, even with this kind of power-to-weight ratio, it’s very clear that buyers won’t be winning any drag races.The car’s performance under full throttle is adequate, but far from stunning.A fifth cog in the automatic transmission would be welcome to improve both performance and real-world fuel economy (Transport Canada rates the new model at 10.3 litres per 100 km city, 7.8 litres per 100 km highway).I think Toyota and GM chose to go with the four-speed automatic as a cost-cutting measure or because of packaging issues.Not offering a manual transmission on the AWD model is also a bad move.
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Tags: Auto, cars, corolla, economy, gm, launch, new model, scales, Toyota
