2009 Pontiac Vibe

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What is it?
2009 Pontiac Vibe

What's special about it?
We know a guy who worked at GM design when the Mazda3 was introduced. He says that the company immediately procured a five-door model, which was, according to him, admired almost universally as a Japanese-style Alfa Romeo.

It's not too hard to see the result of that exposure in the 2009 Pontiac Vibe, which makes its public debut at this month's Los Angeles auto show and goes on sale in early February 2008.

Gone are all the silly ribs, welts and sheets of striated gray plastic that gave the early versions of the first-generation Vibe its SUV-poseur visage. Pontiac designers have actually flared the body out to meet the edge of the tires instead of simply adding a frame of thick plastic to the wheelwells. A rooftop luggage rack is standard only on the all-wheel-drive version of the '09. And the vaguely triangular D-pillar of the original Vibe has morphed into a dead ringer for the Mazda's. Curiously, Pontiac insists on referring to this station wagon as a crossover-utility vehicle.

Pontiac is also trying to bite off a bit of the performance hatch market with its new Vibe GT, which comes with 18-inch wheels, lower front fascia, rooftop spoiler, rocker-panel moldings and a bright exhaust tip. The GT is also one of two Vibe models powered by the 158-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-4 familiar from the Toyota Camry and Scion tC.

Yes, the Vibe is still built entirely of Toyota components in the same GM-Toyota joint facility in California that builds the mechanically identical Toyota Matrix and the Toyota Corolla sedan. While 158 hp isn't exactly a big number anymore for a big four-cylinder, it bests the Mazda3's 2.3-liter inline-4 by a couple of horses. It also whips the gutless old 126-hp 1.8-liter that labored away in the engine bay of the old model. Too bad Pontiac couldn't use GM's own 2.4-liter four-cylinder, as it makes more than 170 hp.

The front-drive-only GT comes with a standard five-speed manual transmission, while a five-speed auto is optional. The torsion beam rear suspension of the old car (and the new base model) is replaced with a fully independent multilink setup in the GT and all-wheel-drive models.

The other model to get the 2.4 is the AWD version, which is good since the electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system adds something on the order of 200 pounds to the weight of the car. Unfortunately, only a four-speed automatic is available on the AWD model. The base model comes with 16-inch wheels and an uprated version of the 1.8-liter four that makes 132 hp. Seventeen-inch wheels and the 2.4-liter motor are optional on the base car.

Even by the EPA's tougher new standard, the Vibe returns excellent fuel economy. City estimates range from 20 mpg (AWD) to 26 mpg (base, manual). Highway figures range from 26 mpg (AWD) to 32 mpg (base, manual).

The new body wraps around exactly the same amount of interior space as the old car. Curiously, this is very nearly the same amount of interior space provided by the Vibe's corporate cousin, the Chevy HHR.

The Vibe now comes standard with electronic stability control on all models and it has six airbags if the electronics can't save you.

What's Edmunds' take?
We're feelin' the new Vibe. But it's faint. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit