2005 Pontiac Vibe User Reviews

Pros

Gas mileage, size, pep, reliability

Cons

rough ride, weird driver's side proportions

Purchased As New

Overall, we LOVE this car!! We have a stick-shift, and the mileage is excellent. The overall size is perfect because it's not annoyingly huge, but we can fit SO much in the back, especially when the back seats are down. It's peppy, handles well, has a decent speaker system, and we're over 50,000 miles, and have had no issues whatsoever.
The proportion on the driver's side isn't quite right - it's like the steering wheel is too far away and the pedals too close. The ride is a little rough, but I'd much prefer that to bad gas mileage. We can get up to 38 on the highway, and about 33 in the city....read morehide

Pros

it is a beautifull car, good on gas and very versatile, it is huge inside i can pack two bikes easy

Cons

needs heated mirrors, teleskop steeringwheel and a little more power in the base model

I have one and I love it. It is a very good deal for even a smaller family too.
The gas card that came with it is very helpfull these days.

Pros

good fuel economy, very comfortable, easy to enter, lots of space

I bought my vibe in 2003, and i got a very good deal. The ride is wonderful, and so is the gas millage. I have had no problems with my car. When I fold down all the seats, there is more than enough cargo space to carry anything I want. The instrument panel is very convient. All the features I wanted in my car are in the vibe. Also, the price was very affordable....read morehide

Pros

good fuel economy

Cons

trouble seeing out rear window when backing up, hard to find parts

bought a 2003 and have had to replace right front caliper 4 times. Starts leaking around piston, 2 in the same week. My opion, cheap "made in taiwan" caliper with flimsy seals. Not much room in drivers seat for a big guy. The oxygen sensor failed and plugged catalitic converter because engine runs rich when sensor fails. Luckly it was under warranty or that would have cost $500 for parts alone. That is something the service department looked up and found to be a common problem. Good on gas, 34 m.p.g. Whose the moron that thought to put the fuel filter in the gas tank!...read morehide

Pros

Fuel, Stereo, Comfort, Room, Heats Up Fast

Cons

Nothing That I Have Noticed

This car is nothing less then awesome. It looks wonderful, rides like a dream, the inside is so well designed, everything feels so natural from the blinkers to the steering wheel.
I do wish the arm rest was a little further forward, but I am happy there is one at all. This car is wonderful for any small family. This is the car I have been wanting, and finally got. I LOVE IT!!!!!...read morehide

Pros

Great fuel economy. traction, excellent leg room & cargo for a small car

Cons

Rear & side visibility could be better

I recently had two vehicles. A 93' Ford explorer which was good in the snow, had ample cargo room, but got 15 MPG- and a 02' VW Jetta which got decent fuel economy but had very limited rear leg room, and not much cargo area. Now. I have a AWD Vibe. I get about 26MPG combined driving, and I love the legroom (36" for the back seats) and the fold down seats (including the front passenger) make for a suprising amount of cargo space. I was even able to haul lumber from home depot by puting down the front passenger seat. Some people have said it's underpowered, but the pickup is better than the standard Jetta. All things considered, this is a great all around car/truck crossover. Cant beat it!...read morehide

Pros

Handles like a dream in the snow, rain, and Icy conditions,

Cons

Noisy dash, gas milage goes down in extreme cold.

Awesome little car, handles well around the turns, pep and go for the world to know. Great storage space. Handles well in the snow and muddy condtions, I use the car to go everywhere from the city to the stables. If kept clean you will get that extra mile in gas. Great for throwing things in the back from school bags to the saddles.
The few things that I don't like is that it's a warm weather car, as soon as the temperature hits about 40 its a bit slower. The dash is noisy in the winter, the cd player isn't kind to scratched cds. And I'm forever cleaning the floor mats, but being compared to my old car being 95 pontiac gt grand am, its a small step down, and a big step from a honda civic....read morehide

Pros

steering wheel material saftybelt rubs on the wheatherstripping and wears it off

Cons

only getting 20 miles to a gallon!!! took it to the dealer 4 times

great looking truck can fit an unbelievable amount of stuff in it!rides great!one of my all time favorites!i have a 2004 all wheel drive. but i'm only getting 20 miles to a gallon i'm thinking about trading it in because of this!!!dealers keep giving me the run around!!!

Pros

Economy, deep snow handling, safety, cargo loading and fold down seat

Cons

no power, road noise, high speed snow handling (balance)

The AWD Vibe is a great economy car with high safety ratings if you don't mind a little road noise & lack of power. I urge you consider side airbags and the traction control in non-AWD. I would like to see an AWD light so you know when you are or are not in AWD. I have a big 4WD truck and the Vibe does just as well in deep snow. My big complaint is snow gets packed in wheel covers and causes wobbling/ out of balance at higher speeds (55 mph +). Has anyone else experiened this? I think it is a safety issue and maybe I just need different wheel covers. I live up near Lake Tahoe in snow country....read morehide

Pros

better fuel economy than SUV, but...

Cons

I only only get 29mpg both city and highway.Shifter is in uncomfortable location, no pickup-and-go!

I use this for business, and I am on the road quite a bit. I gave up a truck for the Vibe. The Vibe gets better gas mileage and is not as expensive, but the estimated gas milege was a lie! I can only get 29-30mpg! but I am usually on the highway. when I was comparing cars between this Vibe and a VW Jetta TDI, I must say that the Jetta blew this out of the water. The Jetta handles better, looks better, gets 50 mpg, and has a lot of smart additions that makes your drives a little nicer. I picked the Vibe becasue it was a GM car, American made....
If you think I am in error, please humor me and drive a Jetta once. That thing hadles so well and has great pickup-and-go! the only similarity between the two cars is the sound of the engine...but the Jetta TDI is a disel engine, it is supposed to be louder.

my next car will definately be foreign, unless our American car companies step up to the plate, but I really don't see that happening....read morehide