This underrated budget car is underslept for a reason you might not expect

When we think of budget cars, images of cheap and not particularly pretty vehicles usually come to mind. While it’s hard to escape the plastic curse these days, there are some cheaper cars that will make you wish you’d just worked a little harder or simply saved a few more dollars to put on a new car. Then there are others that can actually make you feel like you are driving a quality product despite the affordable price.

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When we talk about our budget car, we have to go back to 2003. While some of the glory of the good old days was gone, American automobile production was still going strong. One brand in particular, Pontiac, wanted to once again enter the segment of inexpensive and cheerful hatchbacks. Their solution was called Pontiac Vibe. However, it shares many of its components with one of the most respected automakers in history, making it one of the most reliable cars Pontiac has ever sold.

This hatchback had good charisma

Quick facts about the Pontiac Vibe

• Introduced in 2003
• Borrows much of its powertrain from the Toyota Matrix
• Received five stars from JD Power for reliability
• It was produced until 2009 and was one of the last models offered by Pontiac

At the turn of the millennium, Pontiac had moderate success. It suffered a minor setback with the release of the highly controversial Pontiac Aztek, which became famous, or perhaps infamous breaking Bad TV series – but as far as the rest of the model range is concerned, things were relatively stable. However, GM bosses had an idea for a new, fuel-efficient hatchback to complement Pontiac’s lineup. After all, the only compact car in their lineup was the Sunfire, which was scheduled to be discontinued after the 2004 model year anyway.

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At the same time, General Motors was looking for a new vehicle for the joint manufacturing agreement between GM and Toyota called New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., or NUMMI. NUMMI had seen the production of models such as the Toyota Corolla/Geo Prism. Pontiac’s redesigned Vibe was chosen, Toyota agreed and production began in 2002. Toyota’s version of the Vibe was to be called the Matrix.

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The Pontiac Vibe/Matrix could just as easily be described as siblings separated at birth, as both have mostly the same DNA, just with slightly different faces, although you can see the similarities straight away. Both the Matrix and the Vibe were released in the US in 2003, with a revised version of the Vibe, the Voltz, being exported and sold in Japan under the Toyota brand. The Voltz sold poorly and was discontinued after just two years.

The mood had a Toyota heart

We’re at the point where the reason for the vibe’s underrated nature becomes clear. In short, the Vibe’s reliability and durability comes from its Toyota-sourced engine and transmission. As is known around the world, Toyota builds some of the most reliable vehicles the world’s roads have ever seen. So it was an extremely good sign for the Pontiac Vibe to have a powertrain as robust as a Toyota.

Toyota supplied two engine variants for the Pontiac Vibe, both of which were also offered for the Matrix. The transmission options on offer were a four-speed automatic and a five-speed manual transmission. The Pontiac Vibe GT, sold with the more powerful 1.8 liter 2ZZ-GE engine, came exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. Pontiac also offered an all-wheel drive version of the Vibe that came exclusively with a modified four-speed automatic transmission. Surprise, surprise, the Vibe’s AWD system is also from Toyota. If you opted for all-wheel drive, your horsepower would drop to 123 horsepower.

When it comes to reliability, JD Power gave the 2007 Pontiac Vibe a score of 86 out of 100, giving it a rating of “Great.” For comparison: the competing Ford Focus received 82 out of 100 points. This still earned the Focus a “Great” rating, although a four-point difference certainly carries some weight in the automotive world, according to JD Power.

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The fraternal twin of the vibe

Can you see the similarity? As we’ve already mentioned, the Matrix and Vibe look very similar, and while certain, subtle changes have been made to differentiate the two, the trick is clearly visible. If you take a look inside the Matrix, you’ll notice that even its interior is very similar to that of the Vibe, with just a few Toyota badges replacing the Pontiac badges in certain places like the steering wheel.

However, the matrix differed in some ways. For example, there were two performance trim levels, the XR and the XRS, while the Vibe only offered one performance option, the GT. The Vibe GT was essentially the same as the Matrix XRS, with the

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Mood’s place in Pontiac history

To the dismay of millions of Pontiac fans around the world, General Motors decided to retire the iconic brand in April 2009. The Vibe, along with the Pontiac G6, was the last nameplate Pontiac produced for the 2010 model year. At this point, the Vibe was already in its second generation, since 2008. It was no longer identical to the Toyota Matrix, but was still based on the model and offered Toyota-supplied engines.

On August 17, 2009, the last Pontiac Vibe rolled off the assembly line as a 2010 model. This final model also marked the official closure of the joint GM-Toyota production plant NUMMI, based in Freemont, California. In January 2010, a white Pontiac G6 rolled off the Pontiac assembly line in Orion Township. This would be the last Pontiac ever produced and unceremoniously marked the end of the brand.

The decision to kill Pontiac was ultimately due to General Motors’ Chapter 11 reorganization efforts. The United States government stepped in and rescued the struggling General Motors corporation to ensure that its legacy would live on. This was also done to ensure that the millions of jobs that General Motors created would not be lost. It has been said that if these jobs had been eliminated during the 2009 financial crisis, the U.S. economy would have been hit much more severely than before. However, we must not forget that Pontiac was only canceled because the US government asked GM to do so. Otherwise, rescue would not have been assured. We hope that GM will revive the brand in the future and bring it back to its former glory.

Sources:
JD Power, VibeMatrix.com.