2006 Pontiac Vibe Base FWD review from North America

I've had 2 water leaks inside the car.

When I first purchased the car, water leaked in onto the passenger side dash, the dealer fixed this problem the very first time.

My 2nd water leak has been into the rear-seat floorboard on the drivers side. It has been into the dealership 5 times trying to find this leak. I just got the car back yesterday so maybe this will do the trick. Supposedly it was leaking from the sunroof and they've fixed it now. Again, we'll see.

I'm 6'2 and 200 pounds and find the car to be very comfortable. It has more headroom & legroom than most of the other cars I've ever owned or considered.

It drives and handles well both in the city and on the highway. The power of the front-wheel drive & automatic seem perfect for both city/highway driving. It is no rocket in acceleration, but it's not super slow either. I can run 75-80 mph very comfortably on the highway, and yes I am able to pass people with ease.

MPG has been consistently around 27-30 in the city, and 30-33, with a one-time 35 on the highway. The 35 has only happened once so I'm thinking I must have had quite the tailwind.

My car came completely loaded with everything but leather. (not sure if leather is even an option, but I wouldn't have wanted it anyway) The factory upgraded stereo sounds really good to me, especially on the occasion that I want to listen to something really loud.

Certain areas of Missouri can be very hilly, so I do not use the cruise control on the highway in these areas. The 4 speed auto downshifts too much and the engine winds up in these circumstances. To be honest I almost never use cruise control, even on longer trips for this very reason. I feel that the constant downshifting is too hard on the transmission. A 5 speed auto would be a great thing in my opinion.

The paint is a little weak and seems to chip easily. But several friends of mine in the autobody business tell me that the paint standards for most auto manufacturers have really dropped in recent years. Cutting costs I'm told.

The car is easy to drive, holds anything and everything I've ever wanted to haul, and I've never questioned whether or not it'll start.

Before I purchased my Vibe I read all kinds of reviews, and 99% of them were positive. Taking the chance seemed easy as you can't seem to go wrong with reviews like that.

If you can look past a few weak points, the strong points of this car more than make up for it so far.