Pontiac Vibe / Toyota Matrix

[cressida]

the XRS has 180 hp but for some reason it's still slow 🙁

 

[Cfour]

Originally posted by: Synergy
the XRS has 180 hp but for some reason it's still slow 🙁

Ya, while the Toyota engine in there is by no means a bad engine, it is much too peaky for my tastes. I like having power low in the band 🙂

 

[nan0bug]

Buy yourself a well taken care of late 80s Chevy S10 4x4. I don't know how much they are around where you live, but its not unusual to find them here in PA in the 100k range for around 2k. That should be more than enough room to haul stuff, and it never hurts to have a backup vehicle just in case. I know of 3 people who have mid 80's S10s that are pushing 200k and still running strong with regular maintenance.

 

[radioouman]

I'll third or fourth the old truck option.

My wife and I both drive Saturns, and we needed something bigger to haul stuff with. (Including towing our Seadoo to the lake.)

I bought a 93 Dodge Dakota 4x4 with 140,000 miles. I've driven it on 300+ trips, and it's not bad at all. It has cheap insurance >$200 for six months for full coverage, and I don't have to worry about scratching it or dinging it up. I've used it to haul mulch, 2x4s, concrete, bicycles... just about anything. It's very handy, and having the third car around is nice as long as there is somewhere to store it.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Buy a small/light 4X8 trailer & have a light hitch put on your Accord, or buy a roof rack for the Accord.

Your Accord is good for ~200,000 miles, 10X what you currently have on it, run it into the ground, use the money you save @ Lowe's/HD...

If you do the trailer/roof rack, you'll be able to haul a lot more than the Matrix will ever be able to.

 

[Stifko]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
my shallow opinion is that the matrix looks better🙂

to me, the Vibe looks better, the body kit is less busy and simplier.

 

[Cfour]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

If you do the trailer/roof rack, you'll be able to haul a lot more than the Matrix will ever be able to.

And if you did the same to the Matrix/Vibe, you'd be able to haul a lot more than the Accord will ever be able to. The Accord is not meant for hauling things, it hardly has any torque anyways for big loads like that you seem to be suggesting (not saying the Matrix/Vibe are ment for this either). Also, there is nothing more ridiculous than a family sedan with a trailer hitch on it IMO. It looks funny and makes me laugh every time. But I guess if that is what you want to do, more power to ya. 😀

 

[BigSmooth]

If you had an older car or were having problems with your car, I'd say go get the Vibe.
But since you like your car and it's pretty new, why give it up AND take the depreciation hit? I'm assuming you've treated your car well so it should be reliable for years to come.
If you get the Vibe and later you feel like it wasn't worth the added utility to lose some of the refinement and other things you like about your Accord, you'll regret this in more ways than one.

I agree with the other posters, if you'll need to haul a lot of stuff, buy a cheap pickup. 🙂