Weekend Athlete: 2009 Pontiac Vibe

For starters, the cargo area and the back of the rear seats aren’t carpeted, making for easier cleanup after you load your dirty toys. Since it’s a car, the load floor is nice and low. The hatch opening is also wide, making it easier to load stuff.

There’s room for three campers’ stuff, or four if you pack light. The bike went in with the wheel on, though I did have to turn the handlebars. Taller athletes will have to watch out for that if they’re considering a Vibe. I could fit the camping stuff in around the bike OK, but it wasn’t great.

What’s really interesting to me is how this car compares with the Saturn Astra I tested the week before I drove the Vibe. Bottom line, the Vibe is by far the better Weekend Athlete car, but, to be fair, the Astra I tested was the two-door version.

The seats in the Vibe were a simple design, requiring only one hand to use, unlike the Astra. The cargo hatch opened wider than that of the Astra and, again, the cargo area was covered in plastic. Those are all pluses on the Weekend Athlete scorecard.

Now, to my eye at least, the Astra had a nicer, more modern interior, and its cargo area with the cargo shelf in place was enormous. You’d have plenty of room for groceries and that kind of stuff. So, yes, you could use that room for camping gear, but I’d feel more comfortable carrying it all in a Vibe.

What all that explains is why the Astra scores a 6 in locker room cred and the Vibe scores an 8. The Vibe is just the better tool for this job. If you don’t want to go the SUV/crossover route and like to ride and camp, then I’d put the Vibe on the test-drive list.

Weekend Athlete Scores (out of 10)

Ease of loading gear – 6: It’s not great, but it’s not abominable either.

Ease of seat operation – 8.5: Simple is best.

Bike hauling ­- 7: The wheel didn’t come off, but the handlebars did have to bend down toward the floor behind the front seat.

Locker room cred – 8

All-around – 7.5: It beats the Astra by a solid point.