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The ’03 Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix are sprung from the all-new ’03 Toyota Corolla platform. Both are four-door hatchbacks. Both share the same engines. Both offer a choice of front- or all-wheel-drive, and both allow you to fold flat all but the driver’s seat to turn the cabin into a long-distance cargo carrier.

But they don’t look alike. Vibe is sportier, Matrix more sedate. Vibe is more gregarious, Matrix more of an introvert. Simply put, Vibe looks a bit like a sport-utility, Matrix a station wagon. ‘Nuff said? It was a week ago (Transportation, Feb. 24) that we tested the compact Matrix hatchback. This week, we turn the attention to the compact Vibe.

Both arrived courtesy of Toyota and General Motors, who joined forces to develop similar but distinct vehicles for the youth market.

Vibe will take the place of the Chevrolet Prizm at the joint-venture Toyota/GM plant in Fremont, Calif., and Matrix will be assembled at a Toyota plant in Cambridge, Ontario, that also produces the Corolla. Separate but equal, though Matrix is a bit more equal. Production will run 75,000 units a year, and Vibe is limited to about 55,000.

Matrix is offered in base, XR and XRS versions. Base and XR come with a 1.8-liter, 130-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, the same as in Corolla, and a choice of FWD or AWD. The top-of-the-line XRS comes with a 1.8-liter, 180-h.p. 4, same as in the Toyota Celica, and only FWD.
Vibe is offered in base, AWD and GT versions, base with the 130-h.p. 4, AWD with a 123-h.p. version of that engine and GT with the 180-h.p. 4. The GT is offered with FWD and 6-speed manual, unlike its Matrix XRS counterpart that offers the manual or 4-speed automatic.

“We’re only going to get 7,000 GTs, so we’re only going with the 6-speed,” said Craig Bierley, Vibe brand manager.

After testing the AWD Matrix with 123-h.p. 4 and automatic, we moved into an FWD Vibe GT with 180-h.p. 4 and 6-speed manual.

“The torque curve is such that you’ll probably notice little difference between the base and high-output 4-cylinders during initial acceleration,” Bierley said.

Agree. The two seemed to move off the line in much the same fashion.

Adequate power, but neither is a screamer. Bierley revealed that a little more oomph is being considered–by supercharging the base 130-h.p. 4.

Hope that thought becomes reality.

A gas/electric system similar to that offered in the Toyota Prius, was ruled out because of high cost. The Vibe GT had good road manners. Bierley insisted: “Vibe is more fun, Matrix more function.” Maybe Vibe’s better looks gave a perception of better handling.

But despite the GT’s added horsepower, basically this is a compact four-door hatchback dressed in sports duds that can carry more stuff than your traditional economy sedan with trunk. For a little better handling, you can replace the standard 16-inch, all-season tires with 17-inch performance radia ls. Anti-lock brakes are standard on the GT/AWD models, optional with the base Vibe.

Where Vibe/Matrix differ most is in appearance, each boasting distinct sheet metal. Vibe benefits from its traditional Pontiac dual-port grille and cat’s eye headlamps and is the better looking of the two. Vibe also differs by having charcoal gray plastic bumper and rocker-panel cladding. Matrix doesn’t. The cladding makes Vibe look more rugged–and taller, Bierley said. This summer Vibe will offer the option of a one-color monotone look without charcoal cladding.

Vibe also differs from Matrix in that it comes with a roof rack, Bierley said. The slope of the rack gives Vibe a fastback roof line; the stand-up roofline makes Matrix look like a station wagon. Yet both rooflines provide spacious headroom in the cabin.

Any model Vibe runs about $1,000 more than a Matrix because it has more standard content–roof rack, power mirrors, CD player (cassette not offered), rear-window wiper, rear-seat air ducts, intermittent wipers and body cladding.

An unusual feature is the 115-volt outlet in the middle of the dash. Any appliance with an electrical cord–at least almost any appliance–can be plugged in, from laptop computer to electric razor to TV to mini fridge to mini microwave. “Anything that doesn’t require heat, because there’s only a 1-amp draw,” Bierley said, noting that a hair dryer is out.

Another novel feature is the rail system built into the seat backs. When seats are folded flat to increase cargo room (front passenger, too), clips can be inserted in the rails to fasten accessories in place. Dealers soon will offer such “tie down” accessories as screened pet cages and a portable picnic table. The accessories are in keeping with the target audience, Bierley said, “young professionals with pets more so than young marrieds with kids.”

Pontiac has set an ambitious goal with Vibe, to sell 55,000 annually with 50 percent of the buyers conquests, or folks who usually wouldn’t consider a GM vehicle. Some of the folks Pontiac hopes to attract are those now migrating into a Chrysler PT Cruiser or a Ford Focus hatchback, neither of which offers AWD. In addition to a supercharger, items under consideration are a sportier comestics package with rocker-panel extensions and flared wheel wells, and special suspension packages that would allow the vehicle to be lowered by several inches, according to Bierley.

Youth, who covet Honda Civics for individualizing, would be the target of such accessories offered through GM’s Service Parts Operation. If youth can–and do–spend $4,000 to $6,000 customizing their small cars, GM would like a piece of the action and feels Vibe can pull it off. Also under consideration: a DVD system with screen that pulls down from the roof. Because Vibe is supposed to cater to people with pets more so than people with kids, perhaps the DVD system would be used to entertain dogs on long travels.

Base price of the Vibe GT we tested is $19,340. The package that adds power locks and windows runs $600 and the “moon and tunes” package that adds a power sunroof and 200-watt sound system upgrade with six speakers runs $500. Vibe also offers an optional navigation system for $1,600, but less than 5 percent of buyers are expected to bite. A well-equipped GT runs about $21,000, but the most desirable Vibe, a GT with AWD, isn’t even offered. Here’s hoping.

Bierley says Pontiac doesn’t expect Vibe to conflict with Sunfire, the entry-level car in the lineup. Vibe is a four-door hatchback. Sunfire, which gets a minor design this fall for ’03, will be offered as a coupe only with the sedan dropped.