General Motors has confirmed that it will dump its ownership stake in the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) joint venture that it established with Toyota more than... June 30, 2009 by Ralph Hanson 3
Earlier this week news broke that General Motors would in fact be discontinuing the Pontiac Vibe, built alongside the Toyota Matrix at the California New United Motor... June 19, 2009 by Nelson Ireson 2
General Motors revealed in its latest viability plan that it will cut more than 21,000 jobs and reduce its total number of assembly, powertrain, and stamping plants in the... April 27, 2009 by James Martinez 1
We've all heard the argument for why someone drives that big SUV instead of a fuel-sipping mini-car on their epic two-hour commute: crash safety. And while there's a good bit... December 17, 2008 by Ralph Hanson 1
Not to be outdone by the massive release of models ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show, GM has released a first teaser image of the all-new 2009 Pontiac Vibe. Pegged as smaller... October 9, 2007 by Viknesh Vijayenthiran 12
The Toyota Matrix is very similar to the Pontiac Vibe.
The Mazda 3 has a stiffer ride, and its cabin allows more road noise.
The Kia Spectra5 is a bit perkier and more fun to drive, but like the Mazda 3, it doesn't have available all-wheel drive.
AWD is standard on the Subaru Impreza, which is more expensive and isn't as roomy or fuel-efficient.
However, the Impreza has an attractive interior design for the hatchback and a torquey horizontally opposed engine, along with better safety ratings (the Impreza is an IIHS Top Safety Pick).
Electronic stability control is standard on the Matrix, but not available on any of these other models.