First Glance: Pontiac gets the better deal

There are a lot of reasons to love the Pontiac Vibe. First, it's versatile, with a tall, roomy interior, mini-wagon body, and a hard-plastic-lined cargo bay. Second, it's safe -- all versions of the Vibe have electronic stability control as standard, and all-wheel-drive is optional. And third, it's a Toyota. Okay, it's not actually a Toyota -- the Pontiac Vibe is a joint collaboration between Toyota and General Motors, but the mechanical bits are Toyota-sourced and the car is built at the joint GM-Toyota NUMMI plant in California, which has been turning out high-quality cars (including the Toyota Corolla and Tacoma pickup) for over twenty years. Toyota has their own version -- the also-new-for-2009 Matrix -- but the Pontiac Vibe is better.
The all-new 2009 Pontiac Vibe is the latest product of General Motors' 20+ year joint venture with Japanese automaker Toyota. Like the first-generation Vibe, which made its debut in 2002 as a 2003 model, the new Vibe is mechanically identical to Toyota's Matrix. Both cars are based on Toyota's compact Corolla platform and both use Toyota-sourced engines. The Vibe is built alongside other Toyotas at GM/Toyota's NUMMI plant in California. (The Matrix is built in Canada.)
Like the original Vibe, the new car is differentiated from its Toyota-branded cousin primarily by styling. This time, Toyota and Pontiac tried to further separate the two cars visually, and I think Pontiac got the better end of the deal -- I prefer the Vibe's smooth, simple lines to the awkward angles of the Matrix. The Vibe lacks the wrap-around rear glass and small rear-side windows of the Matrix, which makes for a good-sized blind spot (link goes to photo) over the driver's right shoulder, but this doesn't present any real-world difficulties thanks to the Vibe's big side-view mirrors.
Pontiac offers the Vibe in three models: Base, AWD (all-wheel-drive), and GT. All come with six airbags, antilock brakes and electronic stability control as standard, though must-haves like power windows and locks are optional on the Base and AWD models, while air conditioning is a $950 option on the Base. These goodies come standard on the sport-themed Vibe GT, which also gets leather-trimmed seats, Monsoon stereo, 18" alloy wheels and unique front-end styling.