You can get phone service through OnStar, although that means a separate phone number for your car, which isn't useful if everyone is calling you on your cell phone. OnStar also provides a variety of other services, as long as your subscription is up to date. We mentioned OnStar's poor substitute for navigation above. Although we don't care for the look of the electrofluorescent display, we like that you can use the tabs to select categories from XM or folders on an MP3 CD. The stereo interface is well-designed, with a very usable tab structure that you can manipulate using the preset buttons. The in-dash head unit includes a single CD slot that can read MP3 CDs, and there is an auxiliary input right on the faceplate. In these places, the Vibe GT would nearly take flight. We found it particularly rough where the paving crews at work on the freeway left gaps between new asphalt and the old. During this trip, we crossed every manner of road surface, and got to hear each one's distinct song. While talking to the nice man from OnStar, we had some difficulty hearing and being heard, as there was plenty of road noise while we careened at 80 mph down the freeway. The blue OnStar button connects you to an OnStar operator, while the telephone button activates the OnStar phone service, if you have it. This kind of navigation help just doesn't stand up to a GPS system with maps. As we didn't have someone else in the car, the OnStar representative read out the directions and had OnStar record his recitation so we could access it from the car at any time. That sounded very quaint to our tech-focused ears, but that was the only option, as the Vibe GT didn't support downloadable turn-by-turn directions we've seen in other GM cars, such as the Saturn Aura Green Line. We told the nice man who answered the address we wanted, and he asked us if we had someone else in the car who could write down the directions he was about to give us. We crossed over to Interstate 5 at Paso Robles, and hit the blue button so we could ask for directions to our Los Angeles destination. We set out on a sunny Monday afternoon, driving south on Highway 101. At least we were well set for music, as our Vibe GT had XM satellite radio, a stereo that could read our MP3 CDs, and an auxiliary jack for our MP3 player. Some masochistic urge led us to take the 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT on a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, which meant a good 12 hours of seat time. Test the tech: A small car on a long trip The Vibe/Matrix represents an extreme in customer choice, where you can not only choose from myriad options and power trains, but also even what badge your car will wear. In the Matrix, you can opt for a nine-speaker stereo system if you don't get navigation, but the Vibe GT comes standard with a seven-speaker audio system, and you still get the little blue button.
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Where the Toyota Matrix can be had with an in-dash navigation system, the Pontiac Vibe just has a little blue OnStar button that connects you with a nice person who can tell you how to get where you are going. However, there are differences, most notably in an area we pay special attention to, the car's head unit.
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