The all-wheel-drive Vibe is rated by the EPA at 20/26 mpg city/highway. This is about average for small cars with all-wheel drive, but there aren’t a lot of small cars with all-wheel drive. Similarly sized models with better gas mileage ratings — the 2009 Suzuki SX4 (21/28 mpg), 2009 Jeep Patriot (23/28 mpg) and 2009 Jeep Compass (23/28 mpg) — don’t offer a huge improvement over the Vibe.

Now, there are some caveats with these choices. The Jeeps only reach their best mileage with a manual transmission; automatics are more expensive and cause gas mileage ratings to drop below the Vibe’s estimates. The Vibe with all-wheel drive only comes in an automatic.

Other cars in this segment with similar mileage and all-wheel drive are the 2009 Subaru Impreza (20/27 mpg) and 2010 Toyota Matrix (20/26 mpg). The Matrix and Vibe are partner vehicles and have exactly the same innards, but the Vibe has a better warranty. On the other hand, Pontiac will also be defunct after 2010. The Impreza, Vibe and Matrix are all Cars.com Best Bets.  

2009 Jeep Compass

• Manual — $20,215 (23/28 mpg)
• Automatic — $21,315 (21/24 mpg) 

2009 Jeep Patriot

• Manual — $19,290 (23/28 mpg)
• Automatic — $20,390 (21/24 mpg) 

2009 Subaru Impreza

• Manual — $17,995 (20/27 mpg)
• Automatic — $18,995 (20/26 mpg)

2010 Toyota Matrix

• Automatic — $20,760 (20/26 mpg) 

2010 Pontiac Vibe

• Automatic — $20,275 (20/26 mpg)

2009 Suzuki SX4

• Manual — $16,699 (21/28 mpg)
• Automatic — $17,799 (21/28 mpg)

Learn more 

• 2009 Passenger Car Best Bets (Cars.com)
• Vehicle Recommender (Cars.com)
• Cars.com Research Section (Cars.com)