Something Reliable For A Change: 2002 Toyota Highlander vs 2005 Pontiac Vibe

Good morning! Today we’re in the Chicago suburbs, looking at two cars you could actually, you know, drive. Like, all the time. Crazy, huh? I have a feeling I know which car won yesterday’s battle of the weirdos, but let’s confirm it:

Mon dieu; that poor Vauxhall never stood a chance. But that little black Renault is hard to resist. I do hope the Victor finds a forever home, though; it would be a shame if it just kept rotting away.

Now then: I know I subject you all to a lot of really strange and crappy piles of junk. The cries of “ugh, neither” and “what did we do to deserve this?” don’t go completely unheeded. The fact is, there are actually some decent cars available for the sort of money we usually deal with, and I feel it’s only fair to occasionally feature a couple of them. They’re not the most exciting things on four wheels, but they’re both known to be reliable and durable, both have plenty of space for people and stuff, and both are all-wheel-drive, which is a benefit during a winter like the one we just had. In other words, they’re both just plain decent cars. On Shitbox Showdown. I know; I’m as surprised as you are. Let’s take a look at them.

2002 Toyota Highlander – $2,900

Engine/drivetrain: 3.0 liter dual overhead cam V6, four-speed automatic, AWD

Location: Elmwood Park, IL

Odometer reading: 167,000 miles

Runs/drives? Yep

Toyota has this knack for building exactly the sort of cars that people need, even if they’re not something us enthusiasts would consider desirable. They have their moments of fun, of course, but most of the time they stay pretty well grounded to, well, the ground. Twenty-some years ago, the Japanese giant introduced this car, the Highlander, a car-based crossover SUV that won’t raise any pulses, but it just plain works.

It’s big enough to be roomy, but not so big that it’s cumbersome. It’s comfortable, reasonably efficient, and like most Toyotas, well built and stone-reliable. Yeah, it’s the Motel 6 of cars, but if you just need a place to sleep, Motel 6 will do the trick. And if you just need something to drive that will get you there and back without incident, or in fact any excitement whatsoever, here it is.

This Highlander appears to have been well cared for. It only has 167,000 miles on it, pretty low for a twenty year old grocery-getter. It is originally from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so we can assume it has seen some winters, which means it’s worth a look underneath to check for rust. But the paint looks shiny, the interior is clean, and the seller says its 3.0 liter V6 runs well. As the old ads say, who could ask for anything more?

All right, I suppose you could ask for some actual styling and a driving experience that doesn’t so closely resemble a Kenny G record, but if that’s what you’re after, look elsewhere. This thing is all about comfort, practicality, and usefulness.

2005 Pontiac Vibe – $2,995

Engine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, AWD

Location: Glenview, IL

Odometer reading: 203,000 miles

Runs/drives? Sure does

Pontiac, on the other hand, was all about excitement. Its ad campaigns told us so. But this Pontiac has a dirty little secret: it’s actually a Toyota. Built by New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc, late of Fremont, California (now a Tesla plant, as I understand it), the Vibe was more or less a Toyota Matrix in a different outfit.

As such, it’s powered by Toyota’s 1ZZ-FE twin-cam four, in this case powering all four wheels through a four-speed automatic. You could get a Vibe with a stick, as well as a more powerful engine, both of which make it live up to that excitement promise a bit more. But for a practical runabout, this engine makes plenty of power, and at least Toyota automatics hold up well.

It’s in good condition, especially for being north of 200,000 miles. But no matter how well you care for it, this car will never see 300,000 – the odometer simply won’t go that high; it stops at 299,999. But the fact that that’s a well-known problem speaks highly of the car’s engineering and build quality. I mean, no one has any idea whether a Maserati’s odometer stops before 300,000 miles.

It looks good, and it’s a great shade of blue, even better than that Scion earlier this week. We don’t get a lot to go on regarding its mechanical condition, but a quick inspection by someone who knows what they’re looking for should tell you what you need to know.

Yeah, they’re boring four-door automatics. But the great part about cars like this is that they take the pressure off; if you have something like this in the driveway to get around reliably, you can have whatever fun-but-sketchy thing you want tucked away in the garage for fun on the weekends. And I think I picked two cars distinctive enough that there actually is a choice to be made. So which one will it be?

(Image credits: Craigsliest sellers)