We did a demo ride on a 22ve and a 21.5 Malibu VLX on Saturday. Having them within an hour or two made for a nice comparison.
We came away with a very simple description of the comparison. We felt like it was basically an European Sports Car vs an American Muscle Car. We felt like the Tige won in terms of driving and the Malibu won in terms of the boat itself - options, comfort, etc. Both boats were equipped with their 340 hp option.
Tige - We thought the boat handled better, my wife especially. It seemed more responsive and got out of the whole quicker. Visibility in the boat is better. Nose stays down better and the driver sits a little higher. Also liked the dash a little better. The boat was noticeably quiter than the Malibu. When driving it felt like the steering was much tighter. Not sure if it is design or the wake but the Tige seemed to handle the chop better. Two of the detractors for me is the tower and the seats. The tower is much more complicated to lower. I have to lower it to get in and out of the slip and low bridge crossing an area we go. I will have to move the tower at least once but maybe as much as 3-4 times each day. And the seats, relative to the Malibu I thought they were too narrow. The boat is 4"s wider and 6 inches longer but the seats have less room. If the seats were a little wider and the tower had a quicker release it would be a slam dunk. We didn't get behind the boats but I thought the ski wake looked better on the Tige, a little softer to get a across. The malibu looked to have more potential on the wakeboard side. But the relative differences will be meaningless to me. I am coming from an 18' I/O and recreational at best so nothing but upside for me.
Malibu - The boat handled a little sloppy, just not the sharp crisp turning of the Tige. I know my objects not going to be running a grand prix but still felt loose. The boat is loud relative to the Tige. Not unbearable but noticable in a back to back test. Driven on seperate days I probably wouldn't have noticed it. The driver's seat sits too low especially for my wife. We like being up above the windshield and with the bolster up I am fine but my wife was straining to look over the edge. Also the bow's a little higher and took little longer to get down. In relative terms, it was a little slower getting out of the blocks. Boat is a little rougher riding. As for the boat, we found it to be much more comfortable. If we had to choose a boat for just riding all day the Malibu wins hands down. The tower was easier to handle. While it looks a little star trekish it has grown on me. This is a small thing but I like the pop-up ski pylon. Probably some debate on its durability but I liked being able to get it out of the way. I was really surprised at how much roomier the malibu felt given it is a smaller boat.
Like I said upgrading from small I/O so both of these are great alternatives and the differences seem very small. We also compared the MC - too pricey in the same price - and CC - didn't like the feel of it, almost uncomfortable but it came down to these two for use. We will be using it for skiing, boarding, tubing and entertaining so performance isn't the only criteria to judge it on.
In our judgement Tige wins on performance/driving issues and Malibu wins on the boat design/features/comfort. They all have their differences in manufacturing methods but I didn't notice any real differences in quality. It's down to a gut feel now, nothing really to seperate the two boats.
We came away with a very simple description of the comparison. We felt like it was basically an European Sports Car vs an American Muscle Car. We felt like the Tige won in terms of driving and the Malibu won in terms of the boat itself - options, comfort, etc. Both boats were equipped with their 340 hp option.
Tige - We thought the boat handled better, my wife especially. It seemed more responsive and got out of the whole quicker. Visibility in the boat is better. Nose stays down better and the driver sits a little higher. Also liked the dash a little better. The boat was noticeably quiter than the Malibu. When driving it felt like the steering was much tighter. Not sure if it is design or the wake but the Tige seemed to handle the chop better. Two of the detractors for me is the tower and the seats. The tower is much more complicated to lower. I have to lower it to get in and out of the slip and low bridge crossing an area we go. I will have to move the tower at least once but maybe as much as 3-4 times each day. And the seats, relative to the Malibu I thought they were too narrow. The boat is 4"s wider and 6 inches longer but the seats have less room. If the seats were a little wider and the tower had a quicker release it would be a slam dunk. We didn't get behind the boats but I thought the ski wake looked better on the Tige, a little softer to get a across. The malibu looked to have more potential on the wakeboard side. But the relative differences will be meaningless to me. I am coming from an 18' I/O and recreational at best so nothing but upside for me.
Malibu - The boat handled a little sloppy, just not the sharp crisp turning of the Tige. I know my objects not going to be running a grand prix but still felt loose. The boat is loud relative to the Tige. Not unbearable but noticable in a back to back test. Driven on seperate days I probably wouldn't have noticed it. The driver's seat sits too low especially for my wife. We like being up above the windshield and with the bolster up I am fine but my wife was straining to look over the edge. Also the bow's a little higher and took little longer to get down. In relative terms, it was a little slower getting out of the blocks. Boat is a little rougher riding. As for the boat, we found it to be much more comfortable. If we had to choose a boat for just riding all day the Malibu wins hands down. The tower was easier to handle. While it looks a little star trekish it has grown on me. This is a small thing but I like the pop-up ski pylon. Probably some debate on its durability but I liked being able to get it out of the way. I was really surprised at how much roomier the malibu felt given it is a smaller boat.
Like I said upgrading from small I/O so both of these are great alternatives and the differences seem very small. We also compared the MC - too pricey in the same price - and CC - didn't like the feel of it, almost uncomfortable but it came down to these two for use. We will be using it for skiing, boarding, tubing and entertaining so performance isn't the only criteria to judge it on.
In our judgement Tige wins on performance/driving issues and Malibu wins on the boat design/features/comfort. They all have their differences in manufacturing methods but I didn't notice any real differences in quality. It's down to a gut feel now, nothing really to seperate the two boats.
Comment