Wakebrdr94
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- Apr 14, 2013
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Once again I am here to give a review of a roll bar boat. Last year i had a 2014 Malibu VLX, and upgraded this last year to a 2015 VLX as it was redesigned for 2015. It went from a 21' boat to a 22' boat. It was given 4" more freeboard, and a 2" wider beam. Along with a few other cool upgrades which I will go into detail below.
The 22VLX was really improved over its predecessor. It still drives like a sports car, but the extra freeboard definitely gives you a better feeling while sitting in the boat as it is deeper, especially if you have kids. I have a 5 year old who loves to sit in the bow, and that is where I noticed it the most. Deeper, and gives me a safer feeling if he is up there. Of course he doesn't like it as he can't see over the bow now, but he'll grow into it
. Along with the added freeboard, flip up seating was added so that it gives two addition seat backs for passengers. Since most of the action takes place behind these boats, it allows for other passengers to face the rear more comfortably. Of course this works when there are only a couple a people in the boat, if you have 8 or more people, you probably would not use this feature. More freeboard also means deeper storage. You get a drop in cooler and trash can under the starboard side rear seats, and plenty of storage under the rest of the seats, as well as the two large lockers in the rear.
A big improvement over the previous years is the new helm that Malibu introduced this year. You have a 12" touch display that shows all your gauges and information, and a 7" touch screen which controls items such as lights, blowers, stereo, etc. The screens are nice and bright, and do not produce the glare you think they would while in the bright sunlight. The system feels like an ipad, and the touch commands are just as fast. Although it looks like a lot on the screen, it is really very intuitive. You have your speedo and tach, and you can switch between ballast and depth information (on the same screen) while still viewing the speed. The 12" screen also controls your wedge and surfgate functions, but you also have an "analog" control for that as well. You can also plug in a camera or video system to view through the 12" screen. The 7" touch screen also has maps built into it, of course you have to buy the SD card with the map info, but it is a nice feature if you venture outside your normal boating areas. The boat is a push button start, and you enter your start code through the 7" screen. Malibu also has a back up ignition where you would use a key, should you have a screen failure. While it is unlikely, it helps gives piece of mind.
The "analog" control to the left of the steering wheel is similar to the BMW sport knob. with the knob you can control cruise control speed, as well and volume and skiping tracks with the stereo. You also get wedge and surfgate controls as well. The thought behind this is, while it is nice to have the ipad feel, there really is no physical touch to it, you cant press glass without looking and know what you are pressing. The analog controls gives you that sense of touch so that you can drive, and not take your eyes off the horizon. Kind of like driving your car, and turning the volume up without looking.
Wakeboarding and wakesurfing, two items of hot debate here, but both can be fun. If you're a wakeboarder, the wake behind the new hull is sick. With the stock ballast and Power Wedge 2 it is more than enough. The wedge simulates 1500lbs of ballast, by sucking the rear of the boat deeper into the water giving you a bigger footprint, hence enhancing the wake. The wedge is also adjustable, so you can make the wake steeper with the touch of a button. The wedge was also redesigned to have a "negative" angle, which helps get the boat on plane faster. If the motor senses a struggle, the wedge will automatically go into the "lift" mode, then when you are at speed, will set back into the position is was set at for the rider. Definitely a fuel saver, and helps reduce he need for a motor upgrade, which can be pretty expensive as we know.
Surfgate is awesome if you like surfing. No more leaning the boat, moving ballast around, telling people to sit in on one side of the boat, etc. now you run the boat level, people sit where they want, and the gate produces a surfable wave for you. It automatically deploys and retracts, so that driving the boat is easy. press a button and you can switch the side the wave is produced on. When your done, drain the ballast, with one button and you are ready to go wherever.
For sound I went with Exile again as I love their product. I deleted the factory system and swapped it all out to Exile. It looks great and the sound is impressive. The stock system is good, but I like custom items
In all, I really love the new boat over the previous version. If there are any fellow board members looking to switch to a wakeboat, definitely give Malibu a look. I'm on my 4th Malibu, and they seem to just keep improving on an already great product.
New helm, even has a phone holder there for you
I put a rear view camera on the rear so I could see if anyone was behind me in the water if I had to move
Picture with the flip seating up
Power Wedge 2
Surfgate
The 22VLX was really improved over its predecessor. It still drives like a sports car, but the extra freeboard definitely gives you a better feeling while sitting in the boat as it is deeper, especially if you have kids. I have a 5 year old who loves to sit in the bow, and that is where I noticed it the most. Deeper, and gives me a safer feeling if he is up there. Of course he doesn't like it as he can't see over the bow now, but he'll grow into it
. Along with the added freeboard, flip up seating was added so that it gives two addition seat backs for passengers. Since most of the action takes place behind these boats, it allows for other passengers to face the rear more comfortably. Of course this works when there are only a couple a people in the boat, if you have 8 or more people, you probably would not use this feature. More freeboard also means deeper storage. You get a drop in cooler and trash can under the starboard side rear seats, and plenty of storage under the rest of the seats, as well as the two large lockers in the rear.A big improvement over the previous years is the new helm that Malibu introduced this year. You have a 12" touch display that shows all your gauges and information, and a 7" touch screen which controls items such as lights, blowers, stereo, etc. The screens are nice and bright, and do not produce the glare you think they would while in the bright sunlight. The system feels like an ipad, and the touch commands are just as fast. Although it looks like a lot on the screen, it is really very intuitive. You have your speedo and tach, and you can switch between ballast and depth information (on the same screen) while still viewing the speed. The 12" screen also controls your wedge and surfgate functions, but you also have an "analog" control for that as well. You can also plug in a camera or video system to view through the 12" screen. The 7" touch screen also has maps built into it, of course you have to buy the SD card with the map info, but it is a nice feature if you venture outside your normal boating areas. The boat is a push button start, and you enter your start code through the 7" screen. Malibu also has a back up ignition where you would use a key, should you have a screen failure. While it is unlikely, it helps gives piece of mind.
The "analog" control to the left of the steering wheel is similar to the BMW sport knob. with the knob you can control cruise control speed, as well and volume and skiping tracks with the stereo. You also get wedge and surfgate controls as well. The thought behind this is, while it is nice to have the ipad feel, there really is no physical touch to it, you cant press glass without looking and know what you are pressing. The analog controls gives you that sense of touch so that you can drive, and not take your eyes off the horizon. Kind of like driving your car, and turning the volume up without looking.
Wakeboarding and wakesurfing, two items of hot debate here, but both can be fun. If you're a wakeboarder, the wake behind the new hull is sick. With the stock ballast and Power Wedge 2 it is more than enough. The wedge simulates 1500lbs of ballast, by sucking the rear of the boat deeper into the water giving you a bigger footprint, hence enhancing the wake. The wedge is also adjustable, so you can make the wake steeper with the touch of a button. The wedge was also redesigned to have a "negative" angle, which helps get the boat on plane faster. If the motor senses a struggle, the wedge will automatically go into the "lift" mode, then when you are at speed, will set back into the position is was set at for the rider. Definitely a fuel saver, and helps reduce he need for a motor upgrade, which can be pretty expensive as we know.
Surfgate is awesome if you like surfing. No more leaning the boat, moving ballast around, telling people to sit in on one side of the boat, etc. now you run the boat level, people sit where they want, and the gate produces a surfable wave for you. It automatically deploys and retracts, so that driving the boat is easy. press a button and you can switch the side the wave is produced on. When your done, drain the ballast, with one button and you are ready to go wherever.
For sound I went with Exile again as I love their product. I deleted the factory system and swapped it all out to Exile. It looks great and the sound is impressive. The stock system is good, but I like custom items
In all, I really love the new boat over the previous version. If there are any fellow board members looking to switch to a wakeboat, definitely give Malibu a look. I'm on my 4th Malibu, and they seem to just keep improving on an already great product.
New helm, even has a phone holder there for you
I put a rear view camera on the rear so I could see if anyone was behind me in the water if I had to move
Picture with the flip seating up
Power Wedge 2
Surfgate
