“After our family and friends skied, wakeboarded, wake skated and surfed a full summer behind the Malibu VTX, I can truly say that Malibu has engineered the best V Drive in the 20 foot category. We made the right decision! Prior to purchasing this boat, we had owned a closed bow Ski Nautique 196 for 9 years and previous to that, two Mastercraft closed bow Pro Star 190’s. Although they were excellent boats that gave us a great ski wake, we needed to upgrade to a larger boat that would give the family and friends more storage and seating area. Our concern at the time was that we would be giving up a great ski wake if went to a V drive boat. My wife made it clear to me that she would not be in favor of purchasing another boat if we are going to lose the ski wake we have enjoyed over the many years we had skied behind inboards. In the fall of 2007, we test drove the 2008 Mastercraft X-2 (V Drive) and X-14 (Industry’s largest Inboard), Supra 20 SS, (V Drive) Ski Nautique 211(V Drive) and the Malibu VTX.
The Malibu VTX with the Diamond Cut Hull out performed the other boats we had tested by a clear margin. Unlike the other boats we drove, this boat did not need a trim tab to try and make a ski wake. Not knowing that much about Malibu boats, I was trying to stay with the Mastercraft and/or Ski Nautique line that I was familiar with since we were always impressed with the workmanship, especially the Ski Nautique. We test drove on two separate occasions (two dealers) the Ski Nautique 211 which is also rated a Class tournament ski boat, and the Mastercraft X-2 and X-14 to make sure I was making the right decision. Besides having a great ski wake, the VTX ballast capacity was much greater than any of their boats we tried. Also, you had the option to add a power wedge to increase and/or shape the wake. Overall, this combination gave us 2100 lbs of weight for wake boarding, surfing etc.
Malibu also had other significant features that stood out over the competition. Since the tower is much lighter, it takes seconds to lower down to windshield height when storing in the garage. The VTX with tower can clear a standard 7 foot door height. We also like the storage capacity which is much greater than any boats we looked at. This boat also handled better, especially when making turns. Great performing boat!”
Regards,
The Kiley Family
