22 VLX Review - Larson Marine/EXILE Audio/Wakemakers

Thought I would post up some quick thoughts on the new 2015 Malibu 22 VLX for anyone who might in the market for this boat....

First I would like to thank my dealer LARSON MARINE in Rancho Cordova for always treating me right, Craig and his crew are always great to deal with. Also would like to thank EXILE Audio for going above and beyond in customer service and producing a great product. And lastly, WAKEMAKERS for helping me pull together my ballast system.

My boat is running the 410 Indmar with the 1235 high altitude prop. I have had two prior VLXs (2011/13), the 2015 is a completely different boat. Malibu pretty much changed everything, wake plus hull, more freeboard, longer, wider (102" beam), wake view seating, rear transom seats, G3.2/G4 tower, touch screen dash, sport knob, power wedge 2, zero off GPS standard... quite a few changes.

Starting at the helm, the new dash is a huge improvement from the prior maliview. Its super easy to use, easy on the eyes and has been well thought out. It took me about 10 minutes and was catching on quite easily. It has all the rider presets, ballast fill and drains, zero off, maintenance reminders, night mode, etc... just a nice setup that is super easy to use with good visibility when driving. Very comparable to an Ipad and the functionality and ease of use. The new sport knob is also very cool, controls wedge, surfgate, speed up and down, and stereo volume.

The new Power Wedge 2 has a larger foil (I think 18% larger) and a hydraulic actuator. Malibu got rid of the dual lenco actuators, this setup is much better. Less prone to failures and a super reliable setup. Also has a quick release incase of a failure you can at least stow the wedge and continue your day on the water. The new LIFT feature is the highlight for me, it helps plane out the boat much quicker. This is legit, I was a little sceptical about it but its no joke, it will push down the bow and get a heavily weighted boat on plane so much faster than the old wedge. A great upgrade from Malibu.

Wakeview seating is really nice, two pop us seats that retract when not being used. Would be nice to have the center flip around seat but this was a good move for Malibu to at least have the rear view seating available.

I ordered with the G3.2 tower, which now has quick release clamps which are a nice improvement from the screw in knobs on prior years. The new G4 looks amazing, just could not justify the huge upcharge, so I ended up going with the G3.2 again. The G3.2 is very solid and accommodates extra board racks, its always been a great tower.

Wakeboard wake on this boat is quite impressive stock out of the box, the factory hard tanks are 1350 lbs with four tanks. Combined with PW2 its a very respectable factory wake, start throwing more weigh at it and it gets even better. Super clean and easy to dial in. This boat will throw a clean wakeboard wake from 16 mph and up...

Surf wake is also nice with surfgate, We have been surfing with hard tanks full, wedge 1-2 clicks up, 800 lb wakemaker ski locker bags and a 650 lb bow bag. This is a fun wake to surf on, lots of push. I am sure with more weight it can get even better, this seems to be about the sweet spot for us to have fun with and not have a ridiculous amount of weight in the boat.

EXILE Stereo - I did a complete stereo delete, my system is totally seperated from the malibu touch screen. This was also my first stereo install and Brian was great in helping when needed. I had two prior Wetsounds systems in my last two boats and wanted to try something new. I got a hold of Brian at EXILE Audio and he helped me put together a really nice system. Running two XM30.2 amps for the 4 XM9 HLCD tower speakers (4 ohms/300 watts each), a Javelin amp powering XI12" sub and 4 6.5" and 4 8" Exile cabin and bow speakers with a ZLD Eq. Very pleased with this system and the performance, it rocks.... is plenty for us and it just sounds amazingly clean. Would highly recommend EXILE for anyone in the market for any stereo components.

Ballast system - I did not go with factory PnP. Wakemakers helped me pull together three Johnson pumps, 800 lb wakemaker custom ski locker bags and a 650 lb bow bag on a quick fill line mounted under bow gunnel. System works great, I have always been a huge fan of Johnson pumps.

My thoughts? The new VLX is a fantastic boat, really have nothing but great things to say about it. Malibu did a fantastic job on this boat. Would highly recommend a demo if you are in the market for a 22' boat. After my 15 hour service I had two warranty claims, it has been rock solid and performing great.

Here are some pics of the boat, along with stereo and ballast system I installed...