There has been a shift in model demand at Minnesota Inboard over the past two years.  Prior to 2007 Minnesota Inboard was a dealership that sold more Response LXi's than any other boat in their line-up.  It seemed as though there was always a little bit of controversy over which direction a family would go.  Should they purchase a boat that has a phenomenal slalom wake, but lacked the creature comforts of a V-drive?  Or should they purchase a V-drive and sacrifice the tournament wake that all skiers strive to ski behind?  In many cases, families were just not ready to give up that slalom wake that they had grown to love behind a true inboard.  It took 12 long years until there was an answer to this dilemma.  Malibu boats spent years fine tuning and in 2007 came out with a homerun!  They created a 20' V-drive that used the same cut-diamond hull as the Response LXi.  They gave customers and dealers the option to place this hull underneath the Sunscape series or the very popular Wakesetter series.  In the Wakesetter version, you would get tournament capable slalom wakes with the ability to fill up to 1250 pounds in internal ballast and put down the wedge, equivalent to another thousand pounds, to give you one of the best wakeboard wakes in the industry.

    Going into the 2007 boat show season there was a huge buzz around the industry about this 20' V-drive that skied like a tournament slalom boat.  We went into the 2007 boat show having never driven or skied behind the new 20' boats, but had heard phenomenal reviews from pro skiers and factory reps.  We ended up selling eighteen 20' boats at that show.  As delivery season approached, we had some nervousness, just because of the fact that everyone has different perceptions of what a great crossover boat would be.  The overwhelming response after delivering over twenty new 20' V-drives was WOW!  Customers couldn't believe the wake capability and this boat had the performance and handling of a traditional slalom boat.

In the second year, the 20' V-drives have accounted for over 30% of Minnesota Inboard's sales.  This boat continues to amaze customers.  Many customers have taken the time to test drive several boats in the industry and they all can't believe the difference.  New Malibu VTX owner Ben Thomas was one of the customers who did countless hours of research and had a chance to drive and ski behind everything.  "I would unquestionably recommend the Malibu VTX to anyone looking for the do everything boat. From on-water experience I can tell you, this boat is truly a top performer".