diff --git a/cmd/start.go b/cmd/start.go
index 37f783300..5180c829f 100644
--- a/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/start.go
@@ -117,13 +117,9 @@ func init() {
 
 	defaultMountType := "9p"
 	defaultVMType := "qemu"
-	if util.MacOS13OrNewer() {
-		defaultVMType = "vz"
-		defaultMountType = "virtiofs"
-	}
 
-	mounts := strings.Join([]string{defaultMountType, "sshfs"}, ", ")
-	types := strings.Join([]string{defaultVMType, "qemu"}, ", ")
+	mounts := strings.Join([]string{defaultMountType, "sshfs", "virtiofs"}, ", ")
+	types := strings.Join([]string{defaultVMType, "vz"}, ", ")
 
 	root.Cmd().AddCommand(startCmd)
 	startCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&startCmdArgs.Runtime, "runtime", "r", docker.Name, "container runtime ("+runtimes+")")
@@ -171,7 +167,7 @@ func init() {
 
 	// dns
 	startCmd.Flags().IPSliceVarP(&startCmdArgs.Network.DNSResolvers, "dns", "n", nil, "DNS resolvers for the VM")
-	startCmd.Flags().StringSliceVar(&startCmdArgs.Flags.DNSHosts, "dns-host", nil, "Custom DNS names to provide to resolver")
+	startCmd.Flags().StringSliceVar(&startCmdArgs.Flags.DNSHosts, "dns-host", nil, "custom DNS names to provide to resolver")
 }
 
 func dnsHostsFromFlag(hosts []string) map[string]string {
@@ -241,6 +237,16 @@ func prepareConfig(cmd *cobra.Command) {
 		// convert mount type for qemu
 		if startCmdArgs.VMType != "vz" && startCmdArgs.MountType == "virtiofs" {
 			startCmdArgs.MountType = "9p"
+			if cmd.Flag("mount-type").Changed {
+				log.Warnln("virtiofs is only available for 'vz' vmType, using 9p")
+			}
+		}
+		// convert mount type for vz
+		if startCmdArgs.VMType == "vz" && startCmdArgs.MountType == "9p" {
+			startCmdArgs.MountType = "virtiofs"
+			if cmd.Flag("mount-type").Changed {
+				log.Warnln("9p is only available for 'qemu' vmType, using virtiofs")
+			}
 		}
 	}
 	// if there is no existing settings
diff --git a/embedded/defaults/colima.yaml b/embedded/defaults/colima.yaml
index 22c29105f..648c63e29 100644
--- a/embedded/defaults/colima.yaml
+++ b/embedded/defaults/colima.yaml
@@ -104,8 +104,8 @@ docker: {}
 #
 # vz is macOS virtualization framework and requires macOS 13
 #
-# Default: vz (for macOS 13), qemu (for non-macOS 13)
-vmType: "vz"
+# Default: qemu
+vmType: qemu
 
 # Volume mount driver for the virtual machine (virtiofs, 9p, sshfs).
 #
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ vmType: "vz"
 # of concurrent reads or writes).
 #
 # Default: virtiofs (for vz), 9p (for qemu)
-mountType: sshfs
+mountType: 9p
 
 # The CPU type for the virtual machine (requires vmType `qemu`).
 # Options available for host emulation can be checked with: `qemu-system-$(arch) -cpu help`.
diff --git a/environment/vm/lima/yaml.go b/environment/vm/lima/yaml.go
index 374052e63..aa0e08683 100644
--- a/environment/vm/lima/yaml.go
+++ b/environment/vm/lima/yaml.go
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ func newConf(ctx context.Context, conf config.Config) (l Config, err error) {
 	}
 
 	switch strings.ToLower(conf.MountType) {
-	case "", "ssh", "sshfs", "reversessh", "reverse-ssh", "reversesshfs", REVSSHFS:
+	case "ssh", "sshfs", "reversessh", "reverse-ssh", "reversesshfs", REVSSHFS:
 		l.MountType = REVSSHFS
 	default:
 		if l.VMType == VZ {