Reliablilty
Interior room
Economy
Responsive handling...quite nimble

Road noise (impossible to listen to classical music on the radio) and engine noise during acceleration.
Visibility to rear sides of the car

Purchased the car in June of 2003 and, up to now, have had no issues at all other than regular maintenance. Now approaching 70K, have just replaced the tires and will need to replace drive belt and brake rotors in the very near future ($$!). The car has an amazing amount of room, both for passengers and/or cargo. I've ridden in the back seat of my son's VW Jetta and was very cramped. Not so in the Matrix!
The performance is pretty good...don't expect sports-car accelleration, but if you don't mind the engine revving noisily, there's adequate power to merge, pass, and get out of a potential scrape.
Because the belt-line of the car rises toward the rear, and because the mirrors are a bit small, parallel parking is tricky, despite the short overall dimension of the car. Nevertheless, I like the fact that I can park in small spaces that other cars have to pass by. Most of the Matrices I spot all have heavily scratched wheel covers from scraping up against a curb.
Gas mileage is pretty good....my guess is an average 30 mpg in a mix of city and highway driving. Logging about 20k miles per year, the car has been relatively cheap to run and cheap to maintain. (previously owned a Subaru that was much more costly to maintain.)
Great commuter car, but on long trips the road noise and spartan seat can wear a person down.

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It has a great deal of room for a small car and runs very well.

Perhaps it could be a little less noisy in term so foroad noise, but you get that in a small car usually so it's not a big deal.

We were amazed at how much space there actually is in the Matrix. We used to camp with a pop-up trailer and our Nissan Quest. Since the Matrix isn't really a vehicle for towing we've downsized to camping with a tent. Well, going from a trailer with the room inside the van for packing was something we were worried about. But the Matrix actually has a LOT of room inside. We managed a couple trips so far and it's been great !

The seats are ok...a little uncomfortable but not that bad at all. We took it on a trip from NY to KY to WV and back to NY and it performed very well in the mountains and on the highways.

We definitely feel we have gotten a good buy for a great price on a fantastic car !

The rest of the car is great, But I expected more of a Toyota for a simple thing like this, solid car cheap hub caps

Hub Caps

Hub caps stink even after replacing all four wheels with new Hub caps we are loosing them again. They come loose with just normal highway use.

Very disappointed w/ the hub caps. They are clipped on so every time you remove for rotation if the person has not idea what they are doing they will break the clips. These hub caps are $65 each. Very cheap idea for what I paid. I paid less for a Honda and they were screwed on.

Great gas mileage.

Very reliable (at 30,000 miles)

Good front view.

Blind spots when backing up.

A very reliable car that has performed well on long road trips of 2,000 miles plus. Very functional for passengers and cargo. A good car for road trips, as well as hauling lawn mowers, firewood, bikes, and so on. The fold-down, plastic-backed back seats are much better than carpeted ones. Just wipe the cargo area clean with a bit of soap and water.

Comfortable enough for 3-4 passengers.

Not a true sports car, but has some of those qualities. Tight steering, decent acceleration, and good braking.

Overall, a good value.

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SPORTY LOOK / CARGO SPACE / GAS MILAGE / INTERIOR IS NICELY LAYED OUT

Acceleration ,high center of gravity lots of body roll into turns and on windy days but my last car was a prelude so big difference

THIS CAR IS A GREAT CAR IF IT WAS ME MAKEING THE CAR I WOULD MAKE THE ENGINE A LITTLE BIGGER .TOO SLUGGISH FOR ME BUT IVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE 5 SPEED IS A LITTLE ZIPPYER.THE CAR HAS A GREAT LOOK.I GET A LOT OF COMPLIMENTS EVEY WHERE I GO.A ROOMY COMFORTABLE RIDE

-good value for the money/economical -roomy on the inside without being bulky on the outside -great gas milage -toyota reliablity/reputation -practical -great for singles or small families -versatile, cross-over type car -roomy, stylish -hatchback

-visors not big enough -no leather option -? durability of fake chrome dash- may chip down the road

First just let me say I drove 8 hours from indy to virginia to pick up this car. I LOVE this car (hate having the car payment every month). I found it on ebay, but she sold it to me off ebay before the auction was over. I bought it from an individual owner whose needed a pickup truck, and the car had only 21,000 miles. It is an automatic,XR AWD, with premium sound system, ABS, and a sunroof. I had researched/test drove several SUV's (RAV-4, Jeep Liberty, Honda CRV)and had decided on a RAV-4, but changed my mind after comparing it with the Matrix. The RAV-4 has terrible acceleration, the gas milage is not that great, and it doesn't have much more room than the Matrix. I also think the RAV4 is way over priced. It also does not have the cool styling or little gadgets that the matrix has, such as the 110 volt outlet. All in all a better car for the money if you are considering the RAV or any other compact SUV. It has the best features of a car, an SUV, and a hatchback! I also looked at the mazda 3 hatchback- there is no room in that car at all. I plan on keeping this car for many many years, so I had to keep in mind the family thing when purchasing a vehicle, and this car has enough room for 2 kids and a big dog. For now, it is great for road trips and carrying all of my work supplies (my Matrix serves as a mini office- I have to do a lot of driving for work). I wish that it had the roll out/roll up cargo cover that is attatched rather than the detatchable cover- it looks cheap and is not convenient. I am only 5'1" and I feel in control driving (and parking)this car-not like the Liberty. I wish that it sat a little higher up off the ground, but it does feel higher than the chevy prism I had before. I have also found that the sunvisors are inadequate for my short self. There is some kind of rattle noise on the driver's side dash that sounds like shaking plastic-nothing mechanical, just an annoying rattle that comes and goes. My matrix has performed excellent in the snowstorms so far this winter and in the rain as well. I feel very safe driving this car. As far as the gas milage, I have checked it twice. I drove 240 hwy miles going about 80 mph on a trip. I drove 300 miles on a tank in city driving for work. I wish I had looked for the cobalt/black color over the silver- but I didn't see one in person until after I purchased this one. I have no regrets buying this car, and feel it is an excellent buy.

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Have owned Toyotas since 1968 - very reliable, and predict same for this one. This car feels very controlled (handling) and very entertaining to drive. Braking is very good. 6-CD changer is nice to have. Love the little compartment for stuff. Love the rear access with door and the rear window access (one reason I bought it).

Hope for improvement on the wandering steering (maybe need more toe-in on wheel alignment). Visor is inadequate (does not block sun that well for a short guy like me). Wish it had the lighted ignition key like my CAMRY.

I have the moonroof, and just about every accessory available, and just love that extra stuff. Love the white color (very visible to others). Handles nice, rides a little "tight" to the road (rougher) but I like it that way (reminds me of my old british sports cars). I did notice some "wandering" on the steering, that is more than on most cars I have owned (reminded by of an old Ford Torino wagon that wander a bit). I am getting used to that (but miss the straight-line stability of my 90 Camry wagon). Loved the dealership (Piercy Toyota, SJ, Ca)

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90 Camry Wagon (had 160,00o mi), 98 Corolla LE, 93 Camry LE, 76 Corona, 73 MGB, numerous VW beetles.

Visibility Seating position ease of getting in and out of Heat Gas mileage

Sound system could be better.

We are very pleased with this car. Unlike the review written by another owner, we also live in a northern climate where it is below freezing for 5 straight months, and heat is not a problem in our Matrix at all. It warms up quickly and fills the car with heat in no time. Absolutely no complaints in that department from us. The car handles great, seating is very comfortable. The dash is very catchy and well laid out. The car has great acceleration in city driving. It is very roomy, especially with the way the rear seats fold down. Visibility is very good, and the car has very few blind spots. The only drawback is that the sound system could be a bit better. As well traction on ice and snow could be better. I now know why many Matrix owners in this northern climate have winter tires. The factory tires provide a great ride and summer traction, but are not designed for winter and snow and ice.Although I know someone who has the 4WD Matrix, and even with the same tires, there is a world of difference. The 4WD version plows through snow amazingly well.

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Handles well. Great mileage for 6 months of the year. Very versatile.

Engine temperature. Trickey clutch.

I like my Matrix very much except for one thing. I kive in a climate where temperatures are below freezing for at least 5 months of the year. At minus 10 degrees celcius, it takes at least 15 minutes of driving for the car to reach operating temperature. At minus 30 degrees celcius you can drive all day and the temperature gage will never move. Because the engine stays cold, the otherwise great gas mileage drops dramatically. Needless to say you'd better wear your long underwear if you want to drive a Matrix in Edmonton.