room, looks, side impact curtains, AWD, gas mileage.

Needs more zip, needs more responsive handling. Bimmer has speed responsive steering; no reason why Toyota can't figure out how to improve steering and overall handling.

I had wanted a Scion XB, but couldn't fit 2 kids and a golden retriever in it, so I settled on the Matrix because the dog fit. How sad is it when you have to buy a car based on how well your dog fits? Would've rather traded in the dog for chihuaha in order to get the XB, but the kids like the dog so he stays. I'm glad I went with the Matrix tho, it handles well but still not as sporty or zippy as my little 318i Bimmer. No problems with noise, rattles, or anything else. Great gas mileage, comfy to drive, love the moonroof. Nowhere good to put the satellite radio reciever tho, so you have to use the suction glass mount for the front windshield. It's a little distracting to have it stuck on the windshield, but not so much to cause an accident or anything like that. It's a bit underpowered, but coming off of a jeep grand cherokee (V8) I'd trade power for gas mileage any day. Good car for a mom who doesn't want to drive a mom-mobile. Funky styling, sleek, appealing in Black Sand Pearl, radient red, or Cosmic blue (although I went with the Black because everyone and their brother is driving a Cosmic blue Matrix these days). We tried out the Forester and Outback and both were seriously depressing mom-mobiles with absolutely no style or character or colour for that matter. Minivan or volvo would've been a step up from the Forester "mommy-wagon" quotient. Tried an Outlander and it was just as bad. Vibe was totally cheezy. Mazda 6 is too small for the average golden retriever to fit in. Almost bought a RAV 4, but hubby wouldn't drive it because its a "chick SUV". Yep, hubby has issues. All in all, the Matrix is a good choice for anyone looking for comfort, room, reliability, gas mileage, funky design, and some cool extras for under 21,000 bucks.

Lots of room inside. Great performance and handling. 110v socket very handy.

squeeky and rattley terrible stereo system/DVD works only half the time.Don't get it. acceleration dismal from 0-20mph unless you manipulate the gas/clutch just right.

I have purchased Toyota's since 1988 and this is the first one I have regretted buying. My Matrix XRS has had more minor defects than my 1974 Chevy Vega. First, the radio started buzzing. The dealer replaced the antenna amplifier in the roof. Next, there was a loud anoying buzz at freeway speeds. Sounded like a kazoo player gone wild. After three visits to the dealer, they found the winshield wasn't seated properly. There was squeeking coming from the rear underside of the car if you tapped the gas. This turned out to be defective exaust mounting gaskets. It was fixed, but the sound is coming back. The worst has turned out to be the radio. The AM/FM has gone out and it is out of mfg warranty (42k miles). I got the extended warranty, but I just found out it doesn't cover stereos. Since the car came with the voice DVD navagation and 6 disc changer, I can't just go to my nearest stereo store and replace it with another head unit. If I do that, the DVD player and changer become useless because they rely on the 2 din display that would be replaced by the new stereo. The dealer wants $600.00 to repair/replace the radio. The car is only 2 years old, and Toyota won't help. It's out of warranty, I'm out of luck.The DVD system works only half the time. I live in Southern California and many times I activate the DVD nav, and it shows me 2 miles off shore, or it shows me in another city 10 miles away. Toyota should have designed the car rather than letting GM do it. The performance is another thing. The car is a blast to drive. I have the 6 spd, so I can take advantage of "lift" at 6200 RPM. It gets and average of 26 mpg if I drive it fast and 30 mpg is I drive easy. I love the looks and I like the interior, but I cannot reccomend this car due to the numerous minor defects I have encountered.

Quality, reliabilty. I have long been a believer in Toyota quality (as stated above, my 1993 Corolla has 173,000 miles on it and I drive it too work every day...and there are no oil leaks in my driveway from it either). Good looks, great handling, excellent value for the money. I would buy another.

None yet. I am concerned about the chrome finish that I am hearing about having a peeling problem. But, if that is all that I have to worry about...what a relief!! That's much better than the transmission nightmare I was about to have to deal with on my old Bravada.$$$$$

I purchased my Matrix after my 1998 Bravada started acting up in the tranny area. I own a 1993 Corolla with 173,000 miles so I knew all about Toyota quality. We really are enjoying our Matrix. It has a lot of room for a small car. I am 6'2" and I have no problem driving/riding in it. I also enjoy all of the features such as moon roof (or sun roof to some), power windows/locks/mirrors. Outlets in the console. Nice stereo with 6-CD changer (a little too much red when driving at night but still cool). Excellent headlights and driving lights. ALOT of room in the back. We bought laminate flooring for my daughter's room and had no problem hauling over 15 cases in the back. Just flip the rear seats down and your ready to roll. Great fit and finish. Nice wheels. I have no problem with its power. I live near mountains and I was amazed at how well it dealt with the grade up the mountain. No complaints on power here. The gas mileage is awesome. When we had the Bravada (15MPG), it seem like we were feeding $20's into its gas tank every other day. Now I ask my wife when she last filled up and she states..."I can't remember..." Music to my ears. We have saved over $200 a month in gas. I wanted a dependable, long lasting car and that is why I picked Toyota. When it is payed for, it will be ready to carry my oldest daughter off to college and I will be driving to my Toyota dealer for another great product. Speaking of Toyota Dealers, I highly recommend the Toyota of Knoxville delaership in Knoxville, TN. Super people. They treated my wife and I great...and still do. Our salesman still calls and checks on us.

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1. Can easily fit my bicycle with the rear seats folded down. 2. Good visibility, easy to drive. 3. Sporty look 4. great cargo space 5. Good gas mileage 6. factory alarm

1. Weak speakers and head unit 2. Little power, not a car to race with

The toyota matrix is a very practical car that is well designed for everyday use. If you only own one car, the Matrix would be a great choice. It is not a fun car to drive, like a hummer or a corvette. Cars that are fun to drive are expensive and come with very high maintenance costs. If you are looking to cut down costs, the matrix offers a very wise solution at an affordable price. There is no such thing as the perfect car. Like me, many people who also purchased the Matrix did lots of research before buying the matrix. After months of research, my final two choices were the prius and the matrix. I went with the matrix because I felt that it offered me a better value at a better price. The Matrix is confortable to drive. If you remove the passenger head rests, you get a great rear view. I used to drive a truck before and have no regrets to switching to the matrix. The engine noise is not a big issue to me. The 6 speaker sound system in the Matrix is weak, but I didn't expect it to be great. The factory alarm is a must. Arming and disarming is silient and hassle free. The alarm is covered by warantee, so it is worth the extra money.

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roomy, great looks, top of the line sterio w/6 CD changer is outstanding

rotten egg/sulpher smell when idling, cheap silver paint on dash that chips,engine makes huge rev-up but goes nowhere when excellerating, big drop in gas milage when a/c is on, lousy tires which had to be changed after 4K mi.,rough ride you feel everything getting worse as time goes on

This car has amazing interior space. It has suited my family well for the transporting of kids and cargo.I have helped people move twice and could fit all kinds of things in it when it's all folded down.Gas milage has been about 30 mpg on the highway which is a plus. Not crazy about the service at the dealership. Brought it in with problems which were ignored.

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Styling Value and features for price In-town performance Gas mileage

Ride is a bit rough Factory six-speaker stereo is pretty crappy. We'll probably have to replace at some point.

We bought a 2005 Matrix XR and are very happy with it. We have two small children and already have a larger wagon. We were looking for a smaller car that would be good for zipping around in the city but that would have enough room for a family of four. The Matrix really fits the bill. The interior feels very roomy...not sure if that's an illusion due to the higher ceiling, but it really feels bigger inside, especially compared to the Subaru Impreza Outback that we also looked at. It tends to ride a bit higher than passenger cars...if you are used to an SUV you might like it, for me it takes a little getting used to. We have two small children with car seats, and everybody pretty much fits. For out of town trips we plan to get a roof rack with a Thule carrier. There's no way the Matrix could fit the four of us with all of our camping gear. We got lots of cool features for our $18,000, like a six-speaker stereo, ABS, and moon roof. On the other hand, some parts of the car feel cheaply made, like the glove box and rear cargo area. The car's performance is reasonable, and good for the city. The 1.8L engine is a bit noisy on acceleration and not that fast, but when you get to cruising speed you can keep up with most folks on the freeway. It feels very agile, although the turning radius isn't as good as our Subaru Legacy wagon. We really like the styling...it's nice to have a car that looks a bit different but that isn't a gas-guzzling SUV. The ride is probably the biggest drawback. It is a bit rough, but you do get used to it. Maybe the suspension is tuned really tightly and will loosen over time...I don't know. On the whole, we're very happy with the Matrix.

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Overall Practicality Gas Mileage (avg 30 city/33hwy) Cockpit Styling Mechanical Reliability Cargo Room!!! Passenger Compartment Room Suspension Unconventional Body Style (a strength, in my opinion)

OEM Tires (205/40/16 Goodyear Eagle RSA,expensive to replace, bad treadlife, and very poor traction) Radiator & Transmission require special tools to open up & change fluids, so you either HAVE to go back to the dealer for maintenance on these systems unless you can find a well-equipped indy garage

Plainly said, this car rocks! I have been enjoying the heck out of mine for almost 2 years, and I have no plans to switch to anything else for a LOOOONG time. I have owned everything from an '83 Datsun 200SX to an '00 Dodge Ram Cummins Turbo Diesel, and this is the only car I've had that I didn't want to change SOMETHING about. It's good for everything. Decent sports car-ish performance, more than ample cargo room, comfortable passenger compartment -- I know there's no such thing as perfection, but the Matrix XR comes dangerously close. The Matrix is fun to drive,and the dash panel and control arrangement make you feel like you're in an airplane cockpit. I'm only 5'6" myself, but I was impressed with the roominess of the back seat, and all my tall (5'10" or more) passengers have confirmed my opinion -- I've never had a tall passenger complain about being squished. From the amount of cargo space, you'd swear you were driving a moving van. But the Matrix handles waaay better than any moving van I've ever driven. I usually do suspension mods (swaybars, etc)first, but I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of body roll that this car has, especially for being such a "tall" vehicle. I replaced my stock 16" wheels with 17" wheels with lo-pro, hi-performance tires, and I feel like I'm in a race car. I have been to the drag races with my Matrix (stock 130 hp+ cold air intake) and even though I didn't win, I was again pleasantly surprised. But I had to quit the racing because I want this car to last a long time! I would truly recommend this car to anyone. It has at least something that every driver and passenger can appreciate, and I think it is an exceptional value for the price.

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All sheet metal fits perfectly, without any flaws in paint. Great amount of room for a compact car, and can seat 4 large adults very comfortably. Fold the rear seat backs down, and one can fit a large chocolate labrador retriever in total comfort in the rear.

I can't think of any at this time.

Ive owned this 2005 Matrix for about 2 weeks, I originally picked "2004" as the year since "2005" has not yet been listed, and I really like it. At the present time I can not comment on its performance at rpms over 3500 as I am still in the break-in period. So far, it handles great, without a rattle even hitting hard bumps. Fuel mileage is outstanding. My first fuel check I logged 33mpgs, then my purely in-town ridings have netted me 30.3mpgs. I am very impressed. This car is pure Toyota! In other words, pure "quality".

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Sexy design, clean interior, comfortable seats, more than adequate power even with the a/c blasting, descent sound system, easy user maintenance access and room to spare. I intend on keeping this for many, many years and would recommend it to anyone.

Only one minor problem for me... the steering wheel is slightly smaller than is could be, so if your 6'0 or taller, you feel like your reaching a bit on a long trip. Other than that, I have absolutely ZERO problems with this car.

It was time for a replacement of my 86 Toyota p/u which had no a/c and over 400k miles on it. My wife and I looked at the Focus, Vibe and Protoge 5. While the Focus was a little less $$, and the others significantly more, the Matrix was just about right as far as price and for me there is simply no comparision to a Toyota regarding quality. Once I selected one, as soon as I sat in one, I fell in love with it. I have a Radiant Red base model, which suits me perfectly. I have since added my own custom wheels, perfering to not spend $1200 from the dealer. This car is easy on the road as I drive over 120mi each day. Acceleration, while not great is adequate. Visibility is exceptional as you sit fairly high in the seat. In the 2004 model, I do not experience instrument panel viewing problems like others. Sound system is adequate, but could be better even if you replace the factory speakers with retail models (significant improvement). Above all other things, the car rides well, corners well and is quiet for a compact car. The interior space is beyond belief. I hauled a 40gallon water heater in it's box, with only the back seats folder down. Last but not least, I drive easy by most standards and I am getting close to 38.5 MPG!!!

Ride, room, versatility, fuel consumption, seats comfort and material, reliability

style, too loud, very underpowered, inside plastics, instrument reflection on the windshield, visibility of instruments if the sun is behind the vehicle, drums on rear wheels, everything is basically the option on Toyota.

Although I got rid of this car, I still think it is a good buy...as long as you plan to keep it for years. It was very smooth and fuel efficient. However, after 6 months became boring. The styling became old and ugly, inside plastics started to annoy me. The trade-in value is horrible because this is the worst selling Toyota model and the dealers cannot get rid of them -- no Toyota dealer within 100 miles from where I live wanted to take this vehicle. looks like Toyota may discontinue this model due to poor sales. Now, the car runs OK considering it is underpowered and the car is very versatile and roomy. I would definitely suggest not to pay more than $1000 UNDER the invoice for this car if you're considering to get it. And plan to keep it for a while or you'll loose a lot!