Welterweights, Pt2

Sorry about the delay in posting Part 2 of my ongoing series here, folks. The weekend kinda got away from me. Long story short, trip to Riverside cut short by an illness. Vomiting toddlers are simultaneously not fun and sad to see. But enough with my life. On with the show!!!

When I posted Part one, Commenter Garthor postulated an order for how the rest of the series would go. I can now, with supreme confidence, inform him that he has been completely wrong.

5th Place: Toyota Matrix



I must confess to a bit of personal bias here: I wanted this car to place higher. While it has Toyota's pedigree to speak for its reliability, it's more of a driver's car. They come with a proper flat-bottmed steering wheel, for instance, and the radio and A/C gauges are angled slightly towards the driver. As a practical commuter, it shines over it's sibling the Corolla in terms of having more user space. Driver ergonomics are better set up too- I like the way the dashboard is set up, for instance, and you feel like you're sitting more in the car, rather than on it, which is an important distinction.
(Interior shown with 4 speed auto)

Indeed, then, what sells this car is when you stack it up against it's on-lot Competitor.
Unlike the Corolla, the Matrix is available with a 2.4 engine good for 158 horsepower. This is also mated to a 5 speed manu-matic in the S-trim. Alternatively, according to the Toyota vehicle comparisons on Toyota's own website, you can get it with AWD, which is nice if you live anywhere other than coastal California. Plus, you can get factory installed TRD performance accessories, such as a limited slip differential ($1350), lowering springs ($199), sway bar ($300), and front strut brace($265) which can be dealer installed. It should be noted, that TRD also makes a supercharger (which, for a 4 pot, will run you about $2000). This last option is not listed on the website, but we do business with a Toyota dealership at our rental car office, and in talking to some of the sales guys, if you ask your dealer nicely, you could probably get that factory installed on your Matrix. All that would make for a pretty unique little hatchback.

Sadly, however, the Matrix doesn't come without its faults. For instance, you may remember in the last paragraph I mentioned the AWD option. Sadly, this is only available with the 4 speed transmission. Granted, this is a leftover from the old GM/Toyota agreement, when Pontiac were producing the Matrix under the guise of the Vibe. Then there's the problem of the price.

Pricing it out online, the baseline Matrix will ring the registers at just under $20,000, and that's without checking off any of the aforementioned performance accessories. With all the options and the aforementioned performance accessories (except the supercharger), that brings the price without incentives just over $26,000. While the car has a good pedigree, anyone shopping for a hot hatchback can get much more potent examples of the species can be found for less (I'm looking at you, Mazdaspeed3).

Without the performance accessories, the car exhibits better handling characteristics than the Corolla, but barely enough to command the nearly $4000 premium. And, while the 5 speed shiftable automatic is a quantum leap over the old 4 speed, there are better transmissions on the market out there.

I want to love the Matrix. I really do. However, there's just a few cars out there that offer better bang for your buck.

Bottom Line: This is what you should get if you had your heart set on a Toyota, but you can get better value for money.

Stay tuned