Added another Toyota!

Well, I have bought another Toyota. After over 20 years of Volvos, I have sold my last Volvo, a 1993 940 wagon with 200K miles. This created a need for the second car and as much as I wanted to go with a Prius, after some thinking I have decided to go with a conventional ICE Toyota. The second vehicle will not get driven every day, so this is one of the strikes against Prius for this role. My budget allowed something from the first decade of this century, so I figured a Corolla, but I prefer station wagons and/or hatchbacks. So Toyota Matrix it was! I looked for that or Pontiac Vibe, which is the GM re-skin on the Matrix. I ended up with a 2006 Matrix Xr with 107K miles on it. Automatic, FWD (they do have an AWD flavor, which I avoided). So far I have put maybe 100-150 miles on it and I am loving this car! It's a Toyota Corolla, basically with a much more useful body style for me. Supposedly it gets high 20's - mid 30's MPG, which is great for an ICE car of this size. Mine drives like new (kind of like my 2007 Prius with 210K miles) and so far so good, but this is just the beginning of the ownership experience. I figured a Corolla/Matrix is one of Toyota's most reliable vehicles (so is the Camry, Prius and pretty much every model they make, but Camry and Corolla seem to be leaders in reliability).

I'll be adding it to my Fuelly and keep track of the economy there. Again, not a Prius, but I really did not want to have two gen 2 cars and no others. I figure if anything happens to my Prius where I have to take it off the road for repairs I will be able to have good reliable transportation with the Matrix.

Does anyone else have a Matrix here (Vibe, Corolla)?

 

Thanks! So far I am loving it. It's simple, no frills, yet has much of what is needed. Sadly, it lacks ABS. For some reason Toyota skimped on ABS on Matrices, yet Pontiac had ABS in many more of their Vibes (but Vibes had GM HVAC, which is inferior to Toyota). Other than lack of ABS I have no complaints at all. The thing rides like a new car. Engine, transmission, brakes, steering - everything is smooth and quiet. Impressive for a 13 year old car.

Today I replaced the factory radio with an inexpensive ($60) JVC head unit that has all the modern features such as bluetooth, hands free calling, aux input, USB port, but no CD player. I realized I no longer use CDs and so it's fine not to have a CD deck in the car anymore. Now the 2006 Toyota has modern day features.

Here it is.


I have only just topped off the tank and did not have a chance to add fuel for my first consumption data point. It's fairly economical as far as I can see from eyeballing the fuel gauge. I expect high 20's - low 30's. First tank will most likely be low as I am getting used to it. It's very different from the Prius as far as accelerator response. Much more sensitive off the line and I end up mashing it too hard (as I do on my Prius).

I see many similarities between the gen 2 Prius and Matrix. I think they are both built on a Corolla platform. They are almost exactly the same length, take the same oil filter, same oil spec. Brakes are also front disks and rear drums (like Gen 2). Door checks are the same. I had to work on the Matrix door checks as they were pretty much worn out. I noticed Prius parts are the same.

 

Yes, Matrix would be a perfect hybrid, I agree. It already is very economical for what it is. It does have flat folding back with hard plastic instead of carpet. This is one of the reasons I got it. Trips to home improvement stores and such. Prius is actually really good for that also, But Matrix is an actual wagon and has more headroom in the cargo area. Prius V was likely a take on Matrix+Prius and I am sad it is no longer made. It seems that people are switching to SUV/CUV and abandoning the regular compact wagon, which is good for 99% of the tasks. With a trailer hitch it probably does 99.8% of what is needed in terms of hauling. It is not the most refined car, but it's an inexpensive vehicle. I believe these things went for under $20K when new in basic trim. It's not any worse than Prius gen 2 in terms of refinement, except higher trim Prius of the same vintage had more high tech gadgetry in it like Bluetooth and aux input on the radio, cool digital combination meter, video game in the center, etc. Matrix in higher trim had a radio with 6 disc changer, better speakers and a sub-woofer, even. But no bluetooth or aux. Well, that's taken care of with simple add-ons or new cheap head units today, so no problems there. I lament the lack of ABS, which was optional on these cars and many, including mine, do not have it. Matrix also came in AWD, which did have ABS standard and another flavor was high performance 180hp engine with either a 6 speed manual or 4 speed automatic. Those do not have the economy, obviously, but they are supposed to be a lot of fun to drive and are kind of a good sleeper in the skin of an econo-wagon. Pontiac Viber had very similar options and is pretty much the same car minus some GM induced idiocies. I was considering them and actually was very close to buying one when I found the one I did end up buying. I am glad I finally ended up with a Toyota as I just really do not like (or respect) GM. Vibes have inferior HVAC system, they used GM parts in that rather than Denso as Toyota did in Matrix and guess what? Vibe HVAC is almost a singular source of problem in Vibes. Vibes also use GM radio units, which is not all that important. I think that pretty much covers the technical differences. Obviously the two cars have different skins, which is mostly aesthetic.

I'll try to keep updating this thread on my ownership experience. Sadly, I am not able to find any Matrix-specific fora. There is a Vibe one, though.

 

Thanks, I saw that one, but there is no separate "Matrix" community out there. I guess it's not that much of a stand-out. Vibe does have stand-alone site called GenVibe. Probably because they are a stand-out in an otherwise dismal sea of GM products. I guess most Matrix owners just drive the darned things and there aren't that many issues to discuss. Makes for a boring forum, but excellent ownership experience.