Still loving it after 2.5 years

I knew I wanted a "compact wagon" when I went to look at the Matrix. I just hoped it was going to live up to the hype. I knew it was not a performance vehicle (as advertised) unless I upgraded to XRS, but I wanted an automatic this time. The gas mileage has been great, and the reliability of the Corolla engine gives me peace of mind. The functionality of the interior is the best feature, though. The backseat has a lot of headroom, which makes it feel less annoying than most compact car backseats. It is so easy to switch from "passenger mode" to "cargo" mode by flipping down the seats. And I love the way the back seat flips down in a 2/3rds, 1/3 configuration. I keep my daughter's carseat on the 1/3 side, and if I need to put a large item in the car, I just flip down the rest of the back seat and slide it in. The car is so well designed, you can even flip the back seat down while standing behind the hatchback.

And the flip up hatch window ... what can I say? It's a great feature. Just wait till the first time you have a cart full of grocery bags you want to put in the back without worrying about them slipping over the edge and hitting the pavement before you're done loading!

Contrary to the other reviews, I love the front seat. It slides up and back, reclines, and also has a height adjustment that moves the base of the seat up and down. I feel like I'm riding high in a minivan, but I'm still in my little Toyota. I find the seat to be comfortable ... far superior to a low bucket seat.

For those with too-high expectations, just remember that this is a 4-cylindar Corolla engine underneath a 4-door hatchback, and it's a $16,000 Japanese piece of plastic. This is not going to be like a German or Italian car. But it's affordable and useful and reliable.

I highly recommend it, and I'm just about to pay mine off. I am 29 with a 1-year-old daughter and a large-sized husband, and 2 German shepherds, and it works great for us (except on long trips with all of the above in the car plus luggage. A roof rack would help in that situation.) It's great also if you are a triathlete or cyclist and need to cart your bicycle around without an annoying rack.

I recommended this car to my mother-in-law, too. She drove mine a couple times and bought one for herself ... her first brand-new car ever. She was thinking about a Prius but didn't want to lay out that much money.

**UPDATED**
It's been four years now, and now there are two carseats strapped in the backseat. This really cuts down on the ability to use the car in different ways, since I can't fold down the seat without removing one of the carseats. (The seats are against the doors, because the LATCH system is not available for the center back seat.) Our two dogs don't really fit in the car anymore because of this. But I still love the gas mileage and the reliability. Every time the summer comes around and we want to take the dogs to the park with the kids, we think about buying a minivan, but it doesn't seem worth it for a few days a year. The car has been paid off for a year now. I have no intentions of getting rid of it. Nothing has broken and I've had no problems at all. I have 45,000 miles on the car now. Many of my friends feel a 4-door hatchback is too small for a family of four, and have gone to minivans and SUVs. I just point to the price at the gas station and smile. Also it feels good to be helping the environment by driving a smaller car. The safety ratings for the Matrix are nearly identical to the larger vehicles, too.