Toyota's Done it Again!

UPDATE August 2002.

Have found a few problems including bubbling tape on the outside windows and a dealership who is being "nobbish". The salesperson indicated I was stupid for putting a club on the vehicle because it had the best alarm system going, and now they are saying the alarm system glass tap system wasn't mentioned as part of the vehicle!!! Yeah right. Just like me having to take the vehicle in to make the alarm adjustments so it was more sensitive (because the glass tap wasn't working when the salesman tried it) and them saying they didn't have the equipment to do that right now and they would phone when the sensor came in. My advice is never deal with Sunrise Toyota in Abbotsford BC Canada !! They lie and then cover their tracks. They even tried to scam more money out of us by not giving us the lowest posted interest rate!!!

The car is still fine and works well, even though the after sales satisfaction sucks. It gets better MPG/KPL with high grade gasoline of course. There still is a problem with the gears in that it will do its' beep noise indicating it is in reverse when it actually is not.

Still not a lot of options available in the Canadian models - no factory sunroof and gps interface - for a couple.
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2 weeks into ownership and I have made the following updates to my review of this vehicle - as of March 6, 2002

We had been looking at getting a new vehicle for some time and really liked the look and feel of a Subaru Forrester - but the price was a downfall $ 40000 Canadian. We resolved ourselves to look back at the Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota's like a RAV4. My husband currently owns a Toyota 4Runner and was very happy with the after sales service of Toyota so they were unspoken as a preference by us. My current vehicle was a 84 GM Celebrity V-6 automatic in good condition, but GM was and still is notorious for not acting in good faith to replace problems on the vehicles.

Anyhow, with all that in mind we went out to an AUTOMALL and started really looking inside out. We stopped in at the Toyota dealership and came across the MATRIX in the showroom. We didn't even know this model existed until we saw it, and it was love at first sight!

The matrix has a sporty look with the functionality of a station wagon. All the seats fold down to allow for cargo. Yes, the engine is a 4 banger, but with 180HP. There is a Front Wheel Drive and 4WD model available - but best of all was the price, which I thought was a misprint, of starting at $22000 Canadian!!!! We investigated the vehicle more and found out there were 3 versions of it topping off with the XRS at $25000. The XRS includes A/C, CD.tape.radio, cruise, fog lights, power windows.locks and ABS. There are several colours to choose from but at this time the production quota of these vehicles is quite low and if you want to choose your colours, you will have to wait some time. Currently in Canada (BC anyways) there is no moonroof or GPS options available. Also because of the new nature of the beast, hard to get any accessories, like cargo net, etc. The window tinting is also optional about $400 Canadian and there wasn't much that an after market alarm installer could do to the existing imobilizer alarm system in the XRS. Good for insurance rates anyways.

The base of the vehicle is built on the sturdy camary base. So the base design of the vehicle is very tried and true. Sitting in the drivers seat, the dash is illuminated in red which is a little unusual. The stick shift is almost on the dash - actually being below where a stereo commonly resides in a vehicle - nice for natural shifting position. The front passenger seat folds down to create a tabletop area by Toyota's design. The back seats also fold down to allow for carrying long loads. The hatch has a glass opening and the main hatch opening to the top. The hatch when open, doesn't swing out much further than the end of the vehicle, so you don't have to worry about backing in to a spot too tight, if you want to open the hatch. There is a 4WD model available in this particular line also, but we did not see nor drive one. The performance of the 4WD would no doubt be less.

Driving this is a dream! with lots of power to spare. We were warned when driving this that at 6000 RPM there is a distinctly different feel to the vehicle and low and behold there was. It can only be described as "Tinglies in the Jinglies". At 6000RPM there is a different feel to the vehicle as it centers itself and jumps into almost a 'warp speed'.

Sitting in the drivers seat, the drink cups that sit next to the emergency brake are a little too close for comfort. Besides not being able to fit right down into the drink holder, a Macdonalds regular Large drink container, it rubs against the emergency brake area when you are driving. For a short bodied, long legged person I had to almost do a 360' to get to pull at the seatbelt when I get into the drivers seat and ended up putting a seat belt lock on it so it didn't quite go back so far. (BTW I'm 5'6") Hubby is a large man and had no trouble in the drivers seat. Lots of head room for him and he didn't feel like he was 'squished' into a confined space. Not as much visibility out the back of the vehicle as with say a Subaru Forrester, but not bad nevertheless.

The exterior is quite sporty. It has the feel of a sports car, the look of a sports car, but in fact is a SUV wagon. Lots of cargo space when all the seats are folded down. The Toyota extended warranty program for 7 years additional was about $1300 and has a deductible of $0. This was very attractive seeing that besides the normal Toyota warranty we would have roadside assistance, towing, accomodations if vehicle broke down away from home, etc.

If you are looking at the Subaru lines, give the XRS model a test drive. You'll be pleasantly surprised.