The Matrix is almost perfect...

Exterior

When I first saw the TV advertisement for the Matrix, I was curious. It looked like a small, sporty hatchback type thing that was pretty quick. Then I saw one on the road and thought, "Hmm...kinda ugly." All that changed when I was on the lot with one of these things.

I ended up purchasing a silver Matrix XR (2x4). Besides some clever sheetmetal work and complementary bodykit -- an agressive front end that fades into a conservative, but sporty, rear -- the outside of this thing looks great. It's solid. Everything is where it should be and all the glass, headlights, tail lights, etc. are integrated nicely. There are no unpleasing lines on this car. The XR that I got came with a bodykit (front and rear spoilers, sideskirting) and 17-inch alloy wheels with low-profile tires.

I can also say this about the exterior: since I've had my Matrix, I have had lots of people stop me and ask me about it, and countless curious eyes roaming over my car -- either pedestrians or people in other vehicles. I don't know if they're good or bad looks, but they're definitely interested. So far I've had nothing but complements on my Matrix's exterior...and on its interior...

Interior

Like I said before, when I first saw the Matrix, I thought it was a small, sporty, hatchback type thing. I still thought that as I was opening the driver's side door for the first time. When I got in, my sense of perception was bewildered: how could a car this small have this much room inside?!?

All the seats in the Matrix are roomy, both horizontally and vertically, and very comfortable. When I sat in the driver's seat for the first time, it felt very..."right." First of all, you are much higher off the ground than you would be in any other hatchback or sedan (it's much closer to an SUV, or, at least, somewhere inbetween). This gives you a nice, commanding driving position. The steering wheel is small, which is great. There's plenty of (spacious) nooks and crannies where you can store stuff, including: two cupholders (up front and in the back), a deep console (that has a 12V outlet in the bottom and a neat lid that opens up into another little compartment), a pop-out compartment underneath the gearshift (which is detached from the console), and some other nifty storage places. You can never have enough of those things.

The guage dials are red-backlit and easy to read, though they may take a little getting used to. My only complaint in this area is that the steering wheel, when in the lower tilt position, blocks the top half of the speedometer. (This isn't a problem just found in the Matrix, by the way: my mom's Camry and my dad's Avalon are the same way.) All the guages are analog, but there is a digital odometer/trip guage and outside temperature display.

The upholstery is also nice, seeming to be of good quality and extremely easy to clean.

The sound system is pretty darn good for stock. I have the 6-disc, in-dash CD changer with the six-speaker system. Not too shabby; nice powerful, clean sound.

The back seats, like I said, are nice and roomy. They, including the front passenger seat, fold completely flat to facilitate loading of large objects. The back seats have a 60/40 split.

The cargo area is a nice size. Underneath, there are some (more) little storage bins for various things.

Performance

Here is where my only complaint arises with the Matrix: the engine. You shouldn't think, though, from reading this that this car is pathetically weak. Not quite. But, it could use some more power. The XR (2x4) that I have comes with the 130-hp engine. It is adequate, but, again, could use a little more power. (The XR-S has a higher-revving 180-hp engine.) One way to deal with this is to be liberal with the overdrive feature (activated by a switch on the shift knob). Turning overdrive off prevents the transmission from shifting so rapidly, allowing you to stay in a lower gear longer, which is especially handy for passing at highway speeds and for climbing up grades. All that aside, it is quite fair and true to say that the engine performs nicely. It does its job, especially if you aren't too worried, like me, about racing people off the line with this thing.

The handling is pretty darn good. I was taking an off-ramp after it had rained and was going a bit faster than I probably should have been. I noticed this a little late and had to make a pretty hard turn, but the Matrix kept its place on the road nicely. The suspension is nice and sporty, it's "tight." It's not floaty like a sedan's or jolting like a sportscar's. Braking is excellent, even on wet roads, and I'm sure the ABS helps that to be the case. Parking is easy because this thing pretty much turns on a dime.

All this combined with the super-comfortable driving position makes the Matrix not only fun to drive, but very comfortable and effortless.

Overall

Overall, I thought the Matrix was a perfect mixture of alot of things. It's comfortable inside like a sedan or SUV, it has convertible cargo space like a hatchback, and it has plenty of room for passengers and cargo. It's like a sedan, a hatchback, and an SUV all-in-one. All this with some otehr great features! It's great!