Toyota Matrix - 2004 Review

Before buying this silver 2004 Matrix used from a local dealer I had never owned a Japanese designed car.  I'd had VW's and a Mercedes and plenty of American full sized cars.  I went shopping looking ONLY for a car that had a flat-straight in trunk and didn't really care what the car looked like as long as I could load heavy gear boxes into the back without killing my back.  When the salesman suggested this little number I looked skeptical.

I've never been able to sit upright in a car with a sunroof and when I sat down for the first time I was amazed that my head didn't it the headliner.  Then I realized how comfortable the seats were for this 280 lb fella.  My wife has since bought a CRV and when I sit in that compared to my Matrix I feel like my butt's being squeezed -- and in the Matrix it's just heaven.

A month or so ago I did a trip from WI to CA, OR, WA, and back -- while I have been sporadic about checking mileage up till that trip, I decided to monitor my fuel mileage carefully.  And over 6500 miles a solid 32.8 mpg is nothing to sniff at considering that I ran stop and start as well as 85mph over desert, mountains, rural and cities.

Should I say -- I'm happy?  It's just a car, but I'm not a believer in Toyota... If the rest of their designs are as comfortable as this I'll be hard pressed to buy another brand in the future.