AWD operates as FWD until fronts slip, then sends up to 45% of power to rears. AWD comes only with 2.4-liter, four-speed auto.
TOYOTA MATRIX MANUAL
at 4,400.įive-speed manual standard with FWD. How punchy? More than adequate with optional 2.4-liter, four-cylinder rated 158 hp at 6,000 rpm, 162 pounds-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. Test car, well-equipped XRS with manual transmission: $22,480. How much? Base model starts at $16,850 with $660 shipping. (Pontiac Vibe is made at a General Motors-Toyota joint venture factory, managed by Toyota, at Fremont, Calif., which also makes Corolla.)
Where? Manufactured at Cambridge, Ontario. Matrix offers front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). What? Sporty hatchback version of plain-Jane Corolla sedan on the same new platform that underpins '09 Corolla, Scion xB and Pontiac Vibe. If you don't warm to its mix of lines, curves and bulges, then the Pontiac version, Vibe, won't seem attractive, either, and you might find your delight in the Scion xB. If you like the way Matrix looks, you probably won't find much to dislike about the car. Figuring out how owners will use things is a challenge for auto engineers and planners, but Toyota's crafted Matrix's stuff space pretty well. The test car's cargo area had grocery bag hooks on the walls and a net to hold flatter items against the floor. Thus, Matrix is handier and aimed at sporty folks rather than the conservative types in Corolla's cross hairs. Matrix is a hatchback (so are xB and Vibe), while Corolla is a sedan. The AWD is mated only to the 2.4-liter engine and a four-speed automatic, not the five-speed manual offered with the 2.4 in front-drive models. Matrix and Vibe offer all-wheel drive, which Corolla and xB don't. Looks a tad odd, but works ergonomically. The manual shifter is positioned high, coming through the dashboard rather than sticking up from the floor. It's rated 27 to 30 miles per gallon in combined city-highway driving. The 1.8, not tested, likely would be less satisfying, but has an irrefutable appeal these days: good mileage. Though it's more common these days, tuning an engine to handle yeoman and yee-hah duty with equal aplomb remains an art. That drivetrain was equally happy zinging to 6,000 rpm between shifts or trundling along at 20 mph in some intermediate gear. In the XRS tester, the 2.4 was a sweet match with the five-speed manual transmission. That's the kind of difference you notice driving the 2.4 engine in a Camry vs. Think of a person you don't like and one you do.
The heavier Camry accelerates slower with the same engine, but that's not the whole deal. You need night outside and instrument panel lighting inside to closely track the pointers. And that would be easy because the skinny tachometer and speedometer pointers are almost invisible in daylight. In the Corolla-based cars, it's punchy, almost aurally pleasant and sufficiently buff to merge easily - or to get into quick trouble with people wearing uniforms. What's remarkable about the 2.4 is that it's been the drudge-duty engine in base Camrys where it's groan-prone and often unpleasant. It's standard in the Scion, optional in the Corolla, Matrix and Vibe, which have a milder 1.8-liter four-banger standard. If you like that enjoyment stuff, though, Scion xB - again - gives you more.Ī key piece of the positive persona in all the Corolla-based vehicles is the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. Hard to explain given that the chassis and powertrain are shared, but Matrix comes across feisty, fun, frolicsome - at least the $22,480, front-wheel-drive XRS test model did - while a Corolla with similar parts seemed pleasant, but not stimulating. Personality? One more point of differentiation.
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