Road test Review: 2003 TOYOTA MATRIX XRS 6 SPEED!
02-16-2002, 01:59 PM
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I went to the Toyo dealer 2day with a friend. He is in the market for a new car. The dealer just received their first shipment of Matrix XRS 6Speed's. The one I looked at was Black XRS, 17" wheel package, loaded right up with the 6 speed. It was very attractive looking, and sporty....I give Toyota a thumbs up for styling. Here is what it looked like
Basically the XLS is the 180hp 1.8L 16 Valve VVTL-i version right out of the Celica GTS. It had the 6 speed manual transmission as well.
Interior:
Overall the layout was very well thought out. Quality of materials felt nice and the chrome rings around the red lit gauges make it look more expensive than what it is.
The aluminum looking trim panels I can live with. For some It may seem too flashy. I think it suits the interior well. All the controls are correctly placed in arms length and is well laid out.
Seats were supportive and somewhat soft (Compared to Honda's). I liked the seat cloth material. It had that durable cloth material that is similar to the sport seats VW uses in the 2002 GLI Jetta. You seem to sit at a slightly higher seating position when compared to other cars. This gives you a good visual view of the surroundings.
The drive:
At first b4 you turn the key you say to your self..."OK, this thing will sound high pitched and tinny"...at least that's what i was thinking...Well I thought wrong. I turn the key and it starts up with a deep growl....I thought NICE!...The engine sounds really good.
Transmission:
The shifts were crisp and easy to modulate. The throws were somewhat long (Similar to my GTI). I really like the Reverse Gear Position Toyota uses. Unlike our cars where we have to push the shifter down and into reverse, the Toyota you push it as much as you can to the left and up to get reverse. Some may say it can get confusing distinguishing Reverse and 1st, trust me its not a problem. Toyota has done a wonderful job placing reverse where it is. My pet peeve though: The vehicle makes a beeping sound inside the cabin to alert you that you are engaged in reverse...I think I found this feature annoying and think they could just do away with the beep. A simple Reverse light on the dash would be sufficient enough. Shift lever placement was perfect .
Engine:
The engine had a nice deep sound to it. It ran smooth and vibrations were kept to a minimum. Surprisingly this engine redlined to 8200rpms. I found it to be peppy in the low rpms below 3000 and energetic above 6000. For some reason I found everything in the midrange to be very flat. The VVTL-i engaged at 6000rpms and it was very pronounced and you can feel it in the "butt meter" when it took off. I really didn't like that flat feeling in between 3-6k rpms. Unlike Honda's the power delivery didn't feel very linear. The engine revved smoothly to 7000rpms without much fuss..
Ride/Handling
Firm yet supportive I would say, It did have a nice tight suspension with little body roll in the turns. The 17" wheels/tires are a nice feature....I couldn't test the handling too much since it was a rainy day.
Well that's my review...... Overall, I like it. It goes for $24K here in Canada which IMO is a steal.
peace
Basically the XLS is the 180hp 1.8L 16 Valve VVTL-i version right out of the Celica GTS. It had the 6 speed manual transmission as well.
Interior:
Overall the layout was very well thought out. Quality of materials felt nice and the chrome rings around the red lit gauges make it look more expensive than what it is.
The aluminum looking trim panels I can live with. For some It may seem too flashy. I think it suits the interior well. All the controls are correctly placed in arms length and is well laid out.
Seats were supportive and somewhat soft (Compared to Honda's). I liked the seat cloth material. It had that durable cloth material that is similar to the sport seats VW uses in the 2002 GLI Jetta. You seem to sit at a slightly higher seating position when compared to other cars. This gives you a good visual view of the surroundings.
The drive:
At first b4 you turn the key you say to your self..."OK, this thing will sound high pitched and tinny"...at least that's what i was thinking...Well I thought wrong. I turn the key and it starts up with a deep growl....I thought NICE!...The engine sounds really good.
Transmission:
The shifts were crisp and easy to modulate. The throws were somewhat long (Similar to my GTI). I really like the Reverse Gear Position Toyota uses. Unlike our cars where we have to push the shifter down and into reverse, the Toyota you push it as much as you can to the left and up to get reverse. Some may say it can get confusing distinguishing Reverse and 1st, trust me its not a problem. Toyota has done a wonderful job placing reverse where it is. My pet peeve though: The vehicle makes a beeping sound inside the cabin to alert you that you are engaged in reverse...I think I found this feature annoying and think they could just do away with the beep. A simple Reverse light on the dash would be sufficient enough. Shift lever placement was perfect .
Engine:
The engine had a nice deep sound to it. It ran smooth and vibrations were kept to a minimum. Surprisingly this engine redlined to 8200rpms. I found it to be peppy in the low rpms below 3000 and energetic above 6000. For some reason I found everything in the midrange to be very flat. The VVTL-i engaged at 6000rpms and it was very pronounced and you can feel it in the "butt meter" when it took off. I really didn't like that flat feeling in between 3-6k rpms. Unlike Honda's the power delivery didn't feel very linear. The engine revved smoothly to 7000rpms without much fuss..
Ride/Handling
Firm yet supportive I would say, It did have a nice tight suspension with little body roll in the turns. The 17" wheels/tires are a nice feature....I couldn't test the handling too much since it was a rainy day.
Well that's my review...... Overall, I like it. It goes for $24K here in Canada which IMO is a steal.
peace
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10-21-2002 11:01 AM