Toyota Matrix
The Toyota Matrix, sometimes officially referred to as the Toyota Corolla Matrix, is a compact hatchback manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation in Canada, to be sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is considered to be the sporty wagon counterpart of the North American Corolla and is counted as a variant of it in Toyota's sales figures.
The Matrix is the Toyota version of a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors; the GM version being the Pontiac Vibe, which was assembled by New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) in Fremont, California. A third version, also assembled at NUMMI, was sold in Japan from 2002 to early 2004 as the Toyota Voltz. Almost 2000 cars were produced before production ceased. Although the Voltz was sold under the Toyota brand there, the vehicle had the same exterior as the Vibe.
Identical mechanically, and nearly as much internally, the Matrix and Vibe are clothed in different sheetmetal designed by their respective brands. Both vehicles are narrow, yet tall station wagons styled in a quasi-SUV fashion (called a crossover utility vehicle or "CUV" by Toyota) and marketed to a fairly youthful market segment. This type of car is also commonly referred to as a sport wagon.First sold in February 2002, the Matrix saw a minor facelift for the 2005 model year, and was redesigned completely in 2007, following the new tenth generation Corolla.
The Matrix was first introduced in the 2003 model year and based on the Toyota Corolla platform. Relatively unchanged in 2004, a facelift for 2005 brought minor revisions to the exterior – mainly revised styling to the front fascia due to complaints of rubbing the ground on the previous incarnation and replacing the red lenses on the taillamps with clear ones.Also, the center instrument panel was slightly redesigned and featured a Toyota head unit in place of the previous GM-sourced radio.
Two 1.8 L four-cylinder engines were offered in the Matrix: the 1ZZ-FE used in the Corolla, which originally made 130 horsepower (97 kW) in 2003 through 2005 models, but was reduced to 126 horsepower (94 kW) in 2006, and the performance-oriented 2ZZ-GE taken from the Toyota Celica GT-S, which produced 164 horsepower (122 kW) (previously 180 horsepower (130 kW) in 2003, 173 hp (129 kW) in 2004, and 170 horsepower (130 kW) in 2005). The 2006 drop in power was due to new testing standards, and not a change in the engine's actual performance.
Starting out at $14,670 in 2003, the no-frills base model came with few options. While it did have standard air conditioning, it left out such niceties as color-keyed mirrors and door handles, blacked out window frames, and power windows, locks, and mirrors. Alloy wheels, a body kit, and rear window wiper were also stricken from the options list by Toyota, forcing buyers to go with an XR or XRS model if they wished to have these
The Toyota Matrix, sometimes officially referred to as the Toyota Corolla Matrix, is a compact hatchback manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation in Canada, to be sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is considered to be the sporty wagon counterpart of the North American Corolla and is counted as a variant of it in Toyota's sales figures.
The Matrix is the Toyota version of a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors; the GM version being the Pontiac Vibe, which was assembled by New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) in Fremont, California. A third version, also assembled at NUMMI, was sold in Japan from 2002 to early 2004 as the Toyota Voltz. Almost 2000 cars were produced before production ceased. Although the Voltz was sold under the Toyota brand there, the vehicle had the same exterior as the Vibe.
Identical mechanically, and nearly as much internally, the Matrix and Vibe are clothed in different sheetmetal designed by their respective brands. Both vehicles are narrow, yet tall station wagons styled in a quasi-SUV fashion (called a crossover utility vehicle or "CUV" by Toyota) and marketed to a fairly youthful market segment. This type of car is also commonly referred to as a sport wagon.First sold in February 2002, the Matrix saw a minor facelift for the 2005 model year, and was redesigned completely in 2007, following the new tenth generation Corolla.
Two 1.8 L four-cylinder engines were offered in the Matrix: the 1ZZ-FE used in the Corolla, which originally made 130 horsepower (97 kW) in 2003 through 2005 models, but was reduced to 126 horsepower (94 kW) in 2006, and the performance-oriented 2ZZ-GE taken from the Toyota Celica GT-S, which produced 164 horsepower (122 kW) (previously 180 horsepower (130 kW) in 2003, 173 hp (129 kW) in 2004, and 170 horsepower (130 kW) in 2005). The 2006 drop in power was due to new testing standards, and not a change in the engine's actual performance.
Starting out at $14,670 in 2003, the no-frills base model came with few options. While it did have standard air conditioning, it left out such niceties as color-keyed mirrors and door handles, blacked out window frames, and power windows, locks, and mirrors. Alloy wheels, a body kit, and rear window wiper were also stricken from the options list by Toyota, forcing buyers to go with an XR or XRS model if they wished to have these 
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