2011 Toyota Matrix Review and Prices

By Chuck Giametta

Table of Contents
2011 Toyota Matrix Review and Pricing
2010 Toyota Matrix
2009 Toyota Matrix Quote

2011 TOYOTA MATRIX BUYING ADVICE

• The 2011 Toyota Matrix is the best car for you if you want an economical, reliable, and relatively roomy little wagon -- and can abide its lumpy looks.

• It requires some imagination to visualize the 2011 Toyota Matrix as the station wagon version of the 2011 Toyota Corolla compact sedan. Both have four doors and share the same chassis, engines, and transmissions. But with its long, tall roofline and available all-wheel drive (AWD), Matrix yeans to be considered a new-age crossover. It doesn’t really qualify as a blend of automobile and sport-utility vehicle. But there’s no denying Matrix is more versatile than the typical compact station wagon, more car-like than any small SUV.

• Should you wait for the 2011 Toyota Matrix or buy a 2010 Toyota Matrix? Buy a 2010. You’ll benefit in a buyer’s market, and the 2011 Matrix won’t be changed in any significant way. Waiting could also bring you nearer possible model-year 2012 styling updates that’ll make your 2011 Matrix look older, sooner.

2011 TOYOTA MATRIX CHANGES

• Styling: The 2011 Toyota Matrix will retain the shape and size bestowed on this second-generation Matrix when it debuted as a 2009 model. That means a slightly disheveled collection of arcs and angles on a vehicle with less length but more height than a compact car. Matrix’s shape translates to great head room and lots of cargo space, though rear-seat knee clearance is modest. Newer arrivals to the category of hard-to-define mobility boxes tend to be less-lengthy still, and taller, too. These include the Kia Soul, Nissan Cube, and, from Toyota’s own youth brand, the Scion xB. Matrix’s competitive set, however, is broad enough to include compact four-door hatchbacks like the Mazda 3 and true compact wagons, like the Hyundai Elantra Touring. None of these rivals offers AWD, though. Just 10 percent of Matrix buyers choose it over the standard front-wheel-drive, but having AWD available does qualify Matrix as a sensible on-road alternative to bulkier compact SUVs. One competitor the 2011 Matrix won’t have to contend with is the very vehicle more like it than any other, the Pontiac Vibe. A Matrix with different (and nicer-looking) sheet metal, the Vibe has been discontinued along with the Pontiac brand.

• Mechanical: The 2011Toyota Matrix isn’t apt to alter its choice of engines, but some transmission changes could be in the cards. The base model, likely to again be called the Matrix Standard, should carry on for 2011 with a 132-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. The 2011 Toyota Matrix S and sporty 2011 Toyota Matrix XRS should return with a 158-horsepower 2.4-liter four. All have front-wheel drive, which places the weight of the engine over the driven wheels to the benefit of traction in wet conditions. AWD, in which power is automatically reapportioned to the rear wheels when the fronts begin to slip, is an alternative exclusive to the Matrix S. For 2011, Toyota could upgrade Matrix’s transmission choices, to six-speed manuals from five-speeds. It could give the automatics another gear too, making the S model’s a five-speed and the one in the S and XRS a six-speed. Toyota would need to determine the added cost of these new transmissions would be offset by fuel-efficiency gains. But the upgrades would help performance, too; right now, the Standard can feel slightly underpowered, and driving a Matrix really is entertaining only when you combine the XRS with manual transmission. Toyota already enhanced Matrix’s safety equipment for model-year 2010, making an antiskid system – also known as stability control -- standard on every model, not just the XRS.

• Features: The 2011 Toyota Matrix would catch the competition and gain credibility with younger buyers by finally incorporating USB iPod connectivity; right now it features just an auxiliary jack. Matrix is otherwise pretty up to date. It’s available with Bluetooth phone linking and a navigation system with real-time traffic information. The 2011 Matrix should also continue to offer a fine JBL sound system, satellite radio, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, and remote keyless entry. In addition to antiskid control, standard safety equipment will again include four-wheel antilock disc brakes and head protecting curtain side airbags. Among returning convenience features included with every 2011 Matrix will be air conditioning, power mirrors, a tilt/telescope steering wheel, height-adjustable driver’s seat, and a front-center armrest/storage console. Toyota could up the comfort ante by making the 2011 Matrix available with leather upholstery as an alternative to cloth. Utility is already a high point. Every Matrix has a 70/30 split rear seatback that folds to form a flat load surface while opening 61 cubic feet of cargo volume, a figure that nips at the heels of compact SUVs.

2011 TOYOTA MATRIX PRICES

• Toyota will not announce 2011 Matrix prices until shortly before the car goes on sale. But 2011 Matrix prices won’t climb much above model-year 2010 levels. (Prices listed in this review include the manufacturer’s mandated destination fee. Toyota’s fee for factory-delivered cars was $720 for model-year 2010; Toyotas in some southeastern states are delivered by independent distributors and may carry different destination fees.)

• The best-selling model in the 2011 Matrix line should again be the Standard. For 2010, the Standard was priced from $17,270 with the five-speed manual transmission and from $18,080 with a four-speed automatic.

• Expect 2011 Toyota Matrix S pricing to start slightly above the 2010 Matrix S, which listed for $19,180 with manual transmission, $20,370 with a five-speed automatic. Power windows and locks, remote keyless entry, a household-type power outlet, and a leather-covered steering wheel with audio controls have been among S-model upgrades over the Matrix Standard. The Toyota Matrix S AWD has been available only with a four-speed automatic. The 2011 Toyota Matrix S AWD would likely be priced slightly higher than the $21,480 2010 model.

• The 2011 Toyota Matrix XRS price would probably see a slight bump over 2010 levels, which started at $21,490 with the five-speed manual transmission, $22,680 with the five-speed automatic. Positioned at the sportiest Matrix, the XRS has included 18-inch tires instead of its stable mates’ 16s or 17s. And the XRS and the AWD S are the only Matrix models with an independent rear suspension instead of a torsion-beam setup.

• Returning as key options for the 2011 Matrix should be a Power Package that brings the Standard model close to S-level equipment for around $1,000. Toyota could decide to add cruise control to the 2011 Matrix Standard or S model instead of charging $250 extra as it did for model-year 2010. A power sunroof should continue as an option on all 2011 Matrix models for around $900. The navigation system will probably again be confined to Matrix S and XRS models, where it has been available for about $1,800 and $1,300, respectively.

2011 TOYOTA MATRIX FUEL ECONOMY

• Giving the 2011 Matrix Standard’s automatic transmission a fifth gear could improve already-impressive fuel economy, with the greatest advantage coming in highway mileage. Staying with the four-speed would mean the 2011 Toyota Matrix Standard would likely repeat the 2010 model’s EPA ratings of 26/32 mpg (city/highway) with manual transmission, 25/31 with automatic.

• The 2011 Toyota Matrix S and XRS could benefit from a six-speed manual, which might allow them to squeeze out another mile per gallon or two in both city and highway driving. With the five-speed manual, the 2010 Matrix S and XRS were rated at 21/28 mpg.

• Addition of a five-speed automatic for the 2011 Matrix S AWD would better its chances of improving the 2010 rating of 20/26 mpg. And moving to a six-speed automatic for the front-drive S and XRS might help them beat 2010’s rating of 21/29.

2011 TOYOTA MATRIX RELEASE DATE

• Expect the 2011 Toyota Matrix to go on sale in mid-calendar 2010.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE TOYOTA MATRIX

• In the short term, look for Matrix to get its next appearance changes for model-year 2012. These would be minor alterations to the grille, bumpers, headlamps and taillights, maybe some fresh wheel designs. Revisions to passenger-compartment textures and graphics would be welcome, too. Toyota can’t do much to reshape Matrix’s main body shell, but ditching the low-grade of cabin materials would improve the impression of quality and value.

• It’s unknown what affect the death of the Pontiac Vibe will have on Toyota’s planning for any future Matrix. Built from a Toyota design, the cars were assembled side-by-side at a joint Toyota-General Motors plant in California. The Vibe actually outsold the Matrix, and Pontiac and Toyota had been on a pace to release fully redesigned versions of both for model-year 2014. Toyota may reassess that timing, and may even reconsider if any next-generation Matrix will be a variation on today’s themes or morph into something wildly different.

2011 TOYOTA MATRIX COMPETITION

• Kia Soul: Probably the least-polarizing of the new wave of cartons-on-wheels, this five-seat wagon bowed for model-year 2010 and got off to a good start based on hip looks and trendy appeal. This South Korean offering from Hyundai’s offshoot brand isn’t as mechanically polished as the Matrix, which itself suffers some un-Toyotalike lapses in refinement. But the Soul undercuts the Matrix on price and meets it on fuel economy.

• Scion xB: A boxy alternative for the bold-minded, this five-passenger wagon also uses Toyota’s 2.4-liter four and improves upon Matrix’s road manners, refinement, even passenger and cargo volume. Prices start under $17,000. Model-year 2011 could bring some styling revisions.

• Suzuki SX4 Crossover: All-wheel drive is rare in the Matrix price range, but this four-door five seat wagon makes it available starting under $17,500 to qualify as the least-expensive AWD vehicle sold in the U.S. The solidly built SX4 Crossover is slower than the AWD Matrix S. It’s smaller inside and out. But the Suzuki’s got a better AWD system and with EPA ratings of 21/28, the SX4 Crossover is quite fuel efficient. No significant changes are expected until after model-year 2012.