Anyone Own a Toyota Matrix?

I absolutely love mine! Don't get a mini van. We can fit 2 car seats & would have room (although it would be snug) for 2 dogs. We actually got Sunshine kids car seats because they're slim & now we can also fit a 3rd person in between the car seats. But I highly recommend them!

We bought a new 2005 Toyota Matrix as a second car (we also have a 2004 Toyota minivan), which we used with our 3 kids until we sold it nearly 2 years ago. We loved that car and would highly recommend it. We were able to fit 2 toddler seats plus an infant car seat (including the base) in the back seat. We put the toddler seats on the sides and the infant car seat in the middle. The car got great mileage like a small car, yet had the storage/hauling capacity of a larger vehicle because of the hatchback. The only reason we gave up the car was because my husband acquired another car (long story), so it seemed wasteful to keep the Matrix around when we are a household of only 2 drivers. I sold it with great reluctance and miss it to this day, even though I know that we did the right thing since keeping the Matrix and selling the minivan instead was never really an option given that the minivan does, of course, have more room.

I did not have a Toyota Matrix, but I did buy a Pontiac Vibe the year they came out & they're essentially the same car. My Vibe actually had a Toyota oil cap on it when I bought it, ha! We have 2 kids who were small at the time & it was a perfect size. The hatchback portion was enormous for a car & at least with the Vibe it was all hard plastic so you could wipe it out easily. It also got great gas mileage. The reason I got rid of mine was because the seats were kind of hard & I had a very long commute at the time & I also bought the base model so there were not power windows or locks & with the kids being 3 & 5 years old it was a huge pain. If it wasn't for those 2 things though, I would probably still be driving it today!

My friend loves her Matrix!! You can't go wrong.

I've been driving a Matrix since my son was born. We're getting ready to add a second carseat to it and wondered if we should upgrade to something bigger - but after looking at EVERY car Toyota had on the lot (yes, we love Toyota too), nothing gave us so much more space without being HUGE that would be good enough to give up our amazing mileage.

I know I can fit two carseats in the back, easily (one on either side), and thankfully my son will be in a toddler seat not long after the baby gets here, which will clear up room for an adult to also sit in the back.

The hatch area really is large - as long as you have two well behaved dogs in the back, I'm sure you'll be fine. My big dog is not so well behaved in the car, and while he has lots of room to scramble and play back there, he uses it all! If he were just sitting still, there'd be plenty of room for another. The back is fully plastic if you remove the floor mat on the bottom - roll it up and put it somewhere else and it's dogsafe!

I couldn't justify a minivan when I'm not toting around more kids. I'm not a soccer mom (yet), my son is only 3! I don't need the HUGE vehicle, and the Matrix really does have a LOT of room in it for being a compact car. If you have any doubts, many lots will let you 'borrow' a car to drive home, or around in - go ahead and put two carseats in it and put the dogs in for a moment.

Basically, I absolutely love this car. My only complaint is that because we bought used, we didn't get a 4x4!

By the way, when carseats are not involved, we can pretty comfortably fit three adults in the back, one of which is my very tall and broad brother of 6'6". My husband (at 6'2") has plenty of headroom when driving with a cowboy hat, but when I'm driving alone, I don't feel like I'm driving a big echoey box, which is how I felt when driving both a Highlander and Rav (though less so in the Rav). IF we were to upgrade, it would be to a Rav. It's the next economical choice for us, can have third row seating if chosen, and isn't (too) huge... it's actually narrower than the Avalon.

GOOD LUCK with whatever you choose - it's awful having a car that doesn't fit your needs!

I had a 2005 matrix, LOVED it!!! I traded it when my daughter was a month old, I found that it was hard for me with the rear facing, Once she turn front facing I regretting ever trading it!! I traded it for a used Avalon, and this past weekend we traded that for a used highlander, we love toyota, and the highlander is my favorite so far!
Good Luck!!!!!

We have two kids and have a Matrix. You'll be surprised by the amount of space it does have. But I truly believe that when you have a lot of space (whether in your car or your house or garage) you will find a way to fill it up...With lots of stuff you don't really need. When your space is limited, you learn to pack your car a little more wisely.

My husband can tote around his golf clubs, sports kits (i.e. he coaches baseball and soccer), folding camp chairs, etc. in the "hatch".

I haven't read your answers but I wanted to put in a plug for the Kia Rondo. I never in a million years ever thought I would be a Kia Rondo owner but my husband noticed it in Consumer Reports. It is completely family friendly with pull up seats in the back making it able to have seven people in it. We bought our 2009 in 2010 for $11,500. It did not break the bank and best of all it is not a mini-van. We have two kids and it is really nice to be able to take others on playdates. Good luck.

I drove a Matrix for 4 years and absolutely LOVED it. We did get rid of it, though, because we found it a bit tight once we had the 2nd child. Our family all live out of state, so traveling with 2 kids, 2 larger adults (I'm 5'11" and my husband is 6'4"), a black lab, and all our stuff was a challenge! It was the perfect car for running around town, though. I was able to take both kids and a stroller, do all the shopping, and have everything fit in the back.