Excellent car!
This car is not a high-end means of transportation by any stretch. Nor does it have the ride or interior quality of something twice its value. It is, however, a very reliable means of relatively inexpensive transportation. And, that is exactly what it was designed for. It's a nice car!
That said, there are a couple things that can be done to make it ride better with less road noise. Stock rims and tires are there for looks and to create crisp handling. Stock rims & tires are not especially conducive to a quiet, smoother ride. It's advisable to at least swap tires for something designed for a quieter ride. This may require a rim change as well depending on the tire. I bought my Matrix used at about 70K with stock tires & rims. I then bought a new set of rims for snow tires: the ride & road noise improved dramatically. That's "snow tires" on all four! I can't help but think all-season radials would be somewhat better.
Cargo area is great: I can easily get eight-foot lumber in this thing. And, it's really nice for those out-ot-town purchases from Craig's List that would otherwise require a pickup or trailer. I did put a trailer hitch on my Matrix to facilitate a bike rack. An easy install and it works fine!
Economy is typically between 29 and 35 miles per gallon depending on terrain, environment and the amount of lead in your foot. No problem keeping up with interstate traffic. No problem passing but, it's not a race car. And, it's very sure-footed with the right tires: in winter it acts like a small 4x4. There is a block heater made especially for this motor and I'd highly recommend it if you life north of the 47th parallel.
I'll hopefully be able to find anther when this one gets to 200K.
*Toyota stopped making the Matrix in 2013(?). But, I think there'll
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