Gonna get my first car which's a matrix, I have a few questions

[AcidicRage]

My parents have forced me to get a Silver colored Matrix Base with 4WD & power windows/power locks (power package). I will be getting this with a month. I didn't want 4WD, because I've heard that 4WD = crappy horsepower? 123, I believe. I was wondering will this 123HP engine be able to go uphill? I am worried because where I live around lots of steep uphills and I've heard low horsepower will make your 4WD useless and you won't be able to go up with a weak of engine as that. I wanted 2WD with 4WD, but my parents insist on getting a "safer" car as a first car. I've also heard 4WD uses a technology called V-Flex? I'm not sure what it is, but people tell me it's like AWD, it auto shifts, so you don't need to press a button. Is AWD then the same as the 4WD V-Flex? Last question is do you think my car will be crappy?

ps. I'm just worried that if this car won't go at least 50mph in highways, the cars behind will get pissed and then come the road rage lol... but if my car doesn't accel fast enough when merging, I guess I could crash heh... (im a beginning driver :p)

[creeper46L]

the awd matrix was the first one that i drove and i was impressed, and i think that says alot considering i drive a mustang gt.so i would not worry about getting the awd i would rather have that if i could not get the xrs.you can get it to redline easily (6000 rpm) and i thought it was fun to drive in the snow...
hopefully i will have mine this week.

[Tex97]

Buyin you a new matrix for the first car eh? Must be some great parents you got if they are willing to spend that much for a first time driver

Personally, I would get a crappy 10 year old car like I had. I tore that thing to pieces and it still ran fine, jumped rail road tracks and everything

But, good luck to ya, and don't wreck it

[AcidicRage]

I guess you guys are right. Thanks guys so much for the enthuaism. It really helped. :-) I know I can't change what I get now because my parents have ordered it, and I guess I know that 4wd has its advantages too. But just one last question. How good exactly is 123 horsepower? Is it average? I've seen some old cars from the 70s that have 140hp! That makes me look bad. Is it really fast enough? :-D

[LordVagabond]

Hey ^__^

I'm a brand new member here, I test drove a Matrix XR AWD automatic today, and took it to the steepest hill I knew of in the area of the dealership, a 31% uphill grade twisting S. I hit the bottom going at ~50 kph, and as soon as the Matrix felt the hill, it downshifted and the Matrix took the road with ease. Very impressive. I only lost about 5 kph going up the hill. Power was smooth, strong and almost instant.

I hope that helps.

[rattus]

Even on my XRS, on very steep hills going 70-80 kph, I find I prefer to downshift and let the engine rev at 4000-5000 ish to take me up the hill.

[Gen3caMLos]

Originally posted by AcidicRage
I guess you guys are right. Thanks guys so much for the enthuaism. It really helped. :-) I know I can't change what I get now because my parents have ordered it, and I guess I know that 4wd has its advantages too. But just one last question. How good exactly is 123 horsepower? Is it average? I've seen some old cars from the 70s that have 140hp! That makes me look bad. Is it really fast enough? :-D

I wouldn't get too bogged down with HP. The matrix engine is VVT aka Variable Valve Timing. What this does is changes the camshaft timing according to the speed/rpm range. Toyota's VVT-i and VVTL-i work on the same principles as Honda's VTEC. The VVTL more so than the VVT.

Here is a link on how this kind of thing works. Its directed at Vtec, but the concepts are the same.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question229.htm

My point is that even though it's 123Hp, its a very effective use of that power. I actually rented one for a day ( the AWD XR ), and I go through a lot of tight merging and I will admit I was suprised at how well it accelarated and how smooth it was through all of it. I took it off my list of possible new cars because of the low hp, but after this I put it back on.

Well I hope this helps. Its my .02.

This is straight from Toyota.com glossary index
Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i)
This system selects the ideal intake and exhaust valve overlap under all engine operating conditions. VVT-i virtually eliminates the traditional compromises between low-end torque and high-rpm horsepower. It also helps enhance fuel economy and reduces emissions so effectively that it eliminates the need for the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) emissions device.

[sroines]

I have the base matrix here awd and I have no problems going more than the speed limit allows uphill. the gass mileage goes down a bit but it holds it's own. As for acceleration, I have found that it still has some decent get up and go compaired to a lot of other cars. I wouldn't be to worried. I trust it enough to put my daughter in it.