Wow... there must be something about me bumping up old threads.. hahaha..
Mean: I still have the car and it's the official mummy wagon. My wife drives it to fetch the little boss around. She loves the space and height of the car. Says it's easy for her to reach out for parking slips at the mall and toll houses.
I offered to change it to a Toyota AE111 but she's reluctant to sacrifice the Matrix.
So after two years of owning the Hyundai Matrix, this is my short summary.
Space :- I love it. So does everyone in the family. My mum drives an Alza and she likes it. The Alza wins outright in terms of usable space of course but the Matrix doesn't lose out by much. The rear deck/tonneau is great for hiding things from prying eyes, the one thing which my mum gripes about the Alza not having. The rear seats slide so that the space at the back is adjustable; either a bigger trunk space or to fit longer limbed passengers. Did you know that there's actualy some storage space underneath the rear bench?
Lotsa storage space for knick-nacks all over the car. Only broken piece now is the left coinbox/storage assembly beside the air con blower. The locking pin broke so it doesn't close now. Was quoted RM95 for a replacement. Think I'm gonna DIY it.
Fuel Consumption :-Currently the petrol prices for RON95 is RM2.30 per litre. Costs about RM100 for a full tank now. The missus reports that she gets circa 350km per tankful. Thirsty for sure. Lugging about 1.3 tonnes with only a 1.6 engine putting out 103hp is gonna do that. Highway driving sees better mileage. Did a KL - Melaka run once and that got me about 480kms. Crazy right?
Spare Parts :-Now this is my major gripe. They're not cheap. The engine was leaking about the gasket area. Mechanic discovered that the plastic engine cover has become brittle so oil was seeping out. Cost RM430 to replace just the cover. Gotta dig out some of the old receipts to find out the exact prices but they cost a premium across the board compared to Jap brands.
Reliability :-The car is built quite sturdy overall. Like any other car, there comes a time when stuff just breaks down. Besides the abovementioned engine issue, the steering rack is also leaking. The gearbox is beginning to show signs of dying. Gonna cost a few thousand RM to bring it back to shape. But I suppose it's gonna be money well spent la. The wife's happy and the little boss is happy. So overall, I;m happy.
Sekian dan sehingga laporan pendek saya yang seterusnya....
