The driver will find that the cockpit is unlike that of other Toyota cars. It's all but identical to the Pontiac Vibe, even down to the American Delco radio.

Four pods in front of the steering wheel house deeply set gauges. The gauges glow red at all times, even during the daytime, as insufficient ambient light reaches them. Chrome rims accentuate each pod. Plastic trim designed to look like brushed aluminum surrounds the switches on the dashboard and adorns the door panels. The combined radio and CD player sits directly to the right of the instrument pod, with the heating and ventilation controls immediately below.

The shifter is just a few inches from the steering wheel, conveniently located more than a foot off the floor in a position that's become fashionable in high-performance rally cars as well as the Lexus RX luxury crossover SUV.

There's 15 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats. The rear seat is split 60/40 and pressing a button flips each seatback down to provide a completely flat floor capable of holding 53 cubic feet of cargo. The cargo floor is finished in a hard ribbed plastic designed to offer easy cleanup. Set something there and there's a good chance it'll slide around underway. A carpeted cargo mat is available that does a much better job of keeping cargo from sliding around. The cargo floor features four slots that contain movable hooks that can be used to tie down goods. There are several other tie-downs positioned along the sides. Storage compartments and cargo nets provide owners with maximum utility. All of this makes the interior as versatile as any station wagon and better than most SUVs. Even the front passenger seat can be folded down to provide another flat surface for storage, albeit at a higher level than the rest of the floor.

With its high roofline, the Matrix offers plenty of headroom for tall drivers and passengers. Shorter passengers sitting in the rear seats might find the view slightly claustrophobic due to the small side windows.

One cool feature is the available 115-volt power outlet located in the front dashboard alongside a regular 12-volt outlet. It's a low-power AC plug suitable for powering a laptop computer, but it isn't capable of running power tools.