There’s slight improvements in the Matrix.
Like my grandmother in law would only buy me a car if it was a toyota. :P
But the Aerio, Vibe, Mazda 3? (might be 5), Aveo, etc are all remakes of the Matrix. Knock offs. Even the Charger is.
But the Aveo is like a HALF sized version :-)
As for my “knock off”…
Out the door lock-stock and barrel 14K even.
7 year, 100,000 mile warranty.
And in 3 years I have only needed:
Gas
2 tires (about to need 2 more)
Oil changes
Air Filter
New keyless entry fob (they do not like solvent, being smashed by 55 gallon drums, or exsposed to Acetone vapor…).
I will say this, be careful of buying Suzuki. A number of their cars are actually NOT made by Suzuki, they just bear the name. You can check by reading the data plate along the drivers door. The breakdown and repair rate for the non-Suzuki vehicles is about 4 times hire than for the actual Suzukis (yes, I work with a LOT of dealerships). Aerio and Vitara ARE Suzuki. Most of their sedans are NOT.
If you realy wanna be environmentally friendly move to Iceland they are trying to become completely independent from fossil fuels.
With all the geothermal they have, should not be hard.
Would be nice for Brazil to have company as an energy independent non-petroleum country.
Suzuki Aerio Toyota Matrix
Invoice $13,919.00 $14,114.00
Vehicle Class Midsize Wagon Midsize Wagon
Engine 2.3L 4 Cylinder 1.8L 4 Cylinder
Drive FWD FWD
Transmission 5 speed Manual OD 5 speed Manual OD
Fuel Capacity 13.20 gallons 13.20 gallons
MPG City 25 30
MPG Highway 31 36
Well, I hope that retains formating…
Basically, while it is correct that the Aerio costs $195 less then the Toyota, what’s the added expense in Gasoline costing you? The Aerios gets 83% the gas mileage of the Matrix in City driving and 14% the gas mileage on the highway. (Figures from Edmunds, confirmed by Car.com)
Looks like mines the greener vehicle. :P spththt
at some of my apartment buildings i have enrolled in the cities volunteer recycling program. A separate trash service comes and gets a container for plastics,glass,newpaper. I dont personally participate in this, but at least i offer it to tenants who may want to do this.
Matrix’s have come down in the past 3 years. When I bought my Aerio they were in the high teens, loaded and with tax and junk fees they were $21K
As for the fuel economy…
Aerio’s have gone down since '03 as they have continued to increase the HP of the engine (notice that you are significantly over-powered by the Aerio). I get 30 mpg doing a 2.4 mile commute, and over 40 on the highway, unless I am doing over 70 mph, then it drops off a bit (low 30’s if cruising at 80 mph)
And lastly… how loaded is a Matrix at $14K?
Mine had the whole shooting match except Automatic (that I did not want) and ABS (which I could not find one that had it). So, power everything, AC, 6 disk CD, cruise…
Glad to see that Toyota though has brought there version more in line with the pricing of comparable vehicles.
Prius baby 47.1 mpg currently
Go out of my way to save all animals in my house
Kept the pets I couldn’t find homes for when I see strays
Help the recycling club at my school
Bird Feeders
Try and provide habitat in my backyard
Compost
This is what the Matrix comes with, standard. There are upgrades available.
Aerodynamic multi-reflector halogen headlamps with Daytime Running Lights (DRL)
Integrated front fog lamps
Color-keyed door handles, side rocker panels and power outside mirrors
Washer-linked variable intermittent windshield wipers with mist cycle
Intermittent rear window wiper
All-Weather Guard Package
Color-keyed front and rear underbody spoilers
16-in. alloy wheels with P205/55R16 tires
4-way adjustable front seats with fold-flat passenger seat
Fabric seat and front door trim with integrated armrests and dual front map pockets
Fabric rear door trim
60/40 split fold-down rear bench seat
Driver’s seat vertical height adjuster
Two 12V auxiliary power outlets
115V auxiliary power outlet <===Another feature I love! Don’t need an adapter for my laptop, just plug it into the dash!!!
Cup holders (two front, two rear)
Cruise control
Power door locks with shift-activated locking feature <====I love this, all doors unlock when I shift to park, they all lock when I leave park!
Power windows and driver’s auto-down and retained-power features
Heavy-duty rear window defogger
Remote keyless entry system with lock, unlock and hatch-release features
Stepless tilt steering wheel
3-spoke steering wheel
Optitron meters with speedometer, tachometer with LCD odometer, twin tripmeters and outside temperature gauge, coolant temperature and fuel level gauges
Airbag, seatbelt, low-fuel level, door-ajar, battery, check engine, oil pressure, brake and taillamp bulb failure warning lights, and Direct Tire Pressure Monitor System [6] warning lights (ABS and warning lights on ABS-equipped models)
Oil (or scheduled maintenance) indicator light
Defroster-linked CFC-free air conditioning with air filter
JBL® AM/FM 6-disc in-dash CD changer with seven speakers
Needle-punch carpeting with driver-side footrest
Illuminated entry
Day/night rearview mirror with mounted maplights
Rear cargo track system with eight adjustable tie-down hooks and under-deck storage compartment
Cargo nets (one side, one rear)
Tonneau cover
Driver front airbag and front passenger airbag with Advanced Airbag System
Driver and front passenger front seat-mounted side airbags and front and rear side curtain airbags
Engine immobilizer
Front seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters
3-point rear seatbelts for all positions
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) with Traction Control (TRAC) and Brake Assist
4-wheel Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Direct Tire Pressure Monitor System
Front and rear energy crumple zones
Driver and front passenger 3-point seatbelts with adjustable shoulder anchors
Automatic/Emergency Locking Retractors (ALR/ELR) for all front and rear passenger seatbelts; Emergency Locking Retractors (ELR) for driver seatbelt
Side-impact door beams
Energy-absorbing steering column
Head-impact protection structure
Child Restraint System (CRS) lower anchors and top tether anchors (LATCH)
Child-protector rear door locks
High-tensile-strength steel body panels
Obviously those arn’t all “features” per se, but Toyota lists them as features anyway.
VERY similar…
Though I do not have the cargo tie downs, the flat fold front passenger seat, tire pressure monitor, or the 110v plug. The rest is a dead match (except that lock interlock thing… I have a 5-speed, so I NEVER shift into park. Also, unlocking when shifting into park is NOT a good thing… carjackers existing and all…
I do have smaller tires (185/55/R15), more horsepower, power mirrors, fog lamps, and the dash board (they changed it in newer models) is 100% LED. And I have a better warranty :-D
The options I did not get…
Automatic
ABS
Climate Control (I could only find ABS and Climate Control on the automatics, and I did NOT want an automatic)
They do have one problem though, and it is with the automatics (Angel has an automatic)…
It is only a 4 speed OD tranny. And at high interstte speeds (80 mph) mileage drops into the upper 20’s due to high RPMs. The automatic was dseigned as a local use vehicle.
Well my paid off vehichle gets 28 city but I will get a hybrid when the ole VW gives up the ghost.
I recycle the Aluminum (I’ve cut back my soda to the point I barely use any)
I don’t get a newspaper (read someone else’s.)
Keep the lights off I’m not using.
I homebrew so I re-use my beer bottles as beer bottles.
Use Star San instead of Iodophor.
Don’t take drives for the heck of it.
Keep the thermostat at take the edge off settings.
Not enough at all really.
A farm is looking pretty good to me these days. Lots of room to get a windmill
http://www.windenergy.com/news/press_skystream_6-27-06.html
grow some things (my own hops for starters.)
You know, I was looking at wind power for years when I had my farm, but I cannot in this subdivision.
I think the main theings that most of us can do are pretty cheap and easy…
We are conscious of our fuel usage, and work to reduce the miles driven
We take care of and upgrade our homes so that we lose let heat/cooling because of poor insulation and windows, and we use efficient HVAC units
We recycle the materials that are cost effective: metals and glass
We reduce the amount of waste we produce by buying in bulk reducing packaging, etc.
We reduce power usage by turning off lights, TV’s, computers when not in use as well as usign compact fluros.
Compost organic matter insted of having it hauled off (grass clippings, sticks, vegetable waste, etc.)
Some of the other things that we can do…
Disposable diapers… talk about a nightmare… megatons of raw human waste being put in landfills, as well as synthetic materials taht do not break down. 2% of all landfill mass are DIAPERS. Use a diaper service, or wash your own!
Disposable Razors. All that non-biodegradable, petroleum based plastic. Just buy a razor and replacement blades. Waste reduction: 95%
And then the simple lifestyle thigns that add up…
Carry your coffee in a thermos instead of buying it or getting it at work in a disposable cup (saves a TON of money too)
Use re-usable containers for carryign lunch instead of disposable bags, or worse yet fast food packaging.
-Drive a standard vehicle.
-Bike/walk a lot (last time I got gas - didn’t even fill up - was late August)
-Recycle
-Use low watt fluorescents
-cloth diapers (seemed unreasonable at first, but it gets simple after a while)
I homebrew so I re-use my beer bottles as beer bottles.
I find Grolsch bottles to be perfect, with their stoppers, even though brown bottles are preferred to green (but the beer isn’t bad, either!)
I go 80 all the time and average in the low 30’s MPG, no real drop from what’s advertised. (You have to bear in mind the testing is erronious, it’s got design flaws form the 70’s so we’re talking about an 18% difference off the lot from demonstrated and advertised. You can read about it on Consumer Report’s magazine and online at their webpage, if you wnat to buy a membership. I’m sure there’s also articles on Google.)
But that power plug is great. Got me a minifridge and a laptop in the car.
But that power plug is great. Got me a minifridge and a laptop in the car.
LOL @ that with topic in mind…
BTW:
http://www.solio.com/v2/shop/shop2_details.php?product=146
Solar Powered, Portable Pattery with standard American power recepticles installed.
These things work great for charging Cell Phones or for that matter any battery. I’ve never used it on a continual basis, but hey, it’s free energy for a modest investment, and when the Libs get back in power, and the Terror comes back to the states, at least you’ll have some power when the power plants blow up!
BTW, Hybreds are more expensive then they save you in gas, just in dollar sale cost. That’s not including such silly things as battery replacements every 7 years, extra parts to break/wear out over time…etc.
Though, as i said, I almost got the Prius, it was just too hard to get any decent visibility out of the thing…guess that’s why the Federal Government requires all Prius’ sold in the United States that are model year 2006 or later to be outfitted with rear facing CCTV systems so the drivers can actually SEE something out the back.
