The Toyota Corolla Matrix, commonly referred to as the Toyota Matrix, is a compact hatchback manufactured by Toyota Motor Corporation in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada and sold in North America.
The Matrix is the Toyota version of a joint venture between Toyota
and General Motors; the GM version is the Pontiac Vibe, made at NUMMI
in Fremont, California. A third version, also assembled at NUMMI, was
sold in Japan from 2002 to early 2004 as the Toyota Voltz. Although the
Voltz was sold under the Toyota brand there, the styling was nearly
identical to the Vibe. The Matrix is considered to be the sporty
hatchback/wagon counterpart of the Corolla.
The Matrix and the Vibe are identical mechanically and practically
identical internally, but they are clothed in different sheetmetal in
order to appear somewhat different. Both vehicles are narrow but tall
station wagons styled in a trendy, quasi-SUV fashion (called a
crossover utility vehicle or "CUV" by Toyota)and marketed to a fairly
youthful market segment. This type of car is often referred to as a
sport wagon.
