See? See Not!

Dropped by Toyota today to grab a now-tiny oil filter for the FJ-80. While I was there, I stopped by the showroom. I sat down in the new Matrix. It looks pretty nice inside, except for the non-DIN opening for the radio, but I know there are at least 2 adaptors available. The forward-folding front passenger seat looks like it would make it big enough inside for a DH/FR bike with both wheels on to fit, but the liftgate appears too narrow to accommodate a long fork and wide riser bars. The reach to the shifter might be a little far, especially 3 and 5. The one thing I disconcertingly noticed was the view out the windscreen. The hood line is so high and the seating position is so low that you probably won’t be able to see the road immediately in front of you! The bottom edge of the windscreen is about 108 cm (42”) above the ground. The Yaris, as a point of comparison is only about 100 cm (39”) high. I think that might be a deal-breaker, but I’ll have to take it on a test drive to really see. Walking outside, I saw that hey had the new Venza in. Nice, but enormous – about the same apparent footprint as a current Sienna van. The sticker was $28K USD. That’s a lot for what is essentially a Camry station wagon. If I’m going to pay that much, I’ll get a Suby Impreza WRX. Oh, the Venza was about 115 cm (45”) to the bottom of the windscreen, but the seating position is much higher, so I don’t see this as being a problem.