2006 Toyota Matrix

I had always driven Toyotas until insanity gripped me in the year 2000 and I bought a Ford Focus. Five and a half years and a myriad of problems later, I'd had enough and traded it in for a Toyota Matrix, the mechanical cousin to Toyota's Corolla line. Built on the same drivetrain, the Toyota offered a wagon-like practicality without sacrificing gas mileage or styling.

Almost three years later, I am still loving my Matrix. It has not had one recall (compard to about five or six with my Ford) and gets an impressive 32 mpg while on the road (about 26-28 city driving). Other than one set of replacement tires, there has been nothing more than routine maintenance performed on the vehicle since I first drove it off the lot.

The Matrix is a little workhorse. The back seats fold down revealing an impressive amount of cargo room. Acceleration is quite speedy for a small car, and any complaints I might have had in the beginning can be chalked up to just getting used to a new vehicle. It can be a bit bumpy and noisy, but just flip on the well-balanced radio and you'll hardly notice the road irregularities.

The Matrix is affordable to buy and maintain. It's fun to drive and gets great gas mileage. You can lug around lots of cargo, kids, in-laws or whatever else you need to transport.

Other cars in this class might be the Honda Civic, the Ford Focus (yuck) or one of the other imports from Hyundai or Kia. But with the track record that Toyota holds, there's no reason not to go with the best.