Review: Hyundai Matrix
It’s new, it’s spacious, it’s pretty, it’s a Hyundai. And, we think, the market might find it a little pricey. Hyundai’s Matrix, at R159 995, costs serious money for a 1,6-litre mini-multi-purpose vehicle, and if you want to sell a vehicle in this price range you’d better make sure you offer build quality and features to match the opposition’s.
The Matrix launched this week falls a tad short in that it offers but a single airbag, for the driver, and poor fitting interior trim in two of the cars we looked at hinted that quality control could be tighter. That said, we found the car to be remarkably spacious and taut handling, and it offered an acceptable turn of speed considering the altitude at which we drove it on the Reef.
Apart from the disappointment of the single airbag — after all, who wants to survive an accident that their partner doesn’t — the Matrix is pretty well equipped. It comes standard with alloy wheels, a cover for the cargo area, fold-up seatback trays, cupholders, storage compartments galore, 12-volt auxiliary power sockets front and rear, and all the convenience features we’ve come to expect from our cars these days —power steering, central locking, aircon, radio/CD and electric windows all round.
Driving the Matrix is Hyundai’s 1,6-litre Alpha engine, which puts out 76kW at 5 800rpm and 141Nm of torque at 4 500rpm. A five-speed manual gearbox is the only transmission option available for now.
The Matrix joins Hyundai’s other five models in a crowded South African market, and the company intends selling 60 to 80 of the new vehicles a month.
In the past 18 months the new distributors have succeeded in regaining the confidence of the public, and the 65 000-odd Hyundais already on our roads have proved that the products are as durable as any. Now, if only the Koreans could jack up those trim levels.