Toyota is studying the possibility of replacing the discontinued Matrix with a five-door hatchback variant of the redesigned 2014 Corolla.
A hatchback wearing the well-known Corolla badge likely wouldn’t suffer from what Toyota says was the most significant issue dogging the Matrix – a distinct lack of consumer awareness.
Speaking withEdmunds, Paul Holdridge, Toyota’s U.S. vice president of sales, explainedthat some buyers would come into Toyota showrooms, realize a Corolla was too small for their needs, and be surprised by the existence of the Matrix.
"The salesman would suggest the Matrix" and the customer's response would be," 'Oh, really. I didn't even know you made it.' And that was part of our problem," Holdridge said.
Toyota only releases combined Corolla and Matrix sales volume in the U.S., but a company source revealed toEdmundsthat just 4,300 Matrixes found new homes last year.
For now, Toyota is simply watching the market and weighing the business case for a Corolla hatchback, though launching such a model in the U.S. would likely be a relatively easy task – Toyota already has a five-door variant of the 2014 Corolla that it sells in markets like Australia and Europe (it’s known as the Aurelia in the latter).

Via Leftlane news.

I don't think its lack of consumer awareness that plagued the matrix, its the amount of low quality plastics used for the interior and yet the car is pricey. Anyone noticed how ugly the dashboard looks with buttons wearing off after about 1 year of use. The interior of a 2008 matrix looks like a car in the 90's. Just ugly and low quality, yet expensive, the only good thing is the exterior and AWD option

elektra80: I don't think its lack of consumer awareness that plagued the matrix, its the amount of low quality plastics used for the interior and yet the car is pricey. Anyone noticed how ugly the dashboard looks with buttons wearing off after about 1 year of use. The interior of a 2008 matrix looks like a car in the 90's. Just ugly and low quality, yet expensive, the only good thing is the exterior and AWD option

Save for its look and its AWD, Toyota got it wrong with the Matrix, the car interior is really low quality interior hard plastic. Maybe its their romance with the Americans (pontiac) or the pride of success that got into their heads. The same low quality peeling/fading cheap plastic effect is what people using Camry and Sienna MY2008 experiences. Their dashboard become defaced.