At 5’10" I barely fit into a new Matrix. I doubt you’d be able to fit into one at 6’5", unless you have really, really short legs. I considered it’s sister car, the Vibe as well, but neither had enough leg room for me in the driver’s seat. Check out the Mazda 3 for a sporty hatchback, it had some good leg room for me.
Get something you’ll fit into comfortably. Nothing worse than driving a car with your knees because there isn’t any leg room for you.
Get a front wheel drive Matrix and get winter tires if you want. Do not buy a VW anything, they are junk, you will regret it in the long run. German cars drive great, but the quality and reliability are just not there.
That puzzles me. I have long legs and was fine in the Matrix. Was yours 2010? The telescoping wheel was great. My knees fit under it easily with plenty of clearance, and the seat went a long ways back.
Edmunds.com has a feature called “True Cost to Own”. It included estimates for all costs for the first 5 years of ownership. If you only include fuel, maintenance, repairs, and insurance while ignoring depreciation, taxes and fees, and financing, the Jetta costs 16% less. If you include everything, the Jetta is about 4% less. Look it up for yourself, and read about how they estimate the values they use. I think that relibility is overblown as an issue these days. Most everything has excellent relibility. BTW, the Matrix reliability is better than the Jetta, but not by enough to overcome the high maintenance and fuel costs.
yeah, I tested an '09 and a '10. It just felt too cramped for my legs.
Thanks - I missed the true cost to own. I’ll check it out.