As a young professional I was looking for a sporty looking, fuel efficient car to get me to and from work and also for weekend trips out of town. The car is perfect for a young couple or single young professionals, all the options (like power windows, etc) are already taken care of, options like adding a spoiler or additional lights are very nice, the hatch door allows you to fit large loads like a drum kit or camping equipment. The interior is not luxurious, but it is classy and more than enough for my needs. I was not very interested in my car being super fast, more interested in reliability. Additionally, over ten years the design of the car aged gracefully and does not look like an old car compared to current models. I looked at many cars in the same year and same price range and this model offered what I was looking for. I would say that the car is not good for groups since the backseats are small and if you are tall it may not be a comfortable ride. Tall passengers did complain about leg room. But for two average size adults going out, it's the perfect car.

I love mine. But like any other vehicle, it's got it's quirks. Some rattles after a while, but it's built by Toyota so you know it's going to be reliable. I have an 06, so I'm sure they've worked some of the bugs out of them over the years. It is a compact, so "safe" could be interpreted in different ways. Against an Excursion - not good. Most scenarios, probably just like any other compact. Does have plenty of airbags though! It really is a fun car, and you'll pull between 20 and 25 miles to the gallon. Close to 30 if you spend a lot of time on the highway. You aren't going to win many drag racing contests, so if that's what you want, buy something else. All in all, I think it's well worth the money.