REAL value for the money

Bought mine at the end of July and now have 5000 miles on it. Only option added was cruise control, a $400.00 option. Very well equipped with A/C, anti-lock brakes and stability control and nice stereo, standard. Mine has the standard 5-speed transmission which I don't find quite as smooth as the reviews I read about. Tends to grind occasionally during shifts. Maybe in my old age (47), I lost my shifting touch. Just seems finicky about how far you depress the clutch sometimes. Acceleration is leisurely, especially with the A/C on. Quality is pure Toyota, which is to say excellent. I have gotten up to 39MPG on a highway trip. Here in Connecticut where gas has 10% Ethanol, that seems to reduce mileage by about 10%. Lowest mileage was 29 MPG during city driving. Switched to synthetic engine oil at 2000 miles. The car uses no oil, engine-wise.
Great utility! Easy fold back seats open up a huge cavernous space. But, with no rear passengers. With rear seats up, cargo space is very limited. No five passenger journeys with much luggage. The dash and door hard plastic is a bit unusual: It has what I call removable scratchs. If you scrape against the material, it leaves what appears to be a scratch, but with a wipe of your hand or cloth, it disappears. Result in my normal use is a rather ragged looking dash until you wipe it down. Maybe a surface treatment would reduce this effect. Also, the seats are lint and cat hair collectors. My cat hair, at least any on my back or bottom is completely removed after just one trip in the car! However, it doesn't come off the seat easily, requiring extensive vacuuming. For the approximate price of $15,000.00, you get a lot of vehicle, nits aside. I also find it a pleasant road car having driven 750 miles in one day, with minimal fatigue. Probably would have been more comfortable in a Benz, but I'd rather have the spare cash and reliability of a Toyota.