Style

noisy, poor interior finish, poor exterior paint even with diamond coat, poor comfort.

I have hated this car from almost the first month. While under warranty it had myriad of problems from mufflers (3) to trim falling off and pretty much everything else in between. After the warranty was off 64000 the engine developed a tick and coolant was coming past one of the head bolts, the passenger seat broke, and the dash started to come up around the passenger side airbag. Numerous other parts of the interior started to fall off. Tires wore out at 60000km, brakes shortly after. I will never darken GM doors again for any of thier products as a result of this car. Do yourself a favour and pay the extra for a import, you'll be much happier.

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cavilair, saturn.

Acceleration, Handling, Cost, Fuel economy

wheel bearing went at 62000 km's

This is the best car I've owned. It has 80,000kms on it and has had no real problems so far. It still drives like the day I bought it, it could use some new tires though :-). I got an automatic (wife), but it still has great pick up. After reading all the reviews here, I would suggest looking at the GT model, the reviews for it in general seem to be better and you'll love the extra power.

I looked at a lot of cars before buying this one and for the money it had the best features. All of those features are still working fine.

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Not similar in terms of year, but probably close in terms of price.
Owned 1979 Challenger, 1980 Mustang, 1990 Tempo
Driven Lots*

fast car for a 4 banger. Handles pretty good with the 16" wide tires. The seats are more comfortable then the Z24.
All in all more bang for the buck.

Feel like a sardine sometimes. I have not had any problems that the warrenty did not cover. I did however have to get the rack and pinion changed at 18,000KM

I am on my 12 vehicle and it is the best one to date. I am getting great service from the dealer and If I wasn't so tired of a 2 door I would probably get another GT.
Also the new modules are butt ugly!!

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Z24,Honda Civic

This car looks nice, is very fast especially for the price, good factory speakers, good glove box space and trunk space, looks great with tinted windows and rims,

not many mechanics know what do do with it, hard to see to go in reverse, plastic interior that rattles, hard to make faster and expensive to make faster

I have had this car for 5 years and have enjoyed almost evry minute of it except for the brakes and tires. The tires were my fault though. Despite what others say, this car does handle turns very well. It does have a lot of body roll, but isn't going to roll on you. It is a very cost efficient car. I would recommend it to anyone that wanted to beat those rice boys, pay less for a car, and it looks better. I am very proud of my rice cooker. I eat a couple times a day with this car.

For those import people, this car will beat anything in it's class. Personally I think it will beat a lot of cars above it's class as long as they are not turbocharged or supercharged. I have soooooooo many wins under my belt I had to get bigger pants.

Just for the record: I have an automatic with RK sport performance headers, an RK sport intake, and got the pipes y-ed off into dual exhaust. This car looks pretty quick and is pretty quick despite what the others say. Here is a list of notable victories. Sorry if your eyes get sore from reading all of these.

I have beat:
Dodge Neon's

Toyota Celica's (not the 01 GT, but all others)

Mitsubishi Eclipse's (not turbocharged)

Eagle Talon (not turbocharged)

Acura's (you name it I've beat it, even a type R-though it might have been a fake with a sticker.)

Honda's (same thing as Acura's, I even raced the '01 SI VTECH and smoked it-what a joke)

Mitsubishi 3000 GT (non turbo, and even turbocharged I was a car and a half back at 100 MPH-but the VR-4 is another story)

Ford Mustang (a few bad drivers with the GT, but other than that I can't beat the GT)

Pontiac Grand Prix (that was supercharged, but I don't think he was trying or he got a bad jump)

Any Nissan (except the 300ZX turbo)

Ford Probe (a joke that it's in the same class)

I guess I'll stop here because I am going to add a few more notches to my belt right now.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GREAT CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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96 Cavalier- Sunfire is faster
96 Probe- Sunfire is faster and sportier looking
96 Neon- Sunfire is faster and looks better

excellent acceleration, looks sharp (even better with tinted windows), A/C and heat are great, good handling, not bad price for the performance, lumbar is nice, 4 speed auto shifts smooth and holds the gears when you want it to. The engine can take up to 250hp without any internal mods.

i bought the car with 55,000 kms on it and by 65,000 kms here is what i had replaced (under extended warranty, $100 each visit deductible):
wheel bearing (59,000 kms)
tie rods (2)(60,000 kms)
rack and pinion (62,000kms)
axles (2)(64,000kms)
I find it doesn't get that good gas mileage (my last car was a civic, so i guess that's why i think it's bad on gas) even when i'm not drving it hard. It has some sort of snapping noise in the front end when going around turns that the dealer cannot find, GM customer service is like talking to a wall, they don't listen or don't care, i'm not sure which one. ABS thrashes like crazy the first time you put the brakes on even lightly if it has been sitting for more than 12 hours.

My next car will be another civic Si, they are peppy, get better gas mileage, and i drove my last one to 300,000 kms without any major repairs, just the normal wear and tear. If I had some gotten some satisfaction from GM customer service i might consider buying another GM, but that won't happen. I do enjoy the look on people's faces in my rear view mirror when i kick their asses though.

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It has very good exceleration for a 4 cyl engine. Nice factory stereo package. Very good looking sports car.

The braking system in this vehicle is left to be desired, like a lot of other people say the abs seems to speed up before it slows down. Personally
for my particular car, it likes to stall on me for no reason what so ever, when i bring it in to the mechanic he thinks it's the computer but cant be sure about it until it actually stops working dahhhhhhh, kind of stupid if you ask me. We were getting good gas mileage but lately it has been really bad. Now there is a clunking noise comming from the back of car, possible strut not sure yet maybe when it falls off the mechanic will be able to tell us what it is. Come on GM get on the ball will you.

Like the look and the pick up and the price of the sunfire but would like a reliable car to reasure me that when I go out on to the road it wont stall out on me. Is that to much to ask for??????????????

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88 cavalier has it's own set of problems (I thought i was upgrading to a sunfire) 88 oldsmobile delta 88 (cant compare an olds to a chev or pontiac)

Looks, headroom, ride, decent acceleration, interior appointments

rattles, fit and finish, noisy engine, poor mileage, ABS, bad crash rating

The interior of this car looks and feels more expensive than it is, especially compared to other cars in its price range, which look cheap and plasticky. The gauges are elegant, sporty-looking, and red instead of that icky green most cars have. The doors are stylish, and even the door handles look sporty. The herringbonish fabric seats are much nicer than the cheap velour /vinyl combinations other cars have. The look, outside an in, is like a mini-Grand-Prix, rather than like an economy car.

But the fit and finish are only fair. Part of the door moldings look like their edges were cut by a 10-year-old with scissors. I have had intermittent rattles from under the dash, both doors, and the headliner; the dealer was able to reproduce only the door rattle (and eventually seems to have fixed it).

Acceleration is adequate (115hp), but the engine is noisy. With only a 3-speed automatic, the car wants to accelerate at any speed, including well-beyond highway speeds. The nice engine growl invites you to take it faster and faster, and, in fact, I got a speeding ticket on the highway last week for doing just that.

The ride is bumpy and bouncy, but you really feel the road nicely. It's great fun to drive compared to some more cushiony cars.

Mileage is horrible; I rented an Impala a few weeks ago and got almost as good mileage as from this compact car.

Great heating system; fast and hot. I wish there were a defrost/face combination instead of just a defrost/feet.

The ABS is inadequate, and I could probably stop faster without it. It pulses the brakes very, very slowly, and stops with ABS are very long. I have braked through intersections because the ABS wouldn't let go (I eventually realized that I have to take my foot off the pedal for the ABS to give up -- pumping doesn't work unless the foot comes off the pedal completely). Other GM products have much better ABS systems.

Other problems: brakes at 50,000km, seatbelt retractor is weak, one broken ignition wire at 60K, three out of six taillights needed replacement, the car vibrates a bit in park when on a slight incline (GM knows about this problem but doesn't have a fix), and a couple of other things I've forgotten.

BTW, the cupholder isn't that bad, and you get used to it.

The seats do not recline to vertical, which is how I like them. They recline only to near-vertical, and the amount seems to vary by car. This is a problem for me only because I like to sit bolt upright. Oh, yeah, and a lumbar support would help a lot (it's in one of the option packages I don't have).

I would buy this car again easily if not for the ABS and crash rating. I would trade it for a Grand Prix tomorrow if the GP had more headroom.

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Great acceleration, it looks and all around drives good. Excellant gas milage, great for taking trips in. It is comfortable to ride in, two adults can actually ride pretty comfortable in the back seat.

First of all don't get power windows and lock because they SUCK... the driver side window won't roll down, the sunroof won't open and the power locks will lock the doors, but won't always unlock them. It is sometimes hard to upshift from 2nd to 3rd, every other gear goes in smooth but for some reason 3rd won't,even with a new clutch! I have had it in the shop for minor transmission repair,replaced brakes,replaced clutch,had to replace the power steering pump because it wasn't circulating...very expensive!!! Another problem that I have found is that the check engine light has a tendency to pop on and stay that way for a week or two and then it will just turn off. I also had this problem with my other sunfire. I think the biggest problem that I have had with it was when the right axle broke loose from the transmission causing the car to fiercly jerk to the right and onto the curb and sidewalk. The inside door handles have a tendency to come loose from the door and the cd player is very picky,sometimes it will play them sometimes it won't.

All and all I like this car. It is a fun car to drive and it looks great but it has seen a lot of trips to the repair shop. Sunfires are basically good cars. It seems like everytime I fix one problem two weeks later it is back in the shop with a new problem. Most of the problems are minor ones that don't cost a lot to fix, but be cautious because some are extemely expensive. If you are looking at getting a Sunfire your best bet is to buy it new instead of used because I had a lot of problems with mine that weren't manufactured problems,but stuff that the previous owner didn't notice. I bought my 1998 Sunfire convertable new and I have really had no problems with it. They are good cars if you keep them up, otherwise they are not worth all the extra money you will have to put into them later on if you don't. WARNING: If you buy one used make sure you have it checked from top to bottom before you buy it!!!!

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1998 Sunfire convertible,1994 Cavalier. The GT accelerates a lot quicker than the 2.2L.

Good acceleration, fun to drive

Had to replace waterpump, brakes, alternator, battery, transmission, clutch, and emmision component in engine

Don't buy one. If you need one and want a car that has had everything replaced. I will sell mine for the same price I bought it. It has 94,000 miles.

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Sunfire's suck

Order it with 2.4L Engine.Handles well

Replaced water pump cost $800.00

Other than the water pump car been very good it has 110,000 miles on it.This is the first GM car we bought and I am very pleased.For what we paid for it was a good value for your dollar. The car still has power and that due to the engine 2.4l mind you this is not a GT. Have to put a cluch and 2nd set of brakes that not bad.I was going to buy a new one but could not come up with the right price. bought a new Olds for $13,500 with the 2.4L

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