*Awesone Red color (Coupe looks best in Red - much like a mini-firebird)
*Stylish shape/features. Nice rocker panels and fin on trunk (Even has "Pontiac" in Red lights on trunk when lights are on. All of these cosmetic features makes car look much more expensive than it really is.
*Spacious trunk, glovebox and backseat area (for 2-dr coupe).
*Front seats very comfortable - Interior much nicer than similar class imports
*Stereo CD is awesome for the $$$$.
*Great dash layout (gauges, stereo, A/C controls, etc)
*2.2 lt. Engine is quiet - Can't even hear it when idling. Is adequate - not over powering. Great for 1st time driver.
* Traction Control System - Added Bonus for a car at this price.
*Brakes tight and responsive.
*Day-time running lights
*Battery saving feature - Interior lights shut-off automatically when door is closed. Also slowly dims and then shuts off when key is inserted in the ignition.
*Good Gas mileage (considering what my Chevy Astro Van gets)

*Not much headroom if you are over 5'10" tall
*If you are tall, you must recline the seat back pretty far to drive which makes you feel like you are driving from the backseat.
*Plastic dash near windshield keeps popping out of place (does not rattle and pops back in. Just a nuisance).
*14" Tires/Rims - Rides rough on rough roads. Needs a minimal of 15" tires. Should be standard for this car given its low profile. These are a must!
*Front Wheel Drive - But this is the way of the future.
*Haven't had car long enough to experience any long-term weakenesses.
*All added features sold in packages. Does not give you the freedom to pick and choose individual or particular features or upgrades that you may want or don't want. I think this is the trend though.

GREAT Value for Price! Looked at some of the cheaper advertised Korean imports only to discover that once you add everything you want to their cars, you are at or around the same price as the Sunfire. Test drove several imports. Sunfire much smoother and stronger for the $$$$. This car was bought for my daughter finishing HS/for college. Looks sporty, engine adequate (responsive but not overly fast - Good for 1st time driver). Brakes well. No problems as of yet. Keeping my fingers crossed and my warranty near by. Sticker Price is to high but with Rebates and some serious haggling, you can get a very good price. Bought mine for less than some of the earlier model years being sold as "used". In most cases you get what you pay for. In this case, you get much more for your $$$$ than you pay for. Check out other's in this class and price range (I did), compare feature for feature. You will agree.

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1995 Chevy Astro Van - Different Class, can't even compare.
1989 Toyota Truck - Almost same size engine, but sunfire is more peppy and responsive.
1984 Toyota Celica ST - About the same (But have you seen the price of Celicas now?)
1980's Pontiac Grand Ams (at work) Did not like them.
1989 Chevy Celebrity (at work) - Front wheel drive to jerky.
1999 Chevy Malibu (at work) - About the same. Sunfire much more sportier.

-Power (Manual transmittion) As long as you know the engine's powerband, then you can keep up any car in it's class.
-Handling and braking are great in all weather conditions.
-It's looks are much sportier than any other car in it's class and has that unique Pontiac style.
-Has enough space for everyone to be comfortable and enough trunk space.
-Factory speakers were more than addequate once I replaced the original stereo with a Sony CD player.

-Inside rattles, happens in most cars these days.
-Body strength, dents very easily.
-As for the cupholder, I just added some small stick-on pads around the inner sides and all my cups fit snug.

Don't kid yourself, the Pontiac Sunfire will only perform as well as it is treated. So as long as you take care of it and don't drive the p*** out of it, this will remain one of the more realiable North American buys out there. If you buy your car new, then at least you know how your car will be driven from the start, but anyone out there who thinks that they can honestly get a good buy from a used Sunfire GT with over 20,000km/yr on it has to be kidding themselves. I bought mine at 3 years old with 30,000km, I added an additional 2 years warranty for security and have yet to do any work. I put 15,000km in the last year, I do alot of city driving and tend to move in and out of traffic with some authority but I don't burn my tires up and I gear down before braking. I added a K&N air filter that has done wonders for my gas mileage and has really added some extra pep whenever I step on the pedal.

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None

The only thing I like with is irrelevant is that the car stereo continues to play when the car is shut off, until you open the door. But I am a girl and those little things impress me.

Everything. It is the worst car I have ever been in when it comes to driving in snow (which is 9 months out of the year up here.) There is not enough space inside and there are too many blind spots.

This car is Crap!!! I have had nothing but problems with it. It does not handle the cold weather of Canada very well. It is terrible in snow even with all season tires on it. The gas mileage is bad for a car that small. There is very little room inside and there are a lot of blind spots that make driving difficult at times. I wouldn't recommend this car to anybody.

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1991 Dodge Shadow is even better than this car.

none,

every aspect of this automobile. from the sterio, tires, transmission, engine, brakes, exhaust, body. just every thing. one more thing... my car has more dings than any other car I have seen. every time I go out and park my car in a parking lot, a new one shows up. Dont get this car!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the worst car I've ever owned. It is an overpriced piece of crap on four wheels that is misleadingly given the name car. This is the worst investment anyone can put their money into, and I strongly recomend that nobody ever purchases this product ever.

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any car is better than this car

- Responsive. I tap the gas and my Sunfire jumps.
- Storage space. The glove box fits my giant Boston city map, insurance info, first aid kit. The trunk is very large for such a small car.
- Sexy, sporty look. I love the front and the gentle ribs on the side. And the round parking & turn signal lights are so cute.
- Good CD player & radio.
- Five cupholders! An armrest that stores things! Space under the CD player for my CDs!
- Big mirrors.
- Comfy driver's seat.
- Room for five friendly adults.
- Goes pretty far on gas, even the way I drive in stop-and-go city traffic.
- Fits in teeny-tiny parking spaces.
- Easy to use & read gauges, controls. Love how I can have cool air blowing in my face & on my feet. I also love the trip odometer.

- There's some rattling, especially going over pot holes, but I didn't expect this to drive like a Cadillac.
- Seems to scratch/ding easily. This is not a great car for living almost smack-dab in the city, but fine for the suburbs.
- Hard to parallel park because I can't see the back of the car too well. (Or maybe it's because I'm paranoid that I'll hurt my "baby.")

Car looks sporty and drives well. It's a great car for a 20-something person that needs transportation and doesn't want to be in hock for the rest of her life.

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1987 Honda Civic sedan (Mom's car) - Sunfire wins. It's more responsive and looks much better, although the Civic got good gas mileage.
1993 Honda Accord (Dad's car) - Loved the Accord, but it's a pricier vehicle. It's a very smooth-driving car.
2001 Saturn S1 - Saturn was nice, but it didn't have all the options that the Pontiac had standard.
1992 Ford Tempo GL sedan (fiance's car) - It has more features, but "Fix Or Repair Daily" is that car's motto. My Sunfire also drives better and rattles much less.
2000 Chevy Cavalier sedan (rental car) - very similar to the Sunfire, just not as cute.
1993 Ford Tempo GL coupe (my old car) - My Sunfire is just so much better. I mean, I loved my Tempo, but it had the living daylights beaten out of it (it was also driven heavily in the city and involved in several minor accidents, which took their toll on the look & feel of the car). The Tempo drove well, but I distinctly remember the brakes totally dying on me and many, many unidentified noises. Also, it lacked cupholders. I was very happy to sell that car because it just wasn't going to make it.

Looks great. Has a lot of style for the price paid. Give it top score for looks BUT it needs to be driven very softly and not beaten.

Can not take heavy driving. (high speeds, heavy braking etc.) It was never meant to handle the kind of driving that the look of the car calls you to do. YOU WILL PAY A LOT FOR REPAIRS IF YOU PUSH THE CAR - gunning it, high speed corners, taking it to top speeds, etc.

I have to say I really like the look of the car. It has a sporty look that is affordable. BUT it is not a sports car. I am convinced that 90% of problems from this vehicle is that most people (including myself) drive it like a sports car (Mustang, BMW, TransAM etc.) I drove the hell out of this car. Flooring it at the second the traffic light turned green. Took it around corners at high speeds. To put it plainly I drove it in to the ground!! THIS CAR CAN NOT HANDLE HEAVY SPORTS CAR DRIVING. It is a good car for the careful and elderly but for someone who has a serious NEED FOR SPEED you will pay for everything that goes on it. I wish I had gotten a 5 liter mustang to go around town. Instead, I killed my poor car driving it like a sports car. I would buy it again but take much better care of how I use it. This is an easy car to kill but a good car if driven "with care". That is not easy when it looks the way it looks. fast.

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I think the Civic is a much better buy. You hear about people racing Civics but never a sunfire.

Moonson Stereo
Great Gas Miliage
traction Control is nice
Comfortable front seats
Big Trunk
lots of cup holders
Keyless entry
sunroof
nice placement of controls

2.2L sucks should of went for the 2.4L Power windows Big mistake

Its a great car I think but it does need alot of care for a bran new car but It gets good gas millage and the Moonson Stereo is nice.

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Nicer then dads 1987 Chevorlet 3cyl. Turbo Sprint

Big engine for a little car. But then again that's GM. I have the 3.1 liter V6 mated to a 5 speed, so it feels great to drive. Good reliablity.

American cars still have a long way to go in build-quality.

I have the Sunbird before the redesign to the Sunfire. I've had the car for 3 years and had never had a problem in that time period. The car now has over 130,000 miles on it and I just gave it a tune-up. New clutch, clutch master cylinder, full brake job, new tires, new spark plugs, new spark plug wires, radiator hose, serpentine belt, and fixed a oil leak from a seal on top of the engine block. I'm now concerned because I hear a noisy valve lifter. I just hope this thing can make it to 200,000. It's a decent car but after this I will never buy American cars again. The build quality is just sad on most American cars I've seen. The Japanese are at least 10 years ahead in that respect. Too bad.
I am looking into maybe a 2002 Nissan Altima or Sentra. Maybe a Toyota truck.

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This car is much more reliable than the 2 camaros I've had before it. The camaros were nothing but trouble. The IROC-Z was stolen twice for God sake!

reliability only had to replace EGR valve out of warranty. Other repairs are minor for the miles I put on it brakes and tires. 115500 miles w/ no powertrain issues

brakes seem to warp quickly,downshift more often now. interior a bit plasticky

A very reliable 1st car. Absolutely would not hesitate to recommend to anyone on a budget. Awesome gas mileage, decent performance, incredible winter traction

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85 Buick Skyhawk, 1.8L turbo a bit faster--- similar gas mileage hopefully as reliable owned it for 13 years w/ over 200000 miles

Really good gas mileage, the looks, the stereo is decent. I can't think of anything else.

Many expensive mechanical repairs. Very bad, and in my opinion, unsafe ABS. Uncomfortable seats. Road noise. I could go on and on...

Lemon yellow should be the standard color for this car.I bought this car new when I graduated from college, and have regretted it ever since.I was a sucker for the Sunfire's looks, 5 years later, I realize I was just a sucker.Three months after I bought it, the transmission needed replaced. A short list of what I've replaced includes the head gasket, alternator and O2 sensor.At least those things were fixable.After reading the other reviews on this website, I'm happy to know I'm not the only person with the unfixable ABS problem.The brakes on this car are scary!They catch, then let go, make an interesting clicking sound, and then catch again. The lag gives you plenty of time to wonder if you're going to stop at all. I also have the weird creeping floormat, plus not one interior plastic cover survived 2 years, let alone 5.The cloth seats are impossible to clean, the one cupholder is too small.I bought this car before I had a child, and the backseat does not accomodate a car seat.I had to buy and return 3 seats before I found one small enough to fit.All in all I can't wait to get rid of it. We also have a 1994 Mazda Protege LX, and we will be trading in the 1996 Sunfire next year on something else and keeping the older car.

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1994 Mazda Protege