i think sunfires are pretty cool- never driven one though- i would imagine they are similar to a cavalier? hey, has anyone seen those sunfires with either dual exhaust (one on each side) or quad exhaust, kinda fiero-ish? is this an upgraded engine model or something- can you get a sunfier v6?
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12:32 AM
Boodoggin Member
Posts: 93 From: Eagle, ID, USA Registered: Apr 2000
The Sunfire GT has a 4cyl that has about 150 horsepower. The Gt gets up in price though, around 16-17 grand. I know I will get major flames for this but if your lookin in that price range check out the new Civic SI. It has 170 horsepower from a 1.8. Ive seen them first hand. A nice cheap economical sports car for 17k.
A friend had a Sunfire GT with the Quad4 and the "dual exhaust" with a five speed. It was a pretty good car, but even when it was new the shifter was like a broke leg. More like an old VW beetle than what a new car should have been like. He drove that crap out of that car and never had any real trouble.
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01:02 AM
Monkeyman Member
Posts: 15810 From: N. Wilkesboro, NC, USA Registered: Nov 1999
The Sunfire's the corporate cousin to the Cav. Decent car if you want basic transportation, but not very exciting. I don't care for the driving position, but I'm kinda used to the steering-wheel-in-your-face feel of the Fiero. Monkeygal wanted me to remind you that we've had ours for a little over 2 years and almost 50,000 miles and we haven't had any major problems (knock on wood ).
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09:38 AM
Jun 18th, 2000
Shadow Wolf Member
Posts: 43 From: Black Creek, BC, Canada Registered: Jun 2000
My father has a '97 Cavalier with about 500,000 kms on it. (That's 312,500 miles about).. at least, that's what it was at last time I spoke to him. Good car, not all that comfortable if you ask me. (That durn seat just doesn't go back far enough) Doesn't handle worth a sh-t though. Just make sure you get the 5spd, not the auto.
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02:31 AM
My7Fieros Member
Posts: 3357 From: Germantown, TN Registered: Jun 2000
Good God Shadow!!! 312,500 miles on a 3 year old car!!! Holy long windshield time batman! Did he install a bed and toilet in that thing? lol....thats incredible.
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08:24 PM
Fformula88 Member
Posts: 7891 From: Buffalo, NY Registered: Mar 2000
I know a guy that will swear by Cavalier Z24's... which have the 2.4L Twin cam 4 that the Sunfire GT's do. He absolutely loves the. Its a nice car... has good pickup. The biggest shortcoming will be the handling. Its not the best handling sporty car around. However, for economical transportation as a daily driver to rest a Fiero, it would certainly be adequate and reliable.
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09:08 PM
87GT Member
Posts: 541 From: San Antonio, FL Registered: May 99
The only think I dont like about the Sunfire is that it got very very bad crash test ratings. COnsumer Reports pretty much said that your a dead man if you get T-boned. I think it scored a 1 out of 5 on that area. Frontal got 2 out of 5 I think. Nice looking car though.
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11:06 PM
Jun 19th, 2000
Gokart Member
Posts: 4635 From: Mashpee, Ma. USA Registered: May 99
Some interesting posts in this topic. I found the one quote "They run forever" kinda funny, since the Sunfire is sort of new, it replaced the Sunbird. Whatever the hell you want to call it it is still a friggin Cavalier, so I guess there not all wrong. Cavaliers are pretty damn reliable. And for the guy who averages 100,000+ miles a year, I have 3 american words for you "ain't no way" Maybe you meant '87? Not sure. Your approaching Guiness Book Status with that one. And whoever mentioned the Civic Si, your right on target. For about 18 grand, you get a cheap econo that has a huge aftermarket and is pretty fast stock. Now that they don't even offer a 6 cyl. on the Z24 cav's and sunfires, there not even worth looking at. The Civic Si is the clear winner in that class..
just my 2 cents, jeff
p.s. and they wonder why people buy imports..
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07:57 PM
Jun 22nd, 2000
Monkeyman Member
Posts: 15810 From: N. Wilkesboro, NC, USA Registered: Nov 1999
My girlfriend bought a 96 Suzuki Esteem and we love it. It's fairly roomy(4 door), has a 16 valve 4 cylinder 5 speed with plenty of power and gets 50 mpg(imperial gallon) on the highway. I had never heard of this car when we started shopping but it really caught our attention. The price was good and the car looked like it was built well. Suzuki doesn't advertise their cars much so no one really knows about the Esteem. Most people only know about the Swift. The Esteem is a big step up from the Swift. Ours is the GL model which comes with air, tilt, cassette, pdl, pm, pw. A sunroof and cruise are available on the top of the line model. The only thing we didnt like was the tiny factory tires so I upgraded them to a lower/wider profile. Check this car out, if you can find one near you.
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04:49 PM
Jun 25th, 2000
Shadow Wolf Member
Posts: 43 From: Black Creek, BC, Canada Registered: Jun 2000
Nope, it's a '97. He sells accident/disability insurance so he's on the road usually 6 hours a day, often more. He changes the oil about every 2 weeks, which is about 10,000 kms (6300 miles)... it's sad, new set of tires every few months... It still starts in the morning though.