Car haters love it. Car lovers hate it. The Geo Metro has come to represent the uncomplicated wet dreams of piss poor eco-weenies, and a bare bones deathtrap on wheels for the SUV faithful. It’s surprising that this car has elicited such strong reactions over the years given that it never rang up the sales charts in the first place. However, thanks to cheap gas and the return of the “tax gas out of the ass” brigade, I decided to drive one for a full week. And not just any one. A rare, non-optioned, rust free version that is as common in rural Georgia as an unsubsidized peanut farmer. To be perfectly honest folks, the Geo Metro wasn’t that good and it wasn’t that bad. It was… well…
Clownish. The white exterior of the car made it look like a dream ride for Bozo the Clown. Even when I parked it next to a Mini and an MX-5, there was no mistaking how diminutive and deformed the Metro looks compared to modern day small cars. Unfortunately the nicely contoured tear-drop silhouette of the Metro sheetmetal is marred in the base model with frumpish front and rear plastic bumpers that are as grey as a Confederate uniform. Over time these $20 protrusions will warp, discolor, lose their ten cent plastic clips, and generally make the lower region of the Metro look like a fat lip. Although I’m sure that LSi versions are less traumatized by GM’s penury, the base models were simply done in with the cheapest exterior plastics this side of a Kia Rio.
The interior though has a few unexpected qualities in it. For starters it offers good seats. Really. The Metro’s seats are well pampered and surprisingly better than most Hyundai’s, Kia’s and even GM’s of the same era. On a 150 mile road trip and 800+ miles over a week’s time they never gave me a lick of trouble. The dashboard also has some nice roundish contours that pass off as contemporary. If not quite pleasing in a tactile sense. Although GM had been busy putting square vents and dashboards in virtually everything they made at this time. The Metro is spared this fate thanks to the fact that it’s really just a re-badged Suzuki Swift.
Other features… um… let’s see. A radio? Nyet! Floormats? Nein! Power steering? Hell no! Power Anything? Surely you must be joking Mr. Feynman! This Metro is as stripped as OJ’s trophy case. The Geo Metro was a precursor to what the Tata Nano eventually became. A barebones new car for those who were determined to buy new and have the car fill the transportation need until the buyer in question finally figured out how the hell to make more money. Speaking of which, that’s the only area where the Metro really outshines the competition.
It’s cheap and it’s damn easy to keep up. You can perform virtually any type of maintenance on this car without fear. A tune-up for this car took all of ten minutes and $35. Oil changes? Absolute piece of cake. Replacing the engine? Heck, you don’t even need an engine hoist. Two people should be able to remove and replace the glorified hamster wheel inside. Speaking of which, the 1.0L 3 cylinder engine was easily able to get the Metro going in town without much drama. Yes, I always stayed in the right lane whenever I saw a Dodge Truck with a kit and oversized wheels coming in full bore. But otherwise the Metro got along just fine.
Even in the highway. Yes, you read me right. Even in the highway the Metro was able to hold it’s own. The engine may have been at nearly 4000 rpm’s at 75 mph, but the cacophony of noise isn’t nearly as bad as most would imagine. The Metro felt secure at anything less than 80 (at least in Atlanta) although the sweet spot was definitely at 55 to 60 mph. On the road, the Metro was far better than a scooter or entry level motorcycle. But a bit less composed than a Honda Goldwing. Plus said Goldwing let’s you listen to a nice array light rock stations instead of the Metro’s, “whoosh! vweeee!!! roar!!!” I averaged 48 mpg which is right on the upper reaches of the 44 city / 49 highway rating.
Those who look at cars as strictly as economic propositions will put the Metro on their list. Of course an Escort, S-Class, Cavalier, Sunfire, Civic, Corolla, Protege, Tercel, Sentra, Mirage, and pretty much anything short of a Lada would be a better car from a driver’s perspective. But this isn’t a driver’s car in stock form. It’s what GM could push to the rental car companies at the time in order to keep their CAFE numbers up. It wasn’t a competitive vehicle then, and it’s certainly less so now with millions of older economy cars heading back down to pre-oil bubble values. The Metro is simply famous for being famous and unless you’re hellbent on frugality, I would take a pass. Or in my case a MARTA subway pass.
Is the Metro a sibling of the early 90’s Pontiac LeMans? If so, then this is a fantastic car.
My buddy got the family LeMans as a hand-me-down after his 6 older brothers were done with it. This thing was indestructible. It had been in 4 accidents, had 7 kids learn to drive stick on it, and was rarely maintained except for the cases of various fluids that were stored in the hatch.
That car served as a breakfast table, a changing room, and a mode of transportation for us for two years in high school before an F-150 finally put it out of its misery. I miss that thing.
They really are great cars–so were the Chevy Sprint and Pontiac Firefly, especially the turbocharged ones. Dead reliable, dirt cheap and easy to work on, and relative comfort. I’d much rather drive one of these than an Aveo, Accent or even a Honda Fit. Just as long as you know what you’re getting for your money.
The Dodge Omni’s another one that falls into this list nicely.
Casual observer,
the Pontiac LeMans was made in South Korea by Daewoo. The Metro is a Suzuki.
There’s a 1990 Suzuki version were I live. It’s got the “big” 1.3L four with stick shift, 13″ wheels, and 220,000 miles (355Mm). It’s never had anything but routine maintenance. It’s never been stuck in the snow, is still a daily commuter, and it will probably let the owner pay down their (super-prime) mortgage early.
Thanks heights.
Sweet!!!
I learned to drive on a 91, blue 5 door chevy sprint.
5 speed, 3 cylinders. if only you and one other person, that was all you needed to cruise the 401 at 120 kph…
my dad bought it new and it stayed in the family for 13+ years, well over 250k (km) on it when it was sold.
it was the XFE equivalent, so got 55+ mpg (US gallons) – overall – for the first 3+ years of its life…
surprisingly roomy thing – for kids / teenagers. more back seat room than many ‘mid-size’ (think pontiac 6000, taurus, etc…) sedans of the time…
with no passengers, you could even chirp the wheels in third gear starting from a traffic light…
My cousin had one of these. The first 20 mph were fun, trying to wrestle the torque steer (yes, from a single liter) and the long-throw stick at the same time. With a sidekick in the back seat throwing his weight from one side to the other, you could really hammer through dirt road corners. That car actually flipped off the side of a high-bermed road and corkscrewed a whole revolution, landing square on its feet in a corn field, and drove away. You could pick it up, too, like the Beetle in those old VW commercials.
In the late 90s, I came close to buying a blue 1990 Chevy Sprint (Geo didn’t exist in Canada). I ended up with an ’85 Jetta diesel though. I still wouldn’t mind finding one of these if it was cheap enough. Too bad cars like this can’t be built any longer. I guess the closest new car is the Hyundai Accent Blue, but with much worse fuel economy.
Oh, I don’t know. I am a car guy but I can’t hate on the Geo Metro or it’s Suzuki sibling. A female friend was given one just before she went off to university. It got remarkable mileage, and her mileage was into the 50s (Imperial gallon) on leisurely highway trips back to the folks. Last I heard it was still in the family with 250,000km and no major repairs. Cheap, sure, but it was and probably still is the best economy car GM has marketed in my lifetime.
these are disgustingly famous in Puerto Rico and much of the carribean islands. Of course you wont find the “Geo” version there (unless it is exported there from the states) you will only find the Suzuki Swift versions. Back in the 90’s every other car that passed you was a swift. And yes, they where quite torquey and could climb the mountains in a surprisingly “swift” manner
White Metro convertibles, with their flip-up trunk lid, look like they should be decked out with Good Humor Ice Cream logos.
In a former life I was a car audio installer. I did everything from high end custom jobs to CB radios. We had a Geo dealer down the street who would bring us at lest one Metro a day for a deck and two dash speakers. I did so many of these I was able to do a complete install in 40 minutes. Working under the dash of these things was like sticking your hands in a bowl of razor blades because they didn’t grind off the burrs on the edges of any metal.
Here in Puerto Rico all variants of this cars (Suzuki Forsa/Swift, Chevrolet Sprint, Pontiac Firefly) where sold since 1985. They were and still are very popular. You can still see on the ads people selling really nice ones for 2, 3 even four and more thousand dollars. During the gas price rise last summer, this cars were selling almost as fast as the Prius.
I remeber that my dad almost got a new one (Suzuki Forza) in 87 but he ended up purchasing a Nissan Sentra Honeybee which was a old generation Sentra (B-11 1982-1986) stripped of everything unless you can say that a rear window defroster is a luxury item. That Nissan became my first car until I sold it in 1997.
tigeraid said: The Dodge Omni’s another one that falls into this list nicely.
We bought an Omni the first year they came out (’77 wasn’t it?). We really enjoyed it, even after a screw came loose on the carb butterfly and got sucked into the engine. It just rattled for a bit and I suppose it got blown out the exhaust valve. Traded it for an ’82 Accord. To us THAT was a luxury car! I’ve noticed a number of Metros around town lately, was following one just last night in fact. It was a bit loud but kept up with interstate traffic just fine. I wonder how many got dragged out of semi-retirement and pressed back into daily duty when gas prices were high(?)
I drove a ’94 hatch from ’96 to ’98. I agree it handled well and had plenty of pep for a 3 pot and no maintenance issues at all. Mileage was 36 in stop and go traffic. I expected more.
My epiphany came when I was almost broadsided by an Expedition here in Texas. The only thing between the 300lb brush guard on the front of the Ford and my head was the glass on my door.
I love these time capsule reviews!
One of my friends had a 3-cylinder ultra-base model Geo Metro. The engine sounded angry and cantankerous, and it also smelled odd and crusty inside. At one point, we gave the car an oil change (only 1 quart of oil came out…nobody remembered when it was last changed) and new spark plugs (two of them basically had no electrodes) and the car regained some of its spunk. Eventually it was replaced with a Yaris, an immeasurably more pleasant car.
A mutual friend of ours had a 90s 4-door Metro which he sold it for more than he got it for after fixing an oil pan gasket leak with gasket maker and the guide paper from dot matrix printer paper.
I took a stock, original Geo Tracker on some decently serious off-roading and handled it like a champ. It did pretty good on the highway too.
Funny and sad at the same time. Of the few times that I actually read something good about a “GM” car, and it have to be a rebadged japanese import. lol
I still miss my dad’s old ’89 Civic DX Sedan. It had three options, a 5-speed transmission, air conditioning, and a cassette player. No power steering, windows, locks, mirrors, no passenger side mirror, not even cup holders. That car had a 1.5L SOHC 16V PGM-FI engine with 88hp. It never felt overmatched because the car must have weighed less than a new Lotus Elise. It was tossable, the steering was slow, but still pretty good, and the gearbox still felt slick a 240K miles when he sold it for $500. Sure, I could have never gotten it from him because it needed repairs more than the car was worth. It needed new headlights, because the high beams didn’t work, except for one time until the wiring caught fire, and the low beams pointed in different directions. The CV joints needed replacing, the AC didn’t work (big whoop, I never use it anyway) and it had no airbags, so mom wouldn’t sign off on it. But I still miss that car. It was the first car I had ever driven, I learned to drive stick in the that car, and the fun I had driving it got me loving cars and driving. Oh well, he still has his ’83 Civic 1500DX CVCC.
Interestingly what’s currently called a Suzuki Swift is a pretty decent car:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Swift#Swift_Generation_IV__.282004-present.29
Ah yes the Geo Metro convertible – it is said it had the body rigidity of a rubber slipper.
“This Metro is as stripped as OJ’s trophy case.” LAWL!!!
My mom had a Dodge Omni, and that was a perfect example of Chrysler build quality. In less than a year my mom had me sell the Omni and got herself a new used car. I felt bad for the teenage girl whose dad was buying the car.
The thing to remember about these little fuel efficient cars is there was something better at the time, the Honda Civic. You could have it in anything from the sporty CRX to the economy model (HFE?), which would also return 40+ mpg. Yes it would be nice to have stripped down, economical, lightweight cars still available, but I’ll take mine in Honda flavor.
Freshen the Metro up a bit, rebadge as a Pelosimobile and save the world from a certain CO2 death. Maybe GM could persuade Barney to sign the dash.
My brother went from a 73 Fleetwood with a 500 ci V8 to a Metro 3banger. He said the Metro had more legroom. He drove the car for about 200k miles and often used it to drive about 250 miles to his cabin. When new it got over 50 mpg on the highway.
I’ve driven two of them – a four door automatic and a two door five speed. The one impression that has stayed with me is how gutless they were. They are OK on city streets, but not on the highway because they don’t have enough power. Climbing hills requires downshifting. Acceleration is so poor that you need to build up speed for 30 seconds before moving into a faster lane on the interstate. When entering an interstate, you can’t get up to traffic speed in the length of the on ramp. An ’89 or later Civic is a far better car.
An ’89 Geo Metro LSi 3-door was the first car I bought new with my own money. I drove it until ’98, when I bought a Maxima.
Yeah, it didn’t have power anything, but it didn’t need it. Steering and brakes felt exactly the same when coasting with the engine off as when the engine was on.
Maintenance was dirt cheap. A set of 4 12″ tires was $150.
I had to flog it all the time to keep up with traffic. It was quite fun. That thing about the fun of “driving a slow car fast” is true.
As far as highway driving: I can attest that going over 55 mph was difficult with a canoe on the roof, and 70 mph was unattainable.
I currently drive an Evo VIII. I have more than 4 times the horsepower as I did in the Metro. When gas hit $4.00 / gallon I started looking back on the Metro with more fondness than I probably actually had at the time I owned it.
But there definitely was some fondness, even back then.
I bought the Metro because it was only 75% of the cost of a Civic of the same era. In hindsight, that was not a good reason. A Civic would have kept more of its value and would have been more reliable, so would actually have been cheaper over the long term.
In ’89 a female co-worker bought one of these with the 3 cyl. 5 spd., sounded like a sewing machine when it was revved. The same time I bought a Colt E , which had the Mits. 1.5 , it sure felt like more of real car then the Metro , but only got about 35mpg as compared to around 50 for her Metro.
You know what would make the Metro awesome? A CBR900RR motor!
Alhtough the Civic was easily better, the Metro wasn’t a particularly bad car, either. It was simple, cheap, and reliable, sort of like a Yugo if it had been built by the Japanese.
In a different economic climate where gas hadn’t been so cheap (creating the whole SUV boom), and with the right kind of marketing, the Metro could have garnered its own VW Beetle-style caché in the US. Pity the timing was so bad.
Great review.
Still have a ’95 LSI 1.3/4 cyl hatchback. Couldn’t let go of it when the SUV insanity started in the late ’90s. Has 200000 miles on it and only needs normal maintenance. And yes, 75mph @ 4000rpm.
Leave it to GM to get rid of a small (ok, tiny) reliable commuter car. And to replace it with the Aveo. What an upgrade…NOT!