Metro or Aspire ?

Anyone have any opinions on a Geo/Chevy metro and a Ford aspire ? Personal forst hand owner experiences are preferred. Thanks, Iowa883

Reply to
Iowa883
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I used to have '97 Aspire for 18 months - 40k till 71k miles. Automatic trans, A/C, power steering, pb, ABS.

  1. It's definitely underpowered, at least with automatic, OK for highway use but needs flooring in a city.
  2. A/C is super effecient, unlike heating in winter.
  3. Starts every time in every weather, just change wires and spark plugs every 20k miles.
  4. Milage with auto and flooring the pedal ca. 25mpg
  5. Has bigger trunk than You think, back seat divided/folded - I used to carry two mountain bikes and weekend stuff for two, inside, with folded back seat.
  6. Very easy to drive, park anywhere, no iterest for cops nor thiefs.

Good luck.

Kemp

Reply to
Kempi

I've only had them as rentals, but it's no contest.

Ford Aspire is a POS. It's a Kia Avella with a Mazda engine and a Ford badge. Some people have had success customizing the hell out of them. Other people have had them literally fall apart on the road.

Geo Metro is good for what it is, which is a buzzy little three-banger. It's the same thing as a Suzuki Swift. The convertibles are about as much fun as that kind of car can be.

You do not want an automatic in either of these cars, unless you don't mind losing drag races to banana slugs (and an automatic ruins their fuel economy); if you must drive an automatic, look for something else.

Reply to
Christopher Green

They both seem to be amazingly reliable vehicles for what they are. Both are underpowered and God help you if you are in a wreck with one but they do their job of cheap reliable transportation very well.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

Perhaps this message board and their opinions on the Metro will help:

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The metro xfi 5-speed stick-shifts get over 50mpg average. The best I've ever seen (on a 500-mile trip) was 57mpg. Didn't have to fill up from New York to Richmond, VA. 4-door models with 4-cylinders with

3-speed auto and AC get mid to low 30s. If you're getting a small car for gas savings, you definetly want to learn stick shift driving. If you want 3-speed auto and AC you might as well get a bigger car. Metro undercarriage rust-protection is also superior to most cars...been driving it through 10 salt & grit winters and it's only now showing small signs of rust along the edges.

Metros are not good highway vehicles, even with the "wider" P155 R13's. They can shake and be difficult to handle around semis and in windy conditions. They're also under-powered for hilly terrain. However, most parts are inexpensive. 50k mile P145 R12 tires were only $20 each a few years ago, Brake rotors are only $15 each. The engine only takes 3.5 quarts of oil, so an oil & filter change only costs about $6 in materials.

As far as accidents, a person I know crashed his 93 metro into a tree at 35mph and walked away without a scratch. Earlier models have a

3-star frontal crash rating, which isn't bad for such a small car. However, YMMV, especially in multiple-car accidents. The tree made a big V-shape in his front-end. The local fire dept was gonna tear apart the car and use it for a jaws-of-life demonstartion, so he let us scrounge up the non-damaged parts, since they weren't required for the demonstration. If you really enjoy DIY, there's usually plenty of spare-part metros at the scrapyard. The two best repair reference sources are the factory service manual and the parts microfiche / catalog.

Dan

Reply to
Dan

I had a Chev Sprint (1994) which is a Geo Metro with 3 cylinders engine from Suzuki. I drove about 110 Km each way to work, 5 days a week for three years. Few minor problem with the manual transmission (clutch plate failure at ~80,000Km and second gear syncro problem at about 110,000Km) that is not too expensive to fix. Other than that, there is no other problem. It is a cheap car to maintain and an excellent car to commute. The body is vulnerable for corrosion so yearly body treatment will be required if you want ot keep the car.

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