Looking for a Metro

[Mark SS]

My wife and I are moving closer to her parents to help them take care of the farm which means a longer drive to for me to work. (160 mile a day) So I am looking for a car that is better on gas. I am a GM man so the Metro is up my alley. Is there better years to look for and what should I look out for? Should I stay away from certion years? I can fix anything, but I don't wont to if I don't have to.

[Woodie83]

Thankfully, GM had nothing to do with the Metro except slapping their badge on it, the car is a Suzuki, through and through, and that's why it's such a great little car. The 89-94 cars (GEN2) get the best mileage because they are smallest and lightest. The GEN3 cars (95-01) are a little bit more civilized with slightly improved safety and a little more weight, get about 5 mpg less. I get a solid 40 mpg with my newer style four cylinder manual, got 42 with a three cylinder manual. The three cylinder is better suited to the older cars where it will deliver 48 mpg in mixed driving. There was an XFI model from 89-94 that got about five more than the regular cars.

They're all pretty much the same mechanically, no huge differences to report there. Avoid an automatic transmission at all costs. Auto slashes about ten mpg off and shortens engine life. There are many cars that get the mileage an automatic Metro gets with much more comfort and safety. There is no car available that gets the mileage a manual transmission Metro gets without getting into hybrids, electrics and other scams.

Watch out for rust on the front control arm mounts, look in the wheelwell behind the front wheel, there's a loop of metal there with the steering tie rod going through it. They rust out badly and are crazy expensive to get fixed. The newer cars all rust out the rear wheelwells but it doesn't seem to hurt anything. Keep in mind that a three cylinder with 150K miles almost certainly needs a rebuild. It's not a big deal, you can do it yourself in a weekend with the block in the car, for $500 in parts and shop work.

[brivers]

80 miles each way to work? You must really love your wife and parents.