1996 Geo Metro - Throwback Thursday

at one point in time everybody drove the largest chunk of iron they could afford well that was then this is now today it's popular because of cars like this Honda Civic to drive a car that's small affordable and perhaps more importantly fuel-efficient this is the Geo Metro General Motors version of that very description economy has become such an integral part of the purchasing decision that many auto manufacturers are falling all over themselves to shape the numbers in the Geo Metro the quest for economy starts with the engine it is a 1.3 liter single overhead cam unit and utilizes throttle body fuel injection power is rated at 74 power and 74 pounds feet of torque given the numbers one might expect the level of performance to be decidedly boring well while not exactly scintillating for around town runabout it has the desired effect part of the reason for the off-the-line pep is the fact that most of the torque reports for duty at less than 3,000 rpm for the record the run to the 100 K mark takes about 13 seconds no calendar needed here if there is a drawback it is that as you get up into the rev range the noise level gets increasingly more intrusive that said this is not out of place given the price match with this engine is a standard 5-speed gearbox two things impress first the ratios are well spaced so you get some initial Pole as well as comfortable highway cruising and second the gear leaver actually feels like it's attached to something at the other end of the linkage factor in the reasonable clutch action and driving the metro is rather good fun the suspension features McPherson struts at all four corners and stabilizer bars at both ends the degree of comfort is acceptable while large road irregularities are absorbed in fine fashion some of the small ones find themselves straight back to the occupants in the handling Department the Metro surprised having thrashed it around a track the Metro hangs in there fairly well there is body roll this certainly is understeer mainly because of the skinny 155 80 tires however both are manageable the steering on this Geo Metro is manual in other words it's not power assisted now last you're out on the open road it's not a problem because the on center feel is reasonable and you don't have to exert that much energy however when you come to back out of a parking spot it gets heavy there is a bright side in all of this though you'll end up like me bit of the old Arnold Schwarzenegger stopping power is supplied by a power assisted front disc drum design during the break test the Metro came to rest from 80k in just 119 feet which is not too bad anti-lock brakes are an available option one that is worth the extra cash given the exterior dimensions of this Geo Metro you'd expect the rear seat to be rather cramped well far form it there's plenty of toe room and abundance of knee room and more than adequate Headroom in short small cars are not quite as small and cramped as they used to be inside the Metro is nicely finished the seats are well shaped and offer a high degree of support even if the seat base is on the short side the instrumentation is analog although given the manual box I would like to see a tachometer the heater controls are of the slide variety and sit high up in the center of the dash unfortunately the Delco radio has been relegated to a spot way down low elsewhere the driving controls are certainly well placed this holds true for the manual mirrors locks and windows the trunk is quite spacious features a bumper level lift / split folding rear seats and an interior remote release on the safety front the Metro offers dual airbags available abs and childproof rear door locks well that's it for this edition of test drive you know I wouldn't want to drive the Geo Metro to Florida and back but as a round town runabout well that's a completely different story the other thing this cars got going for it is economy not only is it affordable it's also very affordable to operate during the test-drive we average no less than 50 miles per gallon of that is worth writing home about [Music]

Channel: Motoring TV

Views: 35,443

Keywords: Motoring TV, TSN, Review, Car, Automobile, Test, Drive, Tip, Kenzie, Graeme, Brad, Bradford, Driving, Track, Race, Wheel, Turn, Look, Quick, First, Spin, Take, Motoring, TV, ESPN, Story, Nightmare, Darkness, sea, love, free, throwback, witches, cabin, key, lady, geo, metro, Small, Econoboxes, Metro, Surprise, Hangs, In, Fairly, Understeer, Skinny, Tire, Manic, Steering, Geo

Id: uWjm4X5PDVY

Length: 4min 54sec (294 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 18 2019