General Motors manufactured the Geo Metro. The Metro was based upon the Suzuki Swift, the subcompact car made by Suzuki. The Metro was manufactured between 1989 and 2001. Between 1989 and 1997 it was released under the Geo name brand. After 1997 the Geo name was dropped and it became the Chevy Metro. The last Chevy Metro’s were manufactured in 2001, when the car was discontinued.
The Geo Metro was designed to be a fuel efficient economy car. So they used small 3 cylinder engines. The XFi models were designed to be the most fuel efficient, clocking in at 55 mpg. To get that efficiency, they had to sacrifice some horsepower, so the XFi models have the weakest engines. The base model Metro sported a slightly stronger engine, but was deigned to be a basic, inexpensive car. If you wanted a fancier Geo Metro, they had the LSi models, that had a slightly stronger engine and nicer interior.
The Geo Metro came in 3 door or a 5 door hatch back styles. You could get them in with a 5 speed manual transmission or a 3 speed automatic transmission. To try to spice things up, between 1990 and 1993, the LSi models had a convertible 2 door option as well. While short lived, the Geo Metro convertible gained some notoriety as a fun, fuel efficient, sporty car.
In 1995 the Metro got an overhaul. First it got a stronger 4 cylinder engine, so the car had a little more get up and go, with only a little sacrifice to the overall gas mileage. The safety equipment was upgraded to add optional airbags and anti-lock brakes. The XFi models were discontinued, along with the 5 door hatchback and a 4 door sedan was added to the lineup. By 2000 the Chevy Metro line was winding down, and the Metro was only sold as a fleet vehicle.
With its long life and reliability there are still a large number of Metros on the road today. Since it’s fairly easy to find replacement Geo Metro parts, these vehicles will likely be around for a long time.
