I bought my Prizm after lots of careful shopping during my sophomore year in college. What sold me on the car was that fact that it is basically a Toyota with a Geo badge on the back of it (even the engine says Toyota and the interior looks almost identical to the Corolla).

I have had this car for over 6 years now and have only had a few mechanical problems. So far I have had three major repairs: replaced the starter, alternator, and stereo. Other than that, only small stuff that was all fixed while still under warranty.

The air conditioner is very cold though it takes a while to cool down in Arizona heat. The A/C is much better than the one in my husband's '98 Acura Integra.

I have the Prizm LSi with Automatic and overdrive. I have also driven a rental Geo Prizm (base model). The two are like like night and day. The LSi has overdrive so it is much quieter than the base model (huge difference!), it has nicer upholstery and just seems a little nicer inside. The LSi also has a few more horsepower that helps with merging into highway traffic. It may not be a sports car, but it has a lot of spunk! One year, I packed three other people and their belongings into my car for a trip between Tucson and San Diego (there is a mountainous drive in between). Another friend packed four people into her mom's Camry (1996 if I remember correctly). I sped to San Diego in record time with no problems whatsoever. My friend's Camry never got above 60 mph and it overheated in the mountains. Prizm is definitely a peppy car. (I have gotten it to go over 100 mph. When I was younger, and foolish, I used to cruise at 90 mph. It does not have an immense amount of acceleration, but it can maintain very high speeds!)

Overall, I think the Prizm is an excellent family car with the reliability of a Toyota but the price tag of a Chevy.




Amount Paid (US$): 15,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 1995
Model and Options: LSi, Automatic, alloy wheels