I'm the indifferent lessor of a 1999 cavalier 4 door. My previous 1988 subaru being about as roadworthy as a corvair, it was time to (finally) get mt first new car. The family ride is a caravan 1996 recently replaced by a 1999 model, it's a good thing too, because kid hauling can be a chore in the cavalier, anyone bigger than a 90lb 10 year old will be cramped in the backseat of this car. This is not a car form the big and tall (me) the mirrors are not adjustable high enough for someone over 6' tall, but there is ample leg room for my 34" inseam, with the seat almost all the way back making the seat behind the driver useless for anything but a gym bag. The model I have has 4/60 air conditionning (read windows open drive at 60 mph) which is a pain in the arm, because the front windows don't go all the way down, if you stick your arm out the window there's half an inch of glass digging into your arm. I've only put 11000 km (6600 miles) on the car and so far aside from having the wheels realigned shortly after I bought it there have been no problems or rattles. The 4 speed automatic transmission is a dream, smooth responsive and one of the few automatics I've driven where it will take the engine to redline before upshifting under full throttle. The trunk is caverneous, and with the rear seat folding down it makes a good grocery getter for a small family. For $18000 canadian this car came with quite a few features such as the 4 speed overdrive ABS and traction controll, this car is great on the highway easily crusing at 120km/h (75 mph) the only drawback to highspeed crusing is the govenor that cuts the engine at 180km/h (about 110 mph) why? the engine is nowhere near redline at this speed, and quite stable. I won't get into the need for speeds in this range but the caravan goes faster. This car was bought as the second car and does the job very well, it's sole purpose is as a commuter car for the 15 mile drive to work and occasional trips out on the weekend. I have seen ads for the new 2000 models which are cheaper to lease then mine with more options, perhaps GM is trying to camouflage the lacks in certain areas with more gadgets. For my money my next car will probably be an import unless the new model chevs offer more, I can get a acura 1.6 for 4000$ more well equipped and the windows roll all the way down!
This just in: with winter approaching and the roads wet and snowy, I have noticed that the brakes get wet very easily and take a while to dry out.