When my mom was visiting she rented a 2002 Chevrolet Prizm for two weeks. She is not supposed to drive so I did much of the driving. I was a little concerned because I really did not like the Chevy Metro we rented in Hawaii. This is being written by a layperson. I am not a mechanic, I do not own a dealership nor am I a car salesperson.

Features:

This Prizm had 17,000 miles on it. The Sedan is a compact 4-door car with a 4-cylinder, 1.8 litre engine. Ours had the optional automatic transmission. This car has front wheel drive. A 5-speed transmission is standard. Air conditioning is also standard.

The Prizm is a 5 seater with 3 seats in the back. I will tell you about space in a moment.

It comes with an am/fm cassette stereo. The radio played well. There are 4 speakers and the sound was fine. Standard features also include: rear door child safety locks, child seat anchors, emergency interior trunk release, rear center lap belt, and 2 front headrests.

Inside:

What I found were 2 good-sized cup holders in the front, a map pocket on each side of the door and a little space in the door handle for a hair clip. There was no arm rest. Instead there was a hole in between the bucket seats for some storage.

Like the Ford Focus I reviewed, there was one cup holder in the back and I do wonder what the other 2 people would be doing with their drinks. Of course that is assuming there is room for 3 people in the back which I have not said there is!

The air conditioner worked very well, in fact everything worked well. The seats moved easily, though manually, back and forward with the pull in the front. The seats were comfortable to sit in but I found that they didn’t recline well and I know that I would not be comfortable lying in that position for too long.

The inside cloth colors are either dark charcoal or light neutral. Ours was dark charcoal.

There was adequate space in the front for adults. The front head room is 39.3 inches, which will clear most people’s heads. This car has a lot in common with the Ford Focus. I found the same plastic feel inside in the Prizm and the clutch was very similar. It was made of hard plastic. That does not affect functionality, just comfort when it is held.

The back is barely large enough for 3 adults. One problem with many (all?) compact cars is that when the drivers seat is back even a bit, the leg room in the back virtually disappears and only a child or someone willing to be very uncomfortable can sit behind the driver.

Outside:

The car we rented was Silver Metallic. I didn’t think it was anything special to look at. It competes with the Mazda Protige which, in my opinion, is a much nicer looking car. The Chevy Prizm also competes with the Ford Focus and the Nissan Sentra. It looks most like the Sentra.

The other colors are: Black, Green, Cashmere-Taupe, Medium Red, Dark Blue Green Metallic and White. (http://www.edmunds.com/new/2002/chevrolet/prizm/4drsedan18l4cyl5m/colors.html?id=lin0016)

It takes regular, unleaded fuel and gets 29 miles to the gallon in the city and 33 miles to the gallon on highways. Just to compare, the Ford Focus gets 28 in the city and 36 on the highway. The fuel tank capacity is 13.2 gallons which is the same as the Focus.

Handling:

Considering it had not been that long since my Metro rental I was braced for the worst and did not get it. I did not get great either. The car has very little power to it. Driving out of the parking lot onto a busy road attempting to get enough pickup to get in the left lane was a challenge that at times I chose not to take. The left land allowed me to make a U-Turn or go to Wal-Mart and quite literally there were times I just drove straight on Route 9 in Framingham, MA until I could turn around in the movie theater parking lot.

It did not handle all that badly. It cornered well without too much tilt including those that were sharp curves or corners and the brakes were fine. The ride was quiet and amazingly I did not feel every bump I went over.

It maneuvered well. The major problem is the pick up on this car which would be true of many 4 cylinder compact cars, especially one with an automatic transmission.

It did not feel like an especially strong car and it wouldn’t be one I would want to put my teenage driver in if I did not have to. Like the Metro, it did feel like a hunk of tin.

Warranty:

The basic warranty is 3 years or 36,000 miles. That is the same for the drivetrain and roadside assistance. You'll get a 6 year or 100,000 mile warranty on rust.

Crash Test Results:

Passenger: Good
Driver: Good
Side Impact Front: Average
Side Impact Rear: Average (The Ford Focus had a Good here) Crash Offset: Acceptable (The Focus had a Good, which is better than an Acceptable)
Bumper Bash: Good (The Focus had a Marginal here which is not as good as a Good)
Rollover Rating: Good

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2002/chevrolet/prizm/4drsedan18l4cyl5m/specs.html?id=lin0018 expect for my comments in parenthesis.

My final thoughts

This is not a terrible car, in my opinion, but for the price I would buy the Ford Focus or hands down, the Nissan Sentra.

The lack of room in the back along with the lack of pick up makes this a car I cannot recommend when there are so many cars from which to choose.

It did not handle badly. In fact it handled better than I expected and the crash data and fuel consumption are decent as well. Still....I am not recommending it because if you asked me if I would buy this car, the answer would be no. Spend the extra money on the Sentra, which may be priced a bit higher or find a good year old Sentra rather than the 2002 Chevy Prism...but remember, this is just my layperson opinion.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment. The specs are below as are links to sites that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about a car.

http://www.edmunds.com (Some of my information came from this site.)

http://faceoff.intellichoice.com/FaceOff/Sponsors/national/SelectionFrameset.asp?spon=national

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/NCAP/

http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ratings.htm


Specs for those of you who want them and understand them:

Exterior:
7 Length: 174.2 in.
7 Width: 66.7 in.
7 Height: 53.7 in.
7 Weight: 2403 lbs.
7 Wheel Base: 97 in.
7 Ground Clearance: 7.7 in.
Interior:
7 Front Head Room: 39.3 in.
7 Front Hip Room: 50.5 in.
7 Front Shoulder Room: 52.8 in.
7 Rear Head Room: 36.9 in.
7 Rear Shoulder Room: 52.2 in.
7 Rear Hip Room: 51.2 in.
7 Front Leg Room: 42.5 in.
7 Rear Leg Room: 33.2 in.
7 Luggage Capacity: 12.1 cu. ft.
7 Maximum Seating: 5
Performance Data
Performance:
7 Base Number of Cylinders: 4
7 Base Engine Size: 1.8 liters
7 Base Engine Type: Inline 4
7 Horsepower: 125 hp
7 Max Horsepower: 5800 rpm
7 Torque: 125 ft-lbs.
7 Max Torque: 4000 rpm
7 Drive Type: FWD
7 Turning Circle: 34 ft.
Fuel Data
Fuel Tank Capacity: 13.2 gal.
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway)
Manual: 32 mpg / 41 mpg
Automatic: 29 mpg / 33 mpg
Range in Miles: (City/Highway)
Manual: 422.4 mi. / 541.2 mi.
Automatic: 382.8 mi. / 435.6 mi.

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2002/chevrolet/prizm/4drsedan18l4cyl5m/specs.html?id=lin0018

If you are interested in other car reviews, here are my links:

2000 Nissan Altima
2001 Chevy Malibu
2002 Chevy Prizm
1998 Dodge Ram Van
1996 Nissan Sentra
2001 Pontiac Sunfire
1999 Toyota Camry
2001 Hyunda Accent
1998 Chevy S-10 Pick
1999 BMW 323is
2002 Subaru Impreza
2000 Suzuki Swift
2001 Chevy Metro
Amount Paid (US$): 13,642
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: Automatic