Here’s a Suzuki in disguise, badged in the US by General Motors as the Geo Metro. It’s as small as it looks, about as long as your living room couch at 146″. Strictly a two-seater, it does have a party trick: in the trunk is a fabric drape that separates the cargo area from the rear of the car – lift that drape and you can get a pair of skis in this little thing. It’s profoundly fuel efficient, rated at more than 40 mpg when equipped with a manual gearbox. While the Metro also came in sedan and hatchback body styles, the convertible is the one to own. This five-speed LSi is for sale on facebook Marketplace for $8900. That might seem like a stiff price for a bare-bones convertible, but this one has traveled only 33k miles since new, and it comes with many original documents from a caring second owner. Zappenduster, who has a talent for finding cars on the cheap, sent the tip over – thanks!
The Metro LSi is fitted with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder fuel-injected engine, good for about 50 hp. Since the car weighs only about 1800 lbs soaking wet, performance isn’t horrible, but highway merging requires a plan. Disc brakes in the front and drums in the rear are vacuum-assisted, and that’s about it for power-assisted components available on a Metro. This one is said to run well, and it sits on new tires. It comes with lots of literature, two original keys, and its window sticker.
The interior isn’t shown in the listing, but it’s about as plastic as it can be. The rear tonneau is a hard cover that houses the top; you’ll be raising that by hand, of course. This car does have working air conditioning, which probably subtracts a few points off the fuel efficiency and performance ratings, but these days, AC is a good idea.
The LSi (“luxury sport injection” – three words, of which two are laughable and only the third is really true) came with an upgraded interior (fabric instead of vinyl upholstery), body-colored bumpers, the aforementioned AC, and a stereo – items we might expect on a base model Anything in 1992. Spartan though it may be, the seller’s photos romanticize the car nicely, with the fading summer sky in the background. This Metro isn’t perfect, but it’s on the high end of the range. Most Metro convertibles were junked for the sin of leaking, which rotted out their floorpans. Ok, close to $9k is a premium price, but if you’re in the market for this model, buying the best one available is wise.
If I buy this one, where will I find another one for my other foot?
The price is too high at 8900 which makes more car choices seem logical to me.
The 3 cylinders made the cars super slow.
Good luck with sale.
Very nice-looking example of this car. If driven as they were meant to be driven, these were fine, frugal, dependable little cars. That engine was fantastic, for what it was – efficient, reliable, non-interference, SOHC, injected. how many econoboxes came with a 5-speed transaxle & 4-wheel independent suspension? If the first owner(s) paused long enough for the synchros to mesh, when shifting, the transmission will last forever.
Pretty gutless, but speed & acceleration were never what these cars were about. They were a cheap, reliable way to get to point B & back.