15th Jan 2008, 23:21

I am the guy who posted the original comment back in 2005... I can't believe it has been that long.

Well, I still have the 2004 black Sunfire coup. It has 113,980 miles on it as I type this. I got a nice job with a 2 hour drive each way (job pays for gas). I love to drive so it works for now.

Major Problems: No major problems after 113,000 miles.

I replace the spark plugs, power steering fluid, tranny fluid all by myself. It hasn't been to the dealership once since 2005.

Small Problems: Paint is severely fading on the roof and on the hood. Plastic parts inside are falling apart and rubber is drooping down (simple fixes with glue). The right strut is creaking whenever I take a right turn at slow speeds. No Electronical failures yet.

Praises: Excellent MPG and good engine torque (perfect for zipping around slow drivers without killing mpg). Ever had to park in a tight space downtown Los Angeles? Having a small car helps.

Complaints: Brake rotors warp so badly in this car... I'm changing them every 35,000 miles along with new pads. For all my highway miles, that is sad brake life in my opinion.

I still get about 36mpg on the I-210 averaging about 75mph. The engine is SOO smooth and Blackstone UOAs (used oil analysis) are showing the engine wearing excellently.

I smile at my 0-60 comment back then. Oh how a speeding ticket changes those days. <cough, cough> I agree with one of the commentors: Save the 0-60 for the racing cars, lol. Fuel is too expensive these days anyway.

I know the car will make it to 200,000 miles. Whether or not I want to keep it till then will be another question. This thing is cheap, but it is a solid car in my opinion. Nowadays you can buy a sunfire for so cheap it is ridiculous so if money is an issue, I'd get one (new).

Thanks for all the comments and hope you have a wonderful 2008.

12th Feb 2008, 14:17

Sunfire 2003 I blew my motor at 185043 after 150000 things just started to break dayley.

24th Mar 2008, 05:37

OWN A 2004 PONTIAC SUNFIRE 2.2L ECOTEC:

The very fact that people are commenting this late in the game is surprising. I have a 2.2L Ecotec Sunfire unmodded (but will be soon, just ordered AEM CAI and Flowmaster Muffler). From what my friends (and the manufacturers) are telling me, any slight change in air pressure towards the engine will make the check light run every month, but I'm sure careful maintenance will be key. The above comments are correct about 0-60 in 7.2 and the comment about Sunfire GT is right as well. THE ECOTEC IS FASTER! I chose this car because it acts a lot like my Honda Accord (1988 LX-i). The gear shifting is just as smooth (it's an Auto, but I've driven a manual) and the suspension hits curves almost the same way. GM/Pontiac has built upon the engine here with optional replacement intakes and even an optional supercharger made mostly with Chevrolet Cobalt parts. Here's my pros and cons for this car...

PROS:

- Suspension build is great for this engine

- Quick acceleration for a medium/heavy body

- Easy shifting (manual)

- Factory customizable

- Affordable price

- 4 spd auto is just as good as the 5 spd man.

CONS:

- Auxiliary instruments (stereo, instrument panel) seem to be erroneous at stock. Had to get them replaced.

- Heavy rear end... drags the car a bit for a FWD

- Front brake drums can barely handle the weight

- Limited interior space

- Feels like a heavy rev limiter on the engine (can barely get it to red line in the automatic, but who really wants to do that?)

- Stock exhaust pipe is crap -_-'

Other than that, I've put it through the test. This is definitely NOT a great downhill car, but still good against those curvy roads. I say this for the sake of the brakes. They wear out sooner than my Honda did. As for the speed, the quick acceleration goes a long way. The part about gas guzzling... well, this 2.2L will EAT IT if you're constantly going above 3000 RPM. I keep mine under 2300 as much as possible to sustain that average 31 MPG.

17th Jun 2008, 12:44

Check the car mags and read the reviews. The Sunfire's 0-60 is around 9 seconds!

21st Jun 2008, 14:32

I am a member of j-body.org. The whole club is Sunfires, Cavaliers, Cobalts and Cimarrons.

We rented Quaker City Raceway in Ohio for a day. We had a 1/4 mile track and a dyno set up.

Stock 2.4L stick shift J-bodies were running the 1/4 in 15.8 - 16.2, which equates to a 0-60 in the high 7s to low 8s.

The 2.4L autos were running mid 16s, which equates to 0-60 in the mid to high 8s.

My car ran 16.5 - 16.9 with 2.4L and auto trans. Empty with no A/C I was running 16.5 - 16.6. With the A/C on and my girlfriend, I was running 16.9. I did 3 0-60 runs empty and no A/C hitting 60 in 8.6, 8.7 and 8.7. A 0-60 in 6.8 seconds puts you in the high 14s in the 1/4 mile, and the only 2.4Ls running in the 14s were highly modded. One had N2O, and the other a turbo who was running high 13s.

I work with a teenager at my part time job. Claims his 1.5L xB does 120mph. Toyota says the governor kicks in at 108mph. I know BS when I hear it.

I have owned, modded and raced 3 Caprice V8s, 1 Corvette V8, 1 Sunfire GT, 1 Escort GT, 1 Celica GTS and 1 Scion xA 1.5L. I am 33 and have been around the block a few times, so get a stopwatch and stop BSing. Oh, and hit the drag strip and post some slips.

Jason.

25th Jun 2008, 12:40

Thanks Jason for pointing out and confirming the 0-60 times of the Sunfire. People should not write overexxagerated reviews here. The Sunfire is not a sports car or a performance car. The Sunfire GT with the 2.4 engine is the only Sunfire that ran legitimate 1/4 miles. The regular Sunfire doesn't even come close to matching those times. A Sunfire 2.2 0-60 mph is around 11 seconds.

11th Sep 2008, 21:44

I am the guy who ran a 6.8 in the Sunfire, I neglected to mention I had lowering springs, when I take off, the car doesn't squat, it basically hooks up instantly. If you know anything about the old Sunfire GT's, you will know that there first 2 gears are incredible for power, after that, its not that spectacular, so to the guy who was comparing quarter mile times to equal 0-60 times, you are way off. You can't compare the two.

Why do you think gear heads swap out gears? Look at the Corvette, it can get to 60 in under 4 seconds in first gear! Gearing plays a huge role in 0 to 60, think about it, in drag race you see 2 cars that take off and hook up at the same time, one car gets an astonishing lead and all of a sudden the other car starts to catch up and eventually wins. And I am talking about cars without Nitrous or turbos. It's because their gears are different. So the one car might have got to 60 faster than the other car, but the other car caught him and won. So I think I have made my point. GEARS!

Pontiac designed the car to be powerful in the first 2 gears, and space the other 3 gears fairly evenly, they wanted a quick starting car off the line, even I know if I race a Civic Si from a 30 mile and hour role I am going to get whooped! But from a dig, I would bet on the Sunfire GT, because I have been there.