1998 Pontiac Sunfire Consumer Reviews
Fuel Economy
23 - 25 mpg
Recent Consumer Reviews
(36 Total Reviews)
good car
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 7 | Build Quality: | 7 |
| Comfort: | 6 | Interior Design: | 6 | Reliability: | 9 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr GT Coupe
Review
if anyone would ask, I would recommend this car. it was my first 'adult' car out of college & I've had it ever since. some usual repairs/$ has been put into it but over all minimal for the 10 years I've had it and the 4-5 that it's been paid off for. Great for 1 person, college student etc. Small for grown man or more than 3 ppl. Love the trunk space, radio buttons on the steering wheel, could use better cup holder as most have mentioned. Stereo has good sound... I have ~147k miles on it
Favorite Features
Hands free, radio controls on the steering wheel- i have to have this feature in my next car.
Suggested Improvements
Cup holder location & deepness, motor w/ power window- hit or miss when it works, after 8 years
3 out 3 people found this review helpful
Favorite car
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 8 |
| Comfort: | 7 | Interior Design: | 6 | Reliability: | 9 |
| Fuel Economy: | 9 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr SE Coupe
Review
I have had my Sunfire for almost 10 years now, always performed routine maintenance and have never had any major problems or repairs. Its great on gas and handles great. The only thing that has ever really bothered me about the interior design, is the cup holder. There is only one in front and located in an inconvenient place and is not deep enough to keep your drink to stay in place when making turns. I have really enjoyed this little car and will be sad when I finally have to part with it.
Favorite Features
Suggested Improvements
2 out 2 people found this review helpful
Excellent car for the money
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 8 | Build Quality: | 8 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 7 | Reliability: | 9 |
| Fuel Economy: | 9 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr SE Coupe
Review
I purchased this car in 2002, and I am ready for a new car again. This car has been so reliable I am definitely thinking about buying a Pontiac again. Gas mileage has been around 25 mpg and for a small car it has a good zip to it. Handling is fine if your not pushing it in the snow, and I find the bucket seats comfortable for long distances. Although it could use lumbar supports. Trunk space is fantastic and the only mechanical problems I've had is a bad catalitic converter at about 85k miles. I just cracked 100k and no problems yet.
Favorite Features
Favorite features have been trunk space (considering it is a small car) and exterior styling.
Suggested Improvements
The single cup holder is in the way of the shifter and isn't deep enough for most drinks. Also road noise can be annoying at speeds over 65mph but for the price I'm not complaining.
1 out 1 people found this review helpful
'98 Sunfire coupe
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 10 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 8 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 8 | Reliability: | 8 |
| Fuel Economy: | 9 | Exterior Design: | 10 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr SE Coupe
Review
I have only had my '98 Sunfire for a short while, but its handling in both heavy traffic and highways is excellent and is an affordable way to drive a very sporty car. Although the interior is a little sparse, its style is attractive. Wonderful car overall for the price range.
Favorite Features
Although the engine is only a 4 cylinder, it has an impressive "get up and go".
Suggested Improvements
The manual locks and windows are a pain when driving, it's a distraction, and the interior could be upgraded from the usual "graphite gray cloth"
1 out 1 people found this review helpful
Sporty & economical
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 9 | Fun-to-Drive: | 8 | Build Quality: | 9 |
| Comfort: | 9 | Interior Design: | 9 | Reliability: | 9 |
| Fuel Economy: | 10 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr GT Coupe
Review
I honestly can say with 200,000K on the car now, I've had no noteworthy issues to report - I just go about the normal PM and drive it (literally). It's fuel efficient yet has got plenty of pep - no mistaking it for a V8 powered Firebird, but it still offers good passing power). Whats surprising is amount of room it offers, even for rear bound passengers. It also offers a decently large trunk.
Favorite Features
The factory green-glowing alien shaped dome light is very unique and a nice touch. I also like the factory body style.
Suggested Improvements
To many interior pieces that can work there way loose creating squeaks and rattles (I found some good cures for that though), and handling is not up to the 2.4L "Twin Cam" motors output.
1 out 1 people found this review helpful
Fun to drive and easy on gas
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 9 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 6 | Reliability: | 10 |
| Fuel Economy: | 9 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr SE Convertible
Review
Great little car for the money. Pontiac really hit a winner with this peppy convertible. Car looks better with the top down, and for "tall" people- top down is the best! No major mechanical work in 90,000 miles.
Favorite Features
CONVERTIBLE - one button operation.
Suggested Improvements
2 out 2 people found this review helpful
Best GM Car owned to date
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 6 | Fun-to-Drive: | 8 | Build Quality: | 8 |
| Comfort: | 5 | Interior Design: | 8 | Reliability: | 10 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr SE Coupe
Review
Very impressed with reliability, gas mileage and exterior paint (red). Have only changed front brake pads, battery and tires after eight years. The car shines almost as good as new. My highway mileage at times exceeds 500 miles to a tank of gas(5 speed manual). What else can you ask for?
Favorite Features
Styling and economy
Suggested Improvements
Standard tilt steering wheel(I'm 6' 3")- otherwise the front seating is plenty roomy. 2 better placed cup holders instead of the existing one would be much better.
2 out 2 people found this review helpful
beware
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 7 | Fun-to-Drive: | 7 | Build Quality: | 6 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 8 | Reliability: | 7 |
| Fuel Economy: | 7 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 4 Dr SE Sedan
Review
I love the stereo system, which sounds like something professional- althought it's not. I have also had very few mechanical problems yet with 104K miles. A few things I do not like is that the 98 model has some messed up cruise control. The chain sticks and it's one of the few recalls that they have not figured out. It gets stuck once you set it at a certain speed and then you cannot set it lower than that speed again.
Favorite Features
I love the sound system- which sounds professional and the CD player reads MP3 songs even before MP3's and CDR's were even common place.
Suggested Improvements
This car has had 3 recalls on it so far, which I find to be quite excessive since 98 was not the first year for this model.
1 out 2 people found this review helpful
Sunfire is pontiac's worse car to date.
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 5 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 1 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 9 | Reliability: | 2 |
| Fuel Economy: | 9 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr SE Coupe
Review
i have had my '98 sunfire for just over 2 years now .. and its proved to be the worst car i have ever had. Within that time i have replaced the tranny, brakes, tires, starter, TPS... throttle position sensor,both upstream and downstream oxygen sensors, altenator,MAF... mass air flow sensor. Also a friend of mine has an 05 sunfire and she has had the same problems with all the sensors burning up. Anouther words... DONT BUY A SUNFIRE if you're looking for a car that is reliabe.
Favorite Features
the body contours
Suggested Improvements
rework everything under the hood. make the rear speakers a little more accessable. put a front license plate mounting bracket on them. More grill area since the engine gets hot to fast.
5 out 7 people found this review helpful
good but not outstanding
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 8 | Build Quality: | 7 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 6 | Reliability: | 7 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
1998 Pontiac Sunfire 2 Dr SE Coupe
Review
This was my first "real" car and it has been pretty good to me. No major problems until last year (A/C compressor failed at 105k) and then replaced the clutch and the water pump both just recently at 120k. Have not received good service from Pontiac dealer though. Only complaint with styling is the cupholders; the ONE in front sits too close to the gearshift and when shifting into 5th gear, I always hit whatever cup is sitting there - gets pretty annoying. Does not handle well in heavy rain or wind, let alone icy conditions. But overall I've been pretty happy with it for the price.
Favorite Features
Exterior styling; comfort; trunk space.
Suggested Improvements
Redesign cupholders
1 out 1 people found this review helpful
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