1989 Chevrolet Sprint Reviews

Drivers side window falls off the track.

Muffler was rusted and needed repair.

Incredibly fast for rallying.

Like driving in a tin can.

Incredible gas mileage.

Full bore off road rallying (constant shifting, between 60-150km/h) achieved 38.67km/l.

Tank filled until gas could be seen on both fills.

Gas mileage calculated over 418km off road rally trip.

I was amazed. I am going to drive it sensibly on the highway and see what kind of mileage it can actually get.

Just had to write this because if you want gas mileage..

I had a pretty bad oil leak starting in 2005...was really hard to fix, but had to fix it as it was running into the timing belt area and ruined the alternator belt, causing it to snap once.

A little Suzuki engine made it really quick to rev, handled hills brilliantly and easy. Pretty good on the freeway, unless it's windy, but it is a very light car - only 3 cylinders - and therefore, I am still impressed it even exceeds the speed limit at all:)

Unbelievably impressive on gas; I was a university student when I got it, and never shuddered at the cost of a fill-up...better mileage than any one else's car I know...

Has been amazing and reliable; only complaints would be attributed to it being an 18 year old car with 262,840 kilometers on it... all around a blessing in my life!

I bought the car for $400 Canadian. Thus I had to replace the hood and the brakes. Not bad for a car with 245,000km. The hood cost me $30 from a salvage yard. The brakes cost $650.

Those repairs were done at 245500km. The last 50,000Km have been problem free.

The car came with an aftermarket tape deck. Much better than the stock AM/FM stereo.

It warms up great in -35C weather. Only taking five minutes of driving to have wonderful hot air. It even started trouble free in -40 weather, when not plugged in.

My car came with a rear window wiper. This makes driving in the rain and snow more enjoyable.

I found that newer Chevy Sprints (Suzuki Swifts) came with larger 13 inch wheels. The 1989-1992 came with 12 inch wheels. I put the 13's on my 1989 and it really grips. This modification increased traction, because I am running a wider tire, and increased gas mileage, because I am using a taller tire (larger gearing). However, the larger tires cause less performance when accelerating.

I am 6 foot 4, and find the Sprint very roomy and comfortable.

Top speed that I have achieved is 155km/h.

I would prefer a five speed manual to the three speed automatic.

I put a fifth seat belt in the back seat so that the car can hold five occupants. This has come in handy.

I am considering converting my car to electric when the engine dies, but I don't know if the engine will ever die.

Canadian Electric Vehicles offers kits to convert a Sprint to a 120hp electric vehicle. This is their web site: http://www.canev.com/index.html

This car gets better gas mileage than the new hybrids built by Honda and Toyota.

This car is the best by on the market. Best bang for your dollar.

The drivers side window weather stripping has shifted a couple of times causing the window to be very difficult to wind up and down. At one point the window came right out of the track.

The thermostat has broken twice.

The interior seat upholstery lasts great if no one sits in it, but the driver seat has come apart.

A very weird thing has happened as well. The seal for the speedometer cable in the transmission had broken and started sucking the transmission fluid into the cabin of the car. By the time it started dripping onto the floor the oil was all through the dashboard. This caused extensive damage to the carpeting, and loosened some of the electrical wiring. The smell was horrible after a while, especially in the summer. I didn't realize it until after, but the warning signs of this problem is a moist look at the bottom of the instrument panel, it kind of looks like it has some water in it, but, it is the oil starting to pool behind the speedometer. I had insurance pay for the re-upholstery and they had the dashboard taken out and completely cleaned. I was very grateful for that, by the way. So it is like new now, but the dealer didn't want to deal with it unfortunately, I had to take it to a private shop.

Although my car problem was very bad, and caused many of my shoes and pants to get ruined because the oil would drip on to me, I still really love the car. It is SO cheap to run, easy to park, and is still very zippy for commuter traffic.