2005 Pontiac Sunfire SL review from North America

Check engine light came on four times. Took the car to dealership I bought it from three of those times and got fed up with their service. I found a better Pontiac dealership near my work and they have been excellent and solved the problem the 4th time. It was some problem with the Radiator. Warranty covered the costs.

Brakes vibrate a lot after about 25000km's during moderate/hard braking.

Interior rattles like a stones in a pop can at around 20000km's.

Front seats are uncomfortable for long distances, Poor head-rest support.

Paint has already seen better days. certain areas such as the pillars and roof are starting to fade at 55000km's.

Doors plastic exterior piece between rear bottom and top of window on the outside of the door has popped out at 50000km's. Wind at 100km/h is unbearable!

Door trim has bubbles and finish is wearing off at around 40000km's.

I bought the most basic model with only Air, 15" steel rims, fog lights, CD player. It's a 2door model, Black Paint.

Excellent car for the price I'm not complaining about that one bit. performance wise the Ecotec is quite powerful for a base-model car compared to the base civic, protege, SX 2.0 and so on. A manual transmission is a must as autos are noticeably slower.

Suspension is decent. Steering around corners it handles well and over bumps.

I only paid $14,500 Canadian after taxes for a brand new car!!! That's amazing compared to say the Pursuit which is pretty much the same car only looks nicer. which is that price before taxes!

Mechanically this car has had no problems besides the check engine light which was no big deal. The transmission shifts quite well and the clutch is a little stiff.