2002 Chevrolet Prizm from North America - Comments

Muffler clamp failed.

Tires wore too quickly.

The 2002 Prizm is last in line for this model.

It's basically, a re-badged Toyota Corrola.

As such it's proven to be very reliable, fuel efficient, and rather more internally roomy than you'd expect for a car of its class. The gauges are simple, it has DRLs and mine has a moonroof. It gets really good gas mileage if you don't drill it on the highway, but even if you do your looking at 27 to 28 mpg. If you drive at or under the limits you get 32 up to even (I've measured it) 35 mpg. It's a touch larger than say the normal subcompact so your not looking at Aveo size here. That gives you a bit of comfort and safety not found in the new "hip" subcompact class.

Trunk space is decent, you can carry five if you want to, though the car sits low to the ground and you WILL notice it if you load up with five and luggage.

Acceleration is good, but if you really need a burst of speed your going to have to go heavy on the pedal. It is a four cylinder after all.

Front air bags for driver and passenger, a VERY reliable engine from Toyota, nice clean lines though not exciting.

If there is a list of "standard sedan" the Prizm is second behind the Corolla.

If you can get one of these, buy it, it'll get you to where you want with comfort, reliability and a small touch of style that's above many 2006 offerings.

So you basically have six inches longer on the hood than an Aveo, and a tiny bit more trunk. I fail to see how you can dream that this car is safer then the Aveo, which has got much more modern crumple/impact zones. Please can you attempt an explanation?

Actually if you look online the 2002 Prizm has just as safe as the Aveo. However I would never chose a korean daewoo made Aveo over a toyota made Prizm. Not to mention the prizm has lots more power than the Aveo 125hp vs. 103 and gets better gas mileage. Why on earth they quit making the Prizm and Metro for that cheap Aveo is beyond me. There is another toyota twin in the GM family though the Vibe took the place of the Prizm at the production facility and its the twin of the Matrix which is a Corolla based hatchback.

Chevy adopted the Prizm in 98 when GM discontinued the GEO name. A year or so earlier, GM had dropped the Corsica from it's lineup and started production of the Malibu.

If I had to take a guess as to why they dropped the Prizm, I'd say there were probably a few reasons. First, Chevy didn't need to sedans of roughly the same size. The Prizm was in direct competition with the Malibu and probably affected sales to some extent, even though I'd venture to guess the Malibu outsold it.

With the Matrix/Vibe, they could continue to build a similarly sized vehicle, without being in direct competition. Plus, the Matrix/Vibe offers a nice crossover niche... it's a little bigger than most hatchbacks, but smaller and more fuel efficient than most SUVs.

For what it's worth, I agree... the Prizm was a better car than the Malibu. But, I can understand, to an extent, why GM wouldn't want the best car in their lineup being made by somebody else.

<i>The Prizm was in direct competition with the Malibu and probably affected sales to some extent, even though I'd venture to guess the Malibu outsold it.</i>

Prizm competed with the Cavalier, not the mid-size, 6-cylinder Malibu.