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1995
Geo Prizm

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$12,640
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Expert 1995 Geo Prizm review

our expert's take
Our expert's take
By
Full article
our expert's take

I’D BEEN living high on the hog — Oldsmobile Aurora, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, fancy stuff. It was a happy circumstance. The glory cars, the “image leaders,” usually come first on new test-car schedules. The bread-and-butter stuff shows up later in the year.

But so much rich metal can warp your mind, skew your judgment. I needed an antidote, and found one in a dusty corner of General Motors Corp.’s Washington garage. It was a 1994 Geo Prizm LSi. Pearl black in color, about 8,000 miles on the odometer. I took it.

Some 700 miles later, I was convinced: If all anyone wants is a small, practical, safe, cute, fun-to-drive car, there’s absolutely no need to spend anything more than the price of a Prizm, new or used.

Buying used might be the smartest idea, anyway. It’s substantially less expensive than buying new; and for the savvy shopper, there are good used bargains aplenty.

Look at the tested Prizm LSi. It’s been driven by several dozen auto writers, many of whom treated it roughly. But it was well-maintained by GM’s technoids.

In a week or so, GM will ship the Prizm LSi to auction, where it’ll be inspected — and fixed, if necessary. It’ll then be sold wholesale to a franchised GM dealer, who will put it on a used-car lot at a price about 30 percent below the original 1994 sticker.

Such cars are called “program cars” in the auto business, because they are part of a program of fleet movements, partly for product evaluation purposes, but mostly in conjunction with fleet sales to businesses, such as rental car companies. Those businesses buy or lease huge numbers of cars from auto makers, run them for about a year, and then sell them back or otherwise return them to the manufacturer, who ships them to auction.

“Program cars” also show up as “demo cars” or “executive cars” in used-car sales. It all amounts to the same thing — an almost-new, already-depreciated car that still has a year or two of the original warranty left and that, like the tested Prizm LSi, could be in pretty good shape.

Background: The Prizm’s history goes back to the mid-1980s, when it appeared as a front-wheel-drive version of the Chevrolet Nova. Then, too, the car shared the same sheet metal and engine with the Toyota Corolla, which was understandable. Both cars were made on the same assembly lines by the same people using the same tools, skills and talents at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a joint-venture company operated by GM and Toyota Motor Corp. in Fremont, Calif.

In model year 1990, the body style of the Nova and the Corolla changed — and the Nova’s name changed to Prizm. Corolla’s name remained the same. Why not? People weren’t willing to pay a premium for a Chevrolet. But they were eager to spend extra money for a Toyota, even though they were buying practically identical cars.

Anyway, the Prizm/Corolla is one heck of a little car; and it’s not changing much for 1995. In fa ct, just about all of the “new” things will be cosmetic: four new paint colors, new seat and door trim fabrics, new interior colors, better radios. Mechanical changes include tweakings of the optional 1.8-liter in-line, four-cylinder engine to improve emission control; and a slight reworking of the car’s standard four-wheel independent suspension system for better ride and handling.

Both the used 1994 Prizm I drove and the new 1995 car come with standard dual-front air bags, improved safety belts, power vented front disc brakes/rear drums, five-speed manual overdrive transmission and a 1.6-liter, 16-valve, in-line four-cylinder engine rated 105 horsepower at 5,800 rpm. Maximum torque on the standard engine is 100 foot-pounds (or “pounds-feet,” as the engineers prefer to call it) at 4,800 rpm.

Optional equipment includes a 1.8-liter version of the standard engine rated 115 horsepower at 5,600 rpm, with max torque set at 115 pounds-feet at 2,800 rpm. Anti-lock bra es are also optional, as are three-speed and four-speed automatic transmissions.

Both the 1994 and 1995 Prizms are sold as base and dressed-up LSi models.

Complaints: Tiny gripes. Borderline lousy sound system; also, a gearshift knob that sometimes twisted around on the used Prizm I tested.

Praise: One of the best small cars available. Highly highway competent. Very comfortable. A joy to drive, even after it had been “broken in” by drivers with decidedly different driving styles and skills.

Head-turning quotient: No thrills, no chills. Warm, cute.

Ride, acceleration and handling: All-around small-car excellence. Lots of credit here goes to the 14-inch diameter Goodyear Eagle GA tires. Truly grippy rubber. Very good braking. The test car was equipped with the optional anti-lock system.

Mileage: About 30 to the gallon (13.2-gallon tank, estimated 384-mile range on usable volume of regular unleaded), running mostly highway with one to two occupants and light cargo.

Sound system: AM/FM stereo radio and cassette installed by Toyota. Uncharacteristically bad.

Price: Base price on a new 1994 Prizm LSi sedan with five-speed manual is $11,840. Dealer’s invoice on base 1994 model is $10,916. As new, the tested Prizm LSi would sell for $15,643, including $3,235 in options and a $365 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: You could beat that price by nearly $3,000 by buying a used model. Keep in mind that there will be no significant mechanical or body changes on the 1995 Prizm.

1995 Geo Prizm review: Our expert's take
By

I’D BEEN living high on the hog — Oldsmobile Aurora, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, fancy stuff. It was a happy circumstance. The glory cars, the “image leaders,” usually come first on new test-car schedules. The bread-and-butter stuff shows up later in the year.

But so much rich metal can warp your mind, skew your judgment. I needed an antidote, and found one in a dusty corner of General Motors Corp.’s Washington garage. It was a 1994 Geo Prizm LSi. Pearl black in color, about 8,000 miles on the odometer. I took it.

Some 700 miles later, I was convinced: If all anyone wants is a small, practical, safe, cute, fun-to-drive car, there’s absolutely no need to spend anything more than the price of a Prizm, new or used.

Buying used might be the smartest idea, anyway. It’s substantially less expensive than buying new; and for the savvy shopper, there are good used bargains aplenty.

Look at the tested Prizm LSi. It’s been driven by several dozen auto writers, many of whom treated it roughly. But it was well-maintained by GM’s technoids.

In a week or so, GM will ship the Prizm LSi to auction, where it’ll be inspected — and fixed, if necessary. It’ll then be sold wholesale to a franchised GM dealer, who will put it on a used-car lot at a price about 30 percent below the original 1994 sticker.

Such cars are called “program cars” in the auto business, because they are part of a program of fleet movements, partly for product evaluation purposes, but mostly in conjunction with fleet sales to businesses, such as rental car companies. Those businesses buy or lease huge numbers of cars from auto makers, run them for about a year, and then sell them back or otherwise return them to the manufacturer, who ships them to auction.

“Program cars” also show up as “demo cars” or “executive cars” in used-car sales. It all amounts to the same thing — an almost-new, already-depreciated car that still has a year or two of the original warranty left and that, like the tested Prizm LSi, could be in pretty good shape.

Background: The Prizm’s history goes back to the mid-1980s, when it appeared as a front-wheel-drive version of the Chevrolet Nova. Then, too, the car shared the same sheet metal and engine with the Toyota Corolla, which was understandable. Both cars were made on the same assembly lines by the same people using the same tools, skills and talents at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a joint-venture company operated by GM and Toyota Motor Corp. in Fremont, Calif.

In model year 1990, the body style of the Nova and the Corolla changed — and the Nova’s name changed to Prizm. Corolla’s name remained the same. Why not? People weren’t willing to pay a premium for a Chevrolet. But they were eager to spend extra money for a Toyota, even though they were buying practically identical cars.

Anyway, the Prizm/Corolla is one heck of a little car; and it’s not changing much for 1995. In fa ct, just about all of the “new” things will be cosmetic: four new paint colors, new seat and door trim fabrics, new interior colors, better radios. Mechanical changes include tweakings of the optional 1.8-liter in-line, four-cylinder engine to improve emission control; and a slight reworking of the car’s standard four-wheel independent suspension system for better ride and handling.

Both the used 1994 Prizm I drove and the new 1995 car come with standard dual-front air bags, improved safety belts, power vented front disc brakes/rear drums, five-speed manual overdrive transmission and a 1.6-liter, 16-valve, in-line four-cylinder engine rated 105 horsepower at 5,800 rpm. Maximum torque on the standard engine is 100 foot-pounds (or “pounds-feet,” as the engineers prefer to call it) at 4,800 rpm.

Optional equipment includes a 1.8-liter version of the standard engine rated 115 horsepower at 5,600 rpm, with max torque set at 115 pounds-feet at 2,800 rpm. Anti-lock bra es are also optional, as are three-speed and four-speed automatic transmissions.

Both the 1994 and 1995 Prizms are sold as base and dressed-up LSi models.

Complaints: Tiny gripes. Borderline lousy sound system; also, a gearshift knob that sometimes twisted around on the used Prizm I tested.

Praise: One of the best small cars available. Highly highway competent. Very comfortable. A joy to drive, even after it had been “broken in” by drivers with decidedly different driving styles and skills.

Head-turning quotient: No thrills, no chills. Warm, cute.

Ride, acceleration and handling: All-around small-car excellence. Lots of credit here goes to the 14-inch diameter Goodyear Eagle GA tires. Truly grippy rubber. Very good braking. The test car was equipped with the optional anti-lock system.

Mileage: About 30 to the gallon (13.2-gallon tank, estimated 384-mile range on usable volume of regular unleaded), running mostly highway with one to two occupants and light cargo.

Sound system: AM/FM stereo radio and cassette installed by Toyota. Uncharacteristically bad.

Price: Base price on a new 1994 Prizm LSi sedan with five-speed manual is $11,840. Dealer’s invoice on base 1994 model is $10,916. As new, the tested Prizm LSi would sell for $15,643, including $3,235 in options and a $365 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: You could beat that price by nearly $3,000 by buying a used model. Keep in mind that there will be no significant mechanical or body changes on the 1995 Prizm.

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Consumer reviews

4.7 / 5
Based on 15 reviews
Write a review
Comfort 4.0
Interior 4.0
Performance 4.3
Value 4.9
Exterior 4.1
Reliability 4.9

Most recent

  • Wonderful car for the money

    This car is by far the best car I've owned. Great mpg, starts right up everytime. Aside from basic preventive maintenance, there's absolutely no issues with this car. I purchased it with 253k miles on it and it's still going strong with the 20,000+ miles I've already put on it. With the right care, this car will just keep going and going and going...
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Impressed

    For the age Of the car it drives really well. I think my next concern will be the tires. Everything works great and will continue to as long as I keep up the maintenance.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Transporting family
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 5.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • My first car : I can it my a bird in a golden cage

    The car has got everything a first car user would need. I bought mine used at 145000 mileage but has been using it greatly. It runs very well ...only did few works on it... The engine is great with good automatic transmission. The air-conditioning is super . When I get tired of this , I will go for another . The body is very strong.... Infact, if you don't want automobile headache, look for this machine...
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Transporting family
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 5.0
    1 person out of 1 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Awesome

    Not out to impress. Only need a car to get me from a-b reliably! This is the answer to my prayers. I LOVE this car. 150.000 miles on it and I think that is just the beginning. What an awesome car for a young person. No whistles/ no bells,just a reliable rock star of a vehicle that u can count on! Wow, they don't make cars like this anymore. If you are lucky enough to have one,treat it like gold,and consider yourself very fortunate.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 3.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 4.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Looking for another one to buy!!!

    Bought car with 80,000 miles on it! Just turned over 355,000 carefree miles. Truly want another one!
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 5.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 5.0
    2 people out of 2 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Junky but reliable

    This car always got me where I needed to go except for when it was cold out, then it took a while to start. I didn't get a new car until a newer one just became available for cheap, by that point the geo was at about 260,000 miles and still running. Loved it and even lived out of it for a while, had a surprising amount of space for how small it was.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 4.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 4.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Pretty good car

    The Geo Prizm was my first car and for a first car, it was really good. It was a hand me down from my aunt and we fixed it up after being in a garage for 14 years. The only problem I have with the car is the power steering pump. We replaced the power steering pump and found out that the problem was the seal, which you can no longer buy ANYHWHERE. So the car leaked power steering fluid and I had to refill it every 2 weeks. The only other problem is the cup holders. You cannot fit a bottle of soda in them. You can barely fit a small cup from McDonalds. And at that, they are not very sturdy and just overall poor design as they pop out from under the stereo.
    • Purchased a New car
    • Used for Having fun
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 4.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 4.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Very reliable, great for getting around!

    I got mine 3 years ago with 79,000 miles on it and I have had no problems at all! It now has 108,782 and it just keeps ticking! I highly recommend this car, it is great for low cost of maintenance and MPG. It starts up every time!
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 5.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Bought a GEO

    I bought a 1995 GEO Prizm with 51,980 miles on it. This car was very easy to fix and to run. Sure, it wasn't the fastest car i've owned, but who cares. Now the Prizm has 193,000 miles. I had to replace the blower motor and the spark plugs, other than that, this GEO Prizm sedan has been a joy to have. Even though the EPA rates it at 34 MPG highway, I averaged 39 on a drive to Reno, how weird is that?
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Transporting family
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Ol' Faithful

    I recently purchased a 95 Geo Prizm LSi with 178000 miles on it. I paid $1650 and it has a few problems, rear power windows faulty, driver power mirror broken, cracked windshield. The transmission (automatic) is quirky with not much low end power. The positive points of this car is that it starts every time (even in freezing temps) gets great mileage, has a surprisingly roomy trunk for such a small car, handles great with sharp turns and because it's small it's easy to park. The LSi model also has some good options for the price. The cons are as follows: as a 6'5" guy, I find the driver seat cramped and uncomfortable. The cruise control lever jabs my leg every time I turn right. The factory audio system is poor and the controls hard to operate while driving. It's not a sporty car either with slow acceleration (could be due to mileage on my car). The interior is all plastic and everything feels lightweight and cheap, including the doors which have to be shut hard to seat themselves properly. Also, having been driving a car with automatic headlights, it's a pain to remember to turn all the lights on and off. In conclusion, if you're on a strict budget and want a reliable vehicle with good fuel economy, or looking to get your first car, give this model a look. If you're looking for high performance or a roomy, comfortable interior though, look elsewhere.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 2.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 4.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 5.0
    1 person out of 1 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Amazing Vehicle!!

    I Bought my 1995 Geo Prizm with 89,000 miles on it. The only thing I have had to replace on this car mechanically is the battery. Outside of that the vehicle currently has 178,000 miles on it. I drive approx. 150 miles a day. ITS A BEAST!!! The ride on the highway is a little loud but outside of that, I love this car. Mine has recently been in an accident and the front of the vehicle was claimed to be "totalled" but the vehicle still runs and drives... I find that to be awesome!
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 5.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • The Mighty Geo

    I have a 1995 Geo Prizm Lsi. I bought it new. It just hit 200,000 miles and except for expected maintenace (brakes, tires, alternator, belts) has been a great, trusty car. I wish they still made these because I would buy another as my next car as well. Great gas mileage. And not a theft risk :) Going for 300,000 miles!
    • Purchased a New car
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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FAQ

What trim levels are available for the 1995 Geo Prizm?

The 1995 Geo Prizm is available in 1 trim level:

  • LSi (1 style)

Is the 1995 Geo Prizm reliable?

The 1995 Geo Prizm has an average reliability rating of 4.9 out of 5 according to cars.com consumers. Find real-world reliability insights within consumer reviews from 1995 Geo Prizm owners.

Is the 1995 Geo Prizm a good Sedan?

Below are the cars.com consumers ratings for the 1995 Geo Prizm. 100.0% of drivers recommend this vehicle.

4.7 / 5
Based on 15 reviews
  • Comfort: 4.0
  • Interior: 4.0
  • Performance: 4.3
  • Value: 4.9
  • Exterior: 4.1
  • Reliability: 4.9
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