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From the sublime to the ridiculous, step out of the BMW 540i into a Chevrolet Geo Metro two-door hatchback.

For the 1995 model year the Geo Metro four-door sedan replaced the four-door Metro hatchback.

The new sedan (Cartalk, Sept. 18, 1994) is one of the nicer cars in the Chevy stable and one of the better buys in the economy-car market. Not only does it sport fresh styling similar to that of the larger Chevy Cavalier, but it also boasts roomy interior dimensions, comfortable ride and handling, excellent fuel economy and, perhaps most important, dual air bags. ABS is available, but as a costly $565 option.

The little 4-cylinder engine is one of the more fuel-efficient powerplants on the market. If you operate on a tight budget, you’d be hard-pressed to find a vehicle with as much value for the money as the Geo Metro sedan.

Which is a roundabout way of getting to the Geo Metro two-door hatchback. Under “ugly” in the dictionary, you’ll find this car’s picture.

It looks as if the designers went home one night, forgot to cover the clay model they were working on that day, the clay dried hard and, because they didn’t have time to start from scratch, they left it as is.

To be blunt, you wonder why Chevy keeps this car in the lineup. Coupes, even high-mileage ones, are not in big demand. And any vehicle that rides on mini 13-inch tires should come with handlebars and a chain guard, not a 1-liter, 55-h.p., 3-cylinder engine teamed with 5-speed manual.

Chevy boasts that each Metro “includes an intangible asset-peace of mind.”

We’d like the author of that statement to sit in the back seat as an 18-wheeler trying to make up lost time on the interstate approaches from the rear.

The Geo Metro LSI hatchback we tested is a high-mileage commuter/errand runner that starts at $8,385, or $1,100 less than the Geo Metro LSI sedan.

For that $1,100 you get a roomier, more comfortable, more powerful, more stylish vehicle, and some of that peace of mind that’s difficult to measure in window-sticker terms.