$12,699 SE Sedan, the $14,219 GT Coupe and the $19,399 SE Convertible.

The two-door models--the SE Coupe, the GT Coupe and the SE Convertible--are

sportier than the four-door SE Sedan, but the sedan is, of course, more

practical. It offers more room in the back seat and a bigger trunk than

the other models.

The Sunfire SE Sedan takes the stylistic high road, particularly when

compared with cars like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Nissan Sentra.

The front end begins with the familiar Pontiac twin nostrils, but is dominated

by the Sunfire's bright-eyed headlights. The front fascia was inspired

by the Firebird and quickly distinguishes the Sunfire among other cars

in its class.

The moderately raked windshield is at the leading edge of a surprisingly

large greenhouse, with generous glass area and few obstructions to outward

visibility.

At the rear, a relatively short deck lid conceals slightly more than

13 cubic feet of trunk space, easily accessed with a low lift-over height.

Compared to the Chevrolet Cavalier, which shares the same platform,

powertrains and parallel models, the Pontiac Sunfire looks sportier, but

dynamic traits of corresponding Sunfire/Cavalier models are similar.

Under the hood, Pontiac provides a choice of two powerplants and three

transmissions. Standard in the SE coupe, sedan and convertible is a 2.2-liter

overhead-valve four-cylinder engine that generates 120 horsepower and 130

pound-feet of torque. A Sunfire with the 2.2-liter engine and a five-speed

transmission gets 32 mpg on the highway.

Although it's not the highest-tech by the standards for this class,

this engine has served GM well, and provides good throttle response at

lower speeds. Its down side is relatively tepid performance at higher speeds,

accompanied by some noise intrusion.

Standard in the GT Coupe and optional in the rest of the model lineup

is GM's 2.4-liter Twin Cam, with increased horsepower and torque. It provides

better--and quieter--performance across the board, and is a much better

choice for buyers who want an automatic transmission.

Transmission choices include a five-speed manual, and a pair of automatics,

one with three speeds, one with four. The five-speed gearbox is precise

and fun to use, and a big improvement on the previous manual transmission.

The four-speed automatic is available for all models and offers much

better gearing than the three-speed automatic. A traction control system

is available, but only with the four-speed automatic.

Standard tires are P195/70 all-season radials on 14-inch steel wheels.

Our tester had the optional P195/65R touring tires on 15-inch aluminum-alloy

wheels.

Like the other Sunfire models, the basic SE Sedan comes with dual airbags,

antilock brakes, a theft deterrent system, rear child seat comfort guides,

battery rundown protection and a trunk lamp.

The PASSlock theft deterrent system shuts the Sunfire off after a few

moments if the car is started with anything other than the encoded key.

A single key is used for ignition and all locks, and a remote keyless entry

system is available as an option.

All Sunfires are equipped with daytime running lights, which means the

headlights will be on at reduced power whenever the ignition is on and

the handbrake is released or the automatic transmission is shifted out

of park. The normal headlights can be switched on manually or by using

Pontiac's Twilight Sentinel system, which turns the lights on and off automatically

as it senses the amount of available light.

Our tester was equipped with the 2.4-liter Twin Cam and three-speed

automatic. It offered unobtrusive cruising but we'd recommend either the

manual transmission or four-speed automatic.