I have an SS, but my wife has the 02 sunfire with the 2.2 ecotec. I feel this is one of the best 4 cyl. GM ever made. and even though hers is one of the first years they just seemed to improve it even better.

It is a little buzzy when accelerating but once you get up to speed its fine. she gets around 34 highway, but she doesnt drive it too far as it only has 59,000 miles after 8 years of owning it.

 

To sum it up most Ecotec's are all the same. The more you spend on it the more power you get. But in the end they all are about the same in areas of quality, performance and noise.

There really is no wrong choice they all are very good engines.

 

 

The 2.2 is just a sweet little engine with lots of growth potential, no complaints here.

 

Great infos! It helped me.

 

My 2.2 auto is considerably faster than my Bronco with a 5.8 auto. I have no issues with it. And it averages around 35 on the highway, around 30 in town. I've seen the average as high as 47. The only thing I dislike is the transmission will shift from 4th to 2nd and then up to 3rd on a hill but that is most likely the older technology of the 4 year old transmission.

 

Mine doesn't have the VVT, but with the 5 speed she moves around with no problem at all. Changing the oil on all Ecotec's is a piece of cake. My work commute get's be 25-26 constantly. I usually average 29-30 highway, with a best of 34, but that was in the mountains 55-60 with no A/C.