Rick's Metro XFi

Welcome to the page for my Geo Metro XFi. Check out the pages in the top left box for a list of the things I have done to improve the mileage of the car. The gas log shows the current mileage I am getting as well as a chart of my mileage over time.

For those that don't know, the base Geo Metro had an EPA rated mileage of 46 city 50 highway. The XFi model had a lighter interior, smaller camshaft, different differential gear ratio, and sometimes no passenger side mirror depending on what state it was sold in. The XFi model got 53 city and 58 highway mileage ratings from the EPA. The car, if not driven hard, will get over 50MPG without any modifications. The main problem is that the cars were discontinued in '94, and it is hard to find one still getting the rated mileage due to age. Restoring the car back to its original state is not really needed. Some things have improved in the last 10 years, so this site is dedicated to showing my progress in making the car even better than factory.

Part 1 of my work to this car is modifications of the stock hatchback body and start trying to get better mileage

I kept the car body and basic structure stock. I modified anything that I thought would give me an increase in mileage without worrying about drilling a hole in the car or cutting a hole in it. I had no problems modifying anything that seemed like it could help. I didn't keep a running log of the modifications so there isn't much to say here other than look at my modifications list from when the car was still a hatchback.

Part 2 of the car is converting it into a custom built Metro XFi Convertible

The original XFi hatchback body I was driving is now gone; the rust was getting so bad the seat would drop a half inch when opening the door from the body sagging. The front control arms were also about ready to go and were getting pretty dangerous. Instead of just rebuilding the car like it was, I decided it needed to be a convertible. So after several months of working on the car, I can now say I have the only Geo Metro XFi Convertible. You can follow along with my progress building the car clicking on Convertible XFi project on the top of the page

Part 3 is adding a hybrid drive system to the car.

This project’s ultimate goal was to double the current mileage of the car without making it impossible to drive and without having to drive it slower than I normally do. You can look at the hybrid project page and see how it went. Overall not a bad setup but a few design problems kept it from realizing it’s full potential.

Part 4 is changing out the body to something more aero

The convertible was a nice car with a few bad design decisions. I had to make the suspension very stiff to keep the hybrid drive chain on. I also had to put truck springs on it to hold up the batteries. So the car rode super rough. Also having no comfort in the car made it very hard to live with. So I decided I can give up some of the really high mileage to get a nicer car. I already had a kit car called a Manta Montage that I needed to do something with so the best thing I could do is combine the two cars and make a really nice Geo Metro. So check out the Project Aero Metro page for more details.

Right now the plan is to basically build a rear engine Geo Metro and build everything in the new body. I first want to get it running gas only for now. After it is running good and no trouble I plan on adding the hybrid system back to it. I will go to a higher voltage system to get it a bit faster. Once I get the hybrid working good I will make the gas engine faster by adding a turbo. This will probably take me a few years to get right. My goal is for this to be the final configuration of the car. Once it is right I hope to be able to drive it daily and have a very nice comfortable car that gets excellent mileage.