I leased an '01 Esteem wagon and liked it so much I bought out the lease and kept it as a second car. In five years and 140,000 km of driving, I have not needed a single repair, just routine maintenance. The idea that an Escort, Cavalier or Sunfire might be more reliable is absurd. There is no happier group of car owners on the Internet than the tiny band of Esteem owners. It's a pretty zippy, fun little car to drive, it holds a mountain of paddling and camping gear, and generally provides cheap, faithful, hassle-free service. Mine's sitting in the driveway right now with a bike on the bumper rack and a kayak on the roof, and I'm outta here.