The 3 cylinder will not idle perfectly smooth since it's the nature of the engine. The ride is decent for such a small car.
My 1998 model has a brand new Walker exhaust and it is very quiet. When modifying the exhaust, you will find the 3 cylinder can be louder than a V-8.
Using Synchromesh lube in the transmission will make it shift like butter. Both my Metros had the regular gear oil swapped with Synchromesh for that reason.
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Do they accelerate reasonably?
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Reasonably for a 55 HP engine. Do not expect a Metro to out-accelerate any other vehicle including a school bus. I added performance parts to mine to help out.
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Are they easy to work on?
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The Metro is the easiest vehicle to work on since the old VW Bug. I was impressed that as a first timer on rebuilding an engine, I had it done in 18 hours.
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Are they cheap to keep running if you take care of them?
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I bought my 1998 Metro when gas was $4.00 a gallon almost two years ago and have done hardly any repairs to it since except wearout items like brakes. I bought it with 130K on it and it now has 180K on it. My wife's 1997 Metro is also trouble free since rebuilding and fixing it. You will never find another vehicle that gets the fuel mileage these cars do unless you buy a Hybrid.
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Are they easy to find parts for?
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Yes. There are even some performance parts available.
Here are two interesting threads if you are interested. Both of these cars have less than $1000.00 invested including purchase price.............
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ject-2936.html
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...etro-9810.html