Comments: 1-15, 16-17
The alignment was messed up, and wore down my front left tire really badly. I got that fixed under warranty.
First, the good. I got the car for about $13,000 out the door, brand new, with nothing more than transfer mileage on it. It was one of the best new vehicles out there for the money. It's reasonably comfortable, cheap to maintain, has a lot of accessories for the price tag, and doesn't look too terribly bad painted in Orange Blast. It was also the best handling car in it's price range.
Now for the bad. The reverse gear is unsynchronized, so sometimes it will pop out when you let the clutch go. If you try to put it back in gear before the engine rev lowers totally to an idle, then you grind the gears.
The transmission and clutch is very sloppy, which is probably to be expected of any econo-box. A friend of mine drives an '88 Nova, and she thinks the transmission in my car is great. I previously drove a Stealth R/T, and the transmission in the Neon can't begin to compare.
The engine is rated at 132HP... but I personally believe it should be rated in pony power. When I'm the only one in the car... it's livable. But when I'm on the highway with 2 or 3 friends, and I tell the car to go, it just doesn't!
All in all, the Neon is a good car. It does exactly what it was designed to do, and it does it pretty well. Problem is, I am an enthusiast, and the Neon is nothing more than basic transportation, and with my aggressive driving style it just doesn't work. It is not a car any enthusiast would be happy with, at least not without a bunch of serious upgrades. Which would then turn it into a big bowl of American Rice.
You were expecting roaring performance from a 2.0 litre 4-cylinder.
Check out www.2gn.org. It's a forum for 2gn Neon owners, and with a few mods, our little neons can be much more enjoyable.
As I stated in my review, the car does exactly what it was designed to do. I test drove the car before I bought it, so I knew exactly what to expect, doesn't mean I liked it. I just didn't have many options for a new car that I could afford... and I couldn't get a used car financed at the time.
And as for a 2.0L engine... Dodge could have done a lot more with it. I'm driving a 2006 Toyota Corolla rental right now, with a 1.8L N/A engine that has less horsepower than the Neon, but it is much quicker, even with an auto transmission. It also sounds a lot nicer, and gets better gas mileage. The car doesn't handle as well... but it's proof that a small engine is no excuse for poor performance.
"I test drove the car before I bought it, so I knew exactly what to expect, doesn't mean I liked it. I just didn't have many options for a new car that I could afford... and I couldn't get a used car financed at the time."
I think your friend who has the 88 Nova has the better idea, purchase a cheap car for basic transportation, and skip the expensive car loans/financing. I owned an 86 after my 3 series BMW, and wow, what a fantastic car for $900!
IMHO, you can easily get a cheaper car, with more fun added to the package, and get very good reliability without buying new. Why not consider a late 90's Corolla?
I'd steer clear of used Corollas. My best friend has had two and both have been very unreliable. He finally got smart and bought a Cavalier RS.
I'm selling this car, and buying a used sports car. Look slike I'll be getting a '90 Miata in excellant condition for $4000, I'd be much happier with something like that.
One of my friends had a rental 2005 Dodge Neon SXT while their Durango was in the shop. I thought it was pretty nice for an econo-box, but there was one feature in it that nearly made me laugh out loud, it had power windows in the front, but manual ones in the back! Maybe I'm the only one who thought that was stupid, but it seems like they could come up with a better way of cost-cutting then that! Besides that though, the car wasn't too bad, it didn't exactly have push-you-back-in-your-seat, heart-racing, adrenaline-rushing performance (automatic), but an OK around town car. I'd definitely take it over any Corolla or Miata.
I just bought my '05 Neon SXT in Feb 06 with 25 miles on it. I had a specific purpose too, get an inexpensive vehicle with a neat design, sporty yet modest design and a standard transmission. Still, it is an American car. This of course means weekend project. The joy and sense of being in gradually building your car into an eventual street race car through the natural process of basic repairs, while still posing as a compact sedan to outsiders until you do the outside.
I just bought a used 2005 Neon SXT and mine also has power windows in the front, and manual in the back. I didn't notice it when I test drove it, but it doesn't bother me much anyways.
A few things I have noticed is that with 31k miles on it, the transmission doesn't seem all that great. It doesn't shift as smooth as it's supposed to. I seem to notice it when speeding up from 50-60. I tried to push the car a little bit last weekend and it stopped at 90 with the gas pedal to the floor. Anyone else having transmission problems?
"You were expecting roaring performance from a 2.0 litre 4-cylinder"
Obviously not, if you took the time to actually read the article the reviewer stated that the car was extremely slow for a 2.0l 5 spd vehicle with 132 hp, and being that it is a base model neon the reviewer obviously was not looking for performance, rather a run-about to get them to point A and B and so fourth. If he/she was looking for "roaring performance" then the would have bought the srt-4 version of the neon.
I bought my '05 Neon for the sole purpose of economy for running kids to sports to make up for driving our SUV. It performs great and got it on a sale for less than $10,000 with 69 miles on it.
MY motor broke in nice and is quite peppy even with 2 adults and 2 older kids. The orange blast paint looks great after a clay bar and wax, the tires are sub par which is expected on a car.
My wife loves it. we get 36mpg average and it drives great.
For less than $10,000 it is great.
Guys, all neon models are not performance cars except the SRT-4. If you want a sports car, just wait and save up a little money and buy the SRT-4. I have an 05 SXT. I drive from point a to point b, I do not go 90 on a 65 mph zone, that's a car accident. I will use up my car until I suck the living life out of it, save money and then buy me a nice sports car (SRT-4?). Remember point a to point b, you'll never be speedracer in an sxt, be practical or just modify it if you can't wait to crash into a wall.
I have a 2005 Dodge Neon SXT Special Edition. I bought this car, used, for my 16 year old daughter for school and work purposes. Although there are many comments about it not having a lot of power... it's a smooth ride when you are on the interstate as long as you're not trying to go 0-60 in any "speedy" amount of time. The non-power has also made it a perfect car for her. She doesn't need all of that, and to be honest, I love to drive it too. Now, if I could just keep her from dinging the front end once a month, I'll be in good shape!
To the folks complaining of bad shifting... you'd be surprised what a good fluid change will do for a Chrysler transmission. Even ones that don't seem to be experiencing problems benefit from doing this. I generally recommend a fluid and filter change with Chrysler spec ATF+4 (do NOT accept any substitutes!) around 30-40k miles regardless of owner's manual specs.
I'm seventeen and we just bought a used 05 Neon SXT with 46K miles on it. I really don't see the problems everyone else has with it. It is an automatic so it is a little slower in acceleration compared to the manual but overall, it is a quick car. It's not a powerhouse muscle car like a mustang or a challenger, but it is a fast little car.
The crank windows in the back really don't bother me because I rarely have anyone in the back, and it would be just one more thing that could potentially break.
The metallic trim on the center console is really neat and the 6-speaker Kicker stereo system has some bounce.
The car is comfortable and handles amazing. Compared to my previous Sunfire (now in the junkyard) it handles and feels like a luxury car. It also has a nice growling engine for being only a 4 cy.