1992 Dodge Shadow ES 4 door review from North America

Radiator had a leak right at the seal, but got a new one for $40.

Car had sat before I bought it for 3-5 years so a lot of the maintenance had not been done. I got lucky, and the guy I bought it from had already replaced the fuel pump, the fuel line, the tires, the wires, the plugs, the oil filter and a oil change plus the spaldings on the tranny.

Interior of the car has quite a bit of wear, but the car is also 16 years old.

Exterior paint is chipping, but that is because the year this was made the manufacturer started to take the lead out of the paint. Still looks gorgeous to me though with the same blue color you see on modern Neons, and a gunmetal gray strip on the bottom.

This will be the 2nd Shadow I have owned and I absolutely love it. They are a blast to drive, and considering its age, it is very quick. I can get my Shad going up to 55 MPH or more before shifting into 4th gear easy. Plus it does not have that nasty vibration at high speed. I have gone as fast as 90 MPH and it did not so much as whimper.

I have the manual transmission, and if you are thinking of getting one of these, I highly recommend it. It has been very reliable and never given me any trouble. The engine in this car has also not given me any major malfunction. Taking into account the age and mileage on the car, I have been most impressed.

Gas mileage on this car is not the best. I average about 24 miles per gallon. But after having owned a Ford Taurus and a Jeep Grand Cherokee, this is a vast improvement for me. Plus it is a lot cheaper to fill this baby up. I can spend $20-$30 and get a full tank which is a plus.

I also got lucky and have a sports muffler tip on the car as well. This gives the car a very pleasant sound at high revs versus the rather annoying bumble bee noise the Japanese cars tend to give with the same modification.

Car could handle better in turns, but I suspect that with new struts and springs it will get better. Right now it has more body roll than I would like. Again, being 16 years old, what do you want? LOL.

I would recommend this car to anyone who wants a reliable car that is fairly easy and inexpensive to repair and maintain. Not to mention that they are very safe in a wreck. My 1st Shadow got hit by a Ford Mustang doing around 50 MPH. The airbag worked like a charm and I have no doubt that that car saved my life.