Nastyzed

I drove a 2002 neon today as an entry level car they really arent that bad for a CHEAP commuter. The interior layout was much more welcoming then the sunfire and cavalier. Had nicer gauges ,less wind noise. For cheap you can buy a decent optioned one I found it not all that bad for a cheapo winter car or beater.

StealthZ

its not that bad of a car...but you (and i for that matter for saying this) will get flamed. but remember, take everyones opinions here with a grain of salt. everyone likes to think they know EVERYTHING here about cars, when in actuality they know the minimum to get by. also, expect a lot of non-domestic drivers to say, "go get a civic" or "imports > *" when in actuality that is not the case anymore.

***waiting for b6t or supradam to enter their smartass comments.***

goneinsixtyseconds

i'm not sure about the neon, but after a minor accident with my z, they gave me a sx 2.0 as a rental and boy was that thing a piece of . i'm sorry, but it had to be the WORST car i've ever driven EVER, and it's not like i was comparing it to my z. i've owned a civic and cavalier in the past and those cars were far ahead of the sx 2.0, the hyundai accent which i did my drivers training on was better than that p.o.s.

lowbalt

yeah, I agree, It's a pos. I like the srt-4 though

B6T

3aXap

how about if you say the car is u argument ur opinion. The interior is very decent and its pretty spacious. the only thing i dont like about neon is weak engine.

2bad it got replaced with a ugly new car(forgot the name)

munch

caliber

Nastyzed

again you rented it and it was POS how does that work? usually thats based on long term. The srt-4 is a neon. No way around it. Ignorance is all it is. If it had a asian badge many would claim "yeah it wasent that bad" In the time I drove the car I found no reason to spouting putrid things about an entry level car and i am no dodge fan.

goneinsixtyseconds

i'm not sure if you're referring to my comment, but i can tell you exactly what i found wrong with the sx 2.0. the handling was sluggish and had no feel to it, the engine was incessantly loud even at 1/2 throttle, the tranny was shifting so hard and noisy that i can't fathom how someone could enjoy getting from a to b w/o getting a headache, and of course the car had absolutely no power whatsoever in any gear at any rev.

yes, it was a rental and yes someone may have done some stupid to the engine/tranny, but it only had just over 20k on the odometer and if that was the kind of build quality of dodge entry level cars, the short term problems will only be amplified in the long term. i've driven a lot of entry level cars, not at all just imports, i can absolutely say with all certainty that the sx 2.0 was one of the worst cars i've driven.

1cam8valves

My 2002 Neon R/T has worked flawlessly for 15k's so far, very decent power and excellent handling as well(running a stock SRT-4 susp. now) The base model wasn't fun at all I must agree, the R/T I have now has so many pluses over it; leather, 150HP+ Magnum motor, short geared 5spd, CD changer, compass/temp, etc.
For around 11k I couldn't be happier with my daily driver.

Charlie_Chaos

I know the older Neons were garbage after between 180,000 - 200,000kms (total drivetrain failure) but I haven't heard much about the 01 + Neon

rabbitman

iTrader: (3)

That's just a Dodge problem. I had a Chrysler Minivan a while back. We've rented a Neon as well, and I'm going to jump on the band wagon for them being a terrible car. Actually, in all fairness, it wasn't bad in town, but it was louder on the highway that my rabbit. Gutless too. You can't compare the Neon to a 4 door Civic, or Jetta, or Corolla, or Sentra. There's just no comparison. I haven't driven a 4 door cavalier, just a 2 door V6 RS, so I can't comment on those, aside from my brother in law used to have a Sunflower, and had an oil pump fail at 53,000 kms.

gstyle

somebody told me that the neons once had a mitsubishi engine in it (before mitsubishi came into Canada). Any truth there?

Nastyzed

Its possible tho im not sure. You know all those caravans you see blowing blue smoke in traffic? mitsu powered!

T3hW1n

it got the worst rating about a year ago when it was tested along other used cars in side-impact crash tests.. deemed unsafe.... ill try to get an article on it... if someone else knows.. feel free to followup