Another trip, another car. This time it was the 2004 Dodge Neon SE. I checked into Dollar Car Rental (that will be my next epinion) and within a few minutes I was speeding out of the Albuquerque Sunport to my hotel.
Over the course of about 7 days I had the chance to put this car through its paces.
Speed and Acceleration – Did I mention I drive like a madman? Just about every time I started from a stop it was full speed ahead. The car accelerated very well for its small engine size. This model had an Automatic transmission that did not like going at the fastest speed possible. It would rev very high during some of the shift changes and jump. Overall I found the transmission would not be able to sustain this type of driving for an extended period of time.
Cornering, Braking and Handling – I gradually increased my turn speeds until I found that the car could not go more than 20 mph around a tight 90 degree turn without squealing its tires just before a fishtail would begin. The overall handling was tight with little play in the steering wheel. Lane changes and turns on dry roads were excellent and roads with a light dusting of snow the car performed just as well. It did not rain during the trip so I am unsure as to it’s capabilities on wet surfaces.
The ride was fairly smooth and I did not notice the smaller bumps in the road. The road noise however was noticeable.
The Neon would stop on a dime. I was able to stop the car in maybe 100-150 feet while going 45-55 mph. At the beginning of the day the cars brakes would squeak for the first few applications.
Exterior and Interior Cosmetics – Overall it was a nice looking car for its price. Mine had a white paint job and the interior was a sort of greyish cloth. Very simple, nothing extravagant. I would not consider this to be a sporting nor sexy looking vehicle.
Functions - The car had a cassette player and radio. The sound system worked fine and the main functions of the audio system were user friendly and intuitive until you got to channel programming. It required the book to figure that out. The speaker system was able to handle a relatively loud volume before it began to make the scratchy noises.
The weather was usually very cold here so I was able to check out the rear defroster which took awhile to remove a light dusting of ice on the rear window and the heater took about five minutes to get to a decent temperature while driving on speed. While at idle the heater took nearly ten minutes to reach a comfortable temperature.
This car had no power anything. The windows, mirror and locks were manually operated which really began to be a pain in the rear. When I had coworkers and friends ride with me the locking and unlocking of each door in the car began to get annoying.
According to the owners manual - This vehicle has what is called “SENTRY KEY” basically even if someone makes a perfect copy of your key to take your car it will not work as it need to have an electronic transponder chip embedded within the key. If an unauthorized key is used the engine will shut down in two seconds.
The car does have Child Protection locks for the rear doors and an internal trunk lid release.
There is also an SRS system which provides an airbag for both the driver and the front passenger.
There were no other special features for this particular vehicle but according to the Owners Manual, some of the options that are available are CD player and satellite radio. Car Alarm, Side Impact airbags, Power locks, windows and mirrors were listed. I also found that the vehicle could have a sunroof, cruise control and inside compass/temperature indicator mirror.
Conclusion – If I was to buy a new car for a teenager, this would be one that I would consider. For myself, nope, not a chance.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.dodge.com/neon/index.html?context=homepage&type=top
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 13000
Condition: New Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: 2004 Dodge Neon SE, automatic, factory cassette player, front airbags
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