German quality, American value. (2003 Neon SE)

I recently hit a deer. This is usually bad, but at least for me it was good, because I could step out of my old car and into something a little better while mine is fixed. In the past I would go to my Toyota dealer and rent a Corolla or Matrix, but I recently moved, and they don’t have one where I live. So with a sigh I went to the local Enterprise, dreading the though of driving a 3 year old Escort with an AM/FM stereo for a week. I was pleasantly surprised to get a 2003 Dodge Neon.

My overall impression of this car is: Wow. It looks good, it rides well for a small car, and inside it is comfortable and quiet. What is not to love about this car? I know I had a lack of things to say in the cons, but I really couldn’t find much wrong with it.

* Engine *

A sweet sound comes from the engine bay when you floor it. Not loud and boy racer, but muted and high pitched, like it has a supercharger on it. Well, it doesn’t. It does have plenty of power to get away from the light, or to pass on a two lane. It works well with the gearbox, which is smooth and seems to have a direct line to your right foot. Flick the throttle, and you get a smooth kick down from 4th to 3rd. Hit it harder, and it will kick down to 2nd and get you around granny. On the highway noise from the engine in near silent until you get over 80. Even then it isn’t so loud as to make you grab the earplugs, though you may turn up the radio for the first time since you were at a standstill.

I drove the car roughly 1300 miles, and I can report about 30mpg in mixed driving.

* Interior *

This car is quiet. I know this isn’t the crypt-like quiet you may get from some luxury cars, but from a car in this class it is awesome. Couple that with an awesome stereo system, comfortable seats, and near perfect ergonomics, and you can while away the hours behind the wheel only worrying about the traffic. The stereo is a gem. Big dials and buttons make it easy to adjust. With six speakers it does jam righteously. It seriously rocked all the layers of my epidermis off. Bass is more than sufficient for rap (making the rear view shake) and just turn the bass down for rock and pop clearer than Memorex. The base seats are of a boring looking cloth that is grippy, and easy to keep clean. Other interior surfaces are mostly of plastic, and don’t really look cheap. Good textures all around, even on the football field sized dashboard top (this is cab forward design, you know.)

With the wheels pushed out to the sides, this gives an outstanding amount of room inside. Rear seat passengers will probably not complain much unless the trip is really long. I didn’t get the chance to ride or carry anyone back there, so I can’t tell you much more than it looks very roomy, for a small car. The trunk is also rather decent sized, and it even has a 60/40 split fold down rear seat. The only fault with the seat is when folded down it isn’t flat with the trunk floor, making loading somewhat of a chore for the longer items.

* Exterior *

My car came in a nice blue (Midnight Blue Pearl), my favorite. If I ever bought one, this is the color I would use, although it also comes in flame red, graphite metallic (gray), stone white, bright silver metallic and black. The hood area is small, and sports some great looking headlights. They are two bumps on either side of the hood, and kind of mimic what you have seen from Porsche in the past. While it is tall, it doesn’t look it. Gaps between doors and panels are small and uniform. Fit and finish are almost perfect. In looks and design, this exterior is almost perfect, for a small car. Even the plastic wheel covers look smart and at home on this car.

* Overall *

This car feels German to me. It is quiet, smooth around the corners, and has ample power to get you through traffic well. Add to it the value of an American car, and you get a really good balance of small car smarts and big car feel.