Stand out styling - certainly the best looking four cylinder car on Australian roads.
Price and Equipment - Australian Neon's are badged as Chrysler and come in two versions, the SE and LE. My SE was bought for AUD$23,990 drive away (included taxes, registration, etc) and has a/c, 6 speaker stereo, power front windows, driver and passenger air bags, power folding side mirrors, remote boot (trunk) release and mats as standard.
Economy - I am getting nearly 560 KM's per tank, which is incredible.

Engine - is a little coarse and noisy above 3,000 rpm, however I don't drive the car hard, so no real problem. It is quiet at cruise in 5th gear. Also, engine has a strange vibration sound when cold and static, which dissapears once the engine is at operating temperature. Oddly, depressing the clutch makes the vibration go away. Dealer can't fault and of course, it never does it for them!
A/C - the compressor is noticable when turned on, but no more so than the other two cars that I have owned (Australian designed and built cars).

I have always been a fan of American cars and until the first generation Neon came to Australia, no massed produced American designed and manufactured car came to this country (you could only buy cars that were individually imported and converted to RHD).

However, I felt the first generation Neon was awful quite frankly, thus stuck to a locally produced product. When I first saw the PL2000 in the local Chrysler show room, I just had to have one.

Having test driven the first generation Neon in '96 - there is no comparison. I still get excited everytime I go out to the garage to drive somewhere and when I see my car in a parking lot, I'm still thrilled that it is me that own's it!

I highly recommend the 2000 Neon - you will turn heads and you will enjoy every moment of your driving experience. No car is perfect - this car has one or two weaknesses (see above) - but they are minor. For the money you pay, you get a first class product.

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My girlfriend has a 2000 Honda Civic, which I have driven. Neon stands out over this car in nearly every aspect. The Civic seems "Tinny" compared to the Neon and it doesn't feel as robust on the road. However, engine noise in the Civic is a little better over 3,000 RPM and the a/c compressor is silent.

Handling, size

Where to begin? The car has been in the shop more than it's been out. The first repair started at 80 km when they had to replace the screws in the steering column. It went down hill from there. They had to tighten all the exterior body parts, the tie rod ends were replaced at 40000, the transmission was rebuilt, the head gasket went, the air conditioner has worked only one of the 5 years I've owned it, the cruise control was fixed numerous times and it had many electrical problems. The paint was also faulty and started flaking off in some places and bubbling in others. I went so far as to write Chrysler, to no avail.

I paid around $12,000 US for the car which was at the top end at that time. I have since put around 6,000 more in repairs. This car has turned out to be a very expensive economy car. I would not and have not recommended this car to anyone. I heard that the newer models were better but after my experience Chrysler will never see my business again.

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Suzuki Forsa, Pontiac Sunbird. The Suzuki Forsa was my car before I got the Neon. It was still on the road after 300,000 km when the Neon was in the shop more than on the road.

Dependable Transportation. Nothing has gone wrong with it yet.
Handles well, and has acceptable acceleration for a 4 cyl. Automatic. It does function as dependable transportation for my College Age daughter.

Absolutely the worst highway car I have ever driven. The 3 speed automatic sucks, with the engine screaming for a 4th gear at anything over 55 mph. Gas Mileage is also pathetic. 18 MPG around town, 22 mpg on the highway. My wife's Montana Minivan beats this car in gas mileage. Very weak suspension components. The car hit a curb at less than 5 MPH, and bent the steering knuckle, causing over $800 in damage. Noisy at speeds over 55, both from the engine RPM, and wind leakage around the huge, un-framed windows.

Paid $14,000 for the top of the line Espresso with Sunroof, CD, Power everything, and 150 HP. (If this engine has 150 HP, I'll eat my shorts.)
Chrysler really screwed up when they designed the new Neon, and kept the crummy Automatic Trans. AVOID THE AUTOMATIC AT ALL COSTS!!!

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Saturn SL2 (WAY BETTER CAR)Honda Civic (NOT MUCH BETTER THAN THE NEON), Toyota Corolla ( OK CAR)

great gas milage. good deal at least for me ($7,000). lots of extras.lots of head room.i'm 6'1" easy to fix. easy to tune up

ABS doesn't always work. the seal at the rear end of the hood just below the winshield would come loose all the time up until super glue. that is why every one elses win shields are fogging up. don't even try and put a bike rack on the top. The wind noise will drive you crazy. no door frame on the window. don't shut the door hard with the window 1/2 way down.

The car hasent given me a hard time at all. I bought it used as a old lease car at 38,000 miles. I don't really know if it had any major problems before that. I have had to replace the battery and the tires.sometimes the power steering motor sounds like it is working overtime but goes away after seconds. the ABS light comes on all the time but will go out once the car is turned off and restarted. have made numerous trips la, to tn, and it hasen't given me a sputter. The engine sounds like it is running hard even from the inside. this is a good car for someone starting out on they're own. good gas milage and very cheap insurance. At least for me

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Suburu GL

Wipes mustangs and many other cars off the road...Outstanding performance...No one around can touch it...I rag it hard and it holds up good...

Sunroof messed up on it one time...but warrenty covered it...And rotors were ate up bad when i first changed the pads...

11,500...yes i would recommend it. People told me not to turbocharge it but it has held up for 20,000 miles now without the turbo being cut off...i turn it down on 5 lbs when im traveling and 9.5 lbs when im racing...doesnt smoke...still runs good...

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None

It's quick, beats every other car in its class. It's flashy, the improvments/changes made from previous years make it the best looking car in its class. The stereo rocks, 6 speakers, cassette/CD changer.

the fact that when you turn on the defogger on the fron window, the A/C pump kicks on. The stock tires are kinda lame.

This is the funnest car I have ever driven. It's amazing on gas (even when I run it hard). The best thing about this car is that it is sporty(for me) and practical (for the wife). People are always suprised to be beaten off the line by a 4 door! I would reccomd this car to young couples just starting out, because it is cheap (20,000CDN) and it just plain rules...

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Honda Civic SI, Ford Focus, The New Beetle, Mazda Protege, Chevy Cavalier... rented each for a week to test, Neon wins hands down

Handles great in the snow. Handles curves well.

Keep in mind I have 44,200 miles on a car I purchased in 1995 because I do not commute that far:
UNDER WARRANTY
- 13,000 miles transmission fell out
- steering column recall
- tie rods cracked (did not pass inspection at 2 yrs old becuase of this)
- oil leak (not resolved at this point)
- signal problems

NOT UNDER WARRANTY
- Head gasket cracked (although they fixed under warranty about 2 weeks ago)
- break pads needed to be replaced
- battery died
- needed to recharge air conditioning (I think this is normal)

Engine and wind noise when you drive on highway. Paint is chipping (more like peeling) on the bumpers.

I paid $13,500 for the car. I have put about $600 into the car with maintenance and repair costs not under warranty. At the moment it seems fine but you never know with my car. I do not feel safe in it. I don't like driving long distances with it since I get very nervous with all the noises it tends to make. My plan is to enjoy the "no car payments" and deal with it as long as I can stand to. I would not recommend this car to anyone. I used to think because it was an early model/version it still had "wrinkles" in it when I purchased it. Reading the reviews, it seems standard.

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My first car.

The back seat is spacious. It had good pickup for the first 3 years.

One week after my warranty expired my head gasket blue. I don't like the cab-forward design, is causes a lot of blinds spots when you are trying to turn. My turn signal does not shut off automatically anymore. There is a large clunking sound when I put or take the car out of park. The battery was corroded when I bought the car. The brakes are very squeaky even when pads are fairly new. I hate being shocked constantly by the door locks. Head lights are very dim and not positioned correctly. The engine is very noisy.

I think that I paid way too much ($13,500)I would never buy a new car again because of my experience with Dodge. I would not recommend this car to anyone who is planning on keeping it for more than 2 or 3 years, and even then the resale value is only a fraction of what you will pay for it.

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This is my first car.

Roomy for it's size, nice interior layout, fairly reliable, paint seems to stay in good shape. Good ride in winter. Easy to enter/exit.

Fogs up easily, slow acceleration, styling a bit too cute for my taste. Body panels are not very dent resistant. Six footers need not apply.

For a cheap little car it does it's job. I wouldn't drag race with it, but for city living it fits it's in rather well. While I'm not a fan of the styling it still get lots of compliments, and while it's been reliable, I've heard a few horror stories about head gaskets, and other engine problems.

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Dodge Omni, Ford Escort.

this car has good accelaration for about the first 3 years, until the troubles start to arrive. it is a sporty looking car . it is also pretty good on gas, i guess.

how about a brief summary, because i could go on and on. For starters how about all of the recalls: steering column, brakes, and oh yeah the master cylinder that i was never notified about. Pretty cool huh! Also have had windows, power locks replaced because everything inside the doors broke

to be honest with you i woulnd't recommmend this car to the devil himself!

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