My second Neon, and loving it

I've owned my 2005 Neon SXT for two years now. It's loaded except for the sunroof and it has a manual transmission instead of an automatic (which I prefer).

First, let me say that the 2003+ Neons have scored better in reliability (as of 2005) than the same year Honda Civic. This seems to be a poorly advertised fact. I did do my research before buying this car. The first generation Neons have unfortunately given this little car a poor reputation. Bad reputations are hard to shake off.

As far as my personal reliability experience - no issues on a car with almost 50k miles. It's about time for some new tires, no surprise there, especially the way I throw it around on the country roads I live on. My first generation Neon did have a couple of issues that would have shown up by this mileage. Dodge did a very good job in correcting the issues that ailed the first generation.

Secondly, this IS a compact car. A large man won't fit as easily in this car as, say, a Lincoln Town Car. Big guys, expect to be a little cramped. I'm 5'8" - a little taller than average for a female, and I fit just fine. I have no complaints about my legs hitting the dash, and I have a 33" inseam. I don't have to push the seat all the way back to achieve this either. In fact, I'm not even halfway back. I've sat in the backseat a couple of times, too, and find I fit back there comfortably as well (as long as the person in the front seat is curteous enough to slide his seat forward a bit.) I've ridden in many compact cars over the years and I can't say that the Neon has more or less room than a Honda Civic, Mazda 3, etc. But if you're someone who's body shape and size makes you sensitive to particular dimensions, then of course you should sit in one yourself and not just take my word for it.

I've owned both the first and second generation Neons. The second generation car is definitely more comfortable than the first gen. It's roomier, quieter, and overall just a more refined car. It "grew up". It's not as agile, nor as quick. The trade off is a much smoother, more grown up ride and a quieter cabin. Having said, that, even the second generation Neon can pretty much blast the doors off of it's competition. It handles better than my old 1999 Ford Mustang (the car I owned between my first and second gen Neons). So much, in fact, that after I had grown accustomed to my first gen Neon's handling there was a big adjustment period after getting the Mustang. Corners I would think nothing of driving through in the Neon would cause my Mustang to spin out (talk about a big unexpected scare!). I'm not an insane driver. I don't speed (much). My Neon's handling was so good that I did things in the Neon that I guess most cars can't do easily - and I thought nothing of it. I didn't have to slow down for a lot of corners, and that was just a normal commute for me. It's really no wonder that the Neons are great club racers. My Mustang felt like a big cumbersome boat in comparison to both of my Neons.

We put a K&N filter in my Neon right after we bought it used with 6,000 miles. The gas mileage immediately jumped to 36-37 mpg average from 33 mpg average. The EPA highway estimate for the 2005 Neon was 36, and this is the first car I've ever achieved the EPA estimate on. In fact, my best gas mileage ever (all intersate @ 70 mph) was 41 mpg. That's knocking on hybrid economy!

There are a few conveniences I sometimes wish I had, like a power driver's seat or auto dimming rear view. I can buy an aftermarket rear view mirror for about $200 and solve that problem. There is already power on the existing mirror for the map lights, so wiring up a new mirror would be very easy. This is an economy car, however, so I really can't complain too much. If I wanted luxury I would have to spend more money. A little quirk with this car is that only the front windows are powered. At first I thought I would miss the power feature on the rear windows, but it turns out that I've never encountered a scenario where I thought "darn if only I had those power windows back there."

The sound system is very good. My car has the Kicker system with a subwoofer mounted in the trunk. I'm a bit of an audiophile, and while it's not perfect, it's very, very good for stock, and EXCELLENT for an economy car. It's good enough that I have no desire to upgrade at the moment. Mopar accessories for the car can allow me to upgrade to Satellite radio and install a 6 disc CD changer at the dealership. There are other options such as bluetooth car / radio integration as well.

I've upgraded the manual shifter to a Mopar short throw shifter. This shifter is by far the best shifter I've ever had the joy of using. My husband and I are avid car enthusiasts. We have two very fast sports cars as recreational vehicles. The Neon shifter is much better than the stock and aftermarket shifters for the other cars we own. The clutch on the Neon is a bit soft compared to sports cars, but still has a good feel to it. I can tell when I'm engaging and disengaging the clutch, which is more than I can say for other manual transmission economy cars.

The car is quite comfortable on long trips (at least, much more so than my Mustang or my husband's truck). There is plenty of storage in the trunk and rear seat. I can even put 8' long 2X4s in the car if I need to by folding down the rear seat and letting the wood extend over the center console.

The engine is a little harsh. It's louder than the competition and it idles rougher than the competition. I'm not talking about your fillings being jarred out and your ear drums exploding. I mean you will never be fooled into thinking that car is not running when you're at a stop light. By rough I mean that you can feel a bit of vibration in the cabin at idle. Once you take off, though, the vibration goes away. Wind noise is noticeable but not harsh. It's much better on this 2005 model than on my 1996 model. The wind / engine noise combination is substantially less than it was on my mundane V6 Mustang. You won't be fooled into thinking this is a luxury car, but it's not a horrible experience either.

Resale value is poor; that is true. BUT - buy it used for substantially less than a used Honda Civic and save yourself lots and lots of money. You will be hard pressed to prove that buying a used Civic for 5k more will be a better investment in the long run because of its resale value in a few years.

I think it all boils down to what you desire more - a quieter, mousy import, or a better handling and more powerful car.