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Ogling Mexican-market compact sedans is apparently something exclusive to automotive journalists on vacation. Yet there it was, fittingly on Dio de los Muertos, in all its resurrected glory. With a margarita in hand and an ocean in front of me, ignored, I turned my attention to my phone to get to the bottom of Neon version 3.0.
Introduced for 2016, today's Dodge Neon is based upon and built alongside the Fiat Tipo/Egea, a C segment compact sedan co-developed by Fiat and Turkish industrial outfit Koç Holding. More than 125,000 were sold last year in Europe, with another 47,000 in Turkey. It's also sold in the Middle East and Africa, with Mexico alone getting the Neon version.
Exterior styling is really the only difference, and then, only the crosshair grille manages to identify it as a Dodge. Then again, the same could be said for the not-so-dearly departed Dart, which belonged to the same segment. It was much bigger, though, with an extra 6 inches of overall length and 3 inches of wheelbase
The Neon interior, not surprisingly, is pretty much the same as its Fiat siblings. The dash has two variations. A bigger, upgrade touchscreen resides in a dash-mounted, tablet-style infotainment pod, but the standard stereo head unit or 5-inch touchscreen upgrade fits into a binnacle shared with the instrument panel. It's a bit more like the Challenger, Charger, and yes, Dart in this regard, but in total, the Neon's cabin design is also less blocky and more organic in appearance. The switchgear is pure Fiat, but the steering wheel has the same control layout as Dodges, Jeeps and Chryslers.
Power comes from the Challenger Scat Pack's 6.4-liter Hemi V8. No, it doesn't, I totally got you. The standard engine, dubbed FIRE, is a 1.4-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder good for 95 horsepower and 94 pound-feet of torque. So, less than the Scat Pack. The optional engine, dubbed E.TorQ, which is in no way related to the Ram's eTorque mild hybrid system and not especially eTorquey, is a 1.6-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder good for 110 hp and 112 lb-ft.
Sadly, the Neon color selection is in no way neon, which probably doesn't matter since virtually every car on the Yucatan peninsula is painted white. You can get that on the Neon plus grey, darker drey and black, along with Azul Metalico and Rojo Metalico, which are so much more fun to say than "blue" and "red."
There was originally some rumblings that the Neon might make its way to the United States and Canada, but given the state of the SUV-hungry market and the Dart's less-than-stellar tenure, that seems rather unlikely.
First-generation Neon (top) and the second-generation Neon in SRT4 trim (bottom)
The Neon was first introduced for 1995, sold as both a Dodge or Plymouth, and available in sedan or coupe body styles. The first generation actually had more power than the 2018 Neon. The larger, more refined, less cutesy second-generation Neon was sold from 2000 to its demise in 2005. It could only be had as a sedan, and, after Plymouth bit the dust after 2001, only as a Dodge in the United States. It was also available as the 230-hp turbocharged Neon SRT-4, which was most frequently seen pulled over by the cops or face first in a ditch somewhere.
Of all the cars to resurrect...this one should have been at the bottom of the list. How many neons does one even see on the road anymore? Not many, because they were junk. The Dart si a nicer car, but just as crappy in terms of reliability...
This, in the world of business, is known as a "derp" move. As in "derrrp, that was dumb."
Of all the cars to resurrect...this one should have been at the bottom of the list. How many neons does one even see on the road anymore? Not many, because they were junk. The Dart si a nicer car, but just as crappy in terms of reliability...
This, in the world of business, is known as a "derp" move. As in "derrrp, that was dumb."
The Mexican market is famous for keeping old designs in production. Don't forget, they built the old rear-engined air-cooled VW Beetles there until 2003...almost 70 years after its original 1930's introduction into **** Germany.
while the neon is definitely about as bad as it gets, i'll still always have a soft spot for the SRT-4... 0-60 in the low 5s and over 150 mph top speed are good numbers for a cheap entry level dodge, and that's before any tuning happens
for similar reasons, i'd quite like to have one of these, assuming i have too much disposable income
as soon as i read 5 speed manual, turbocharger, and lotus designed cylinder heads, i knew i had to keep scrolling down
The Mexican market is famous for keeping old designs in production. Don't forget, they built the old rear-engined air-cooled VW Beetles there until 2003...almost 70 years after its original 1930's introduction into **** Germany.
don't forget the nissan tsuru, which is just a 1991 nissan sentra that was still being produced in 2017 largely unchanged
i was sad to see it finally killed off, i love a good death trap
Would not be suprised if this gets re-named the avenger and sold in the states LOL.
The Neon has a unibody chassis/structure that is almost a quarter-century old, and it probably wouldn't pass the stricter American crash-standards of today. Plus, it had a reputation for being made of poor materials, and for many early failures/repairs. Americans, today, probably wouldn't put up with that.
The Neon has a unibody chassis/structure that is almost a quarter-century old, and it probably wouldn't pass the stricter American crash-standards of today. Plus, it had a reputation for being made of poor materials, and for many early failures/repairs. Americans, today, probably wouldn't put up with that.
Did you not read Hoovey's original post? Only the name is old; the car is a modern one. It is not the decades-old Neon but merely the use of the old name on a new, modern Fiat product (the Fiat Tipo).
Introduced for 2016, today's Dodge Neon is based upon and built alongside the Fiat Tipo/Egea, a C segment compact sedan co-developed by Fiat and Turkish industrial outfit Koç Holding. More than 125,000 were sold last year in Europe, with another 47,000 in Turkey. It's also sold in the Middle East and Africa, with Mexico alone getting the Neon version.
The Neon interior, not surprisingly, is pretty much the same as its Fiat siblings. The dash has two variations. A bigger, upgrade touchscreen resides in a dash-mounted, tablet-style infotainment pod, but the standard stereo head unit or 5-inch touchscreen upgrade fits into a binnacle shared with the instrument panel. It's a bit more like the Challenger, Charger, and yes, Dart in this regard, but in total, the Neon's cabin design is also less blocky and more organic in appearance. The switchgear is pure Fiat, but the steering wheel has the same control layout as Dodges, Jeeps and Chryslers.
The Dodge Neon is alive! In Mexico
