With my Honda Element in the body shop, I rented a Dodge Neon for a few days. (Had a Chevy Silverado for one day and traded it in ASAP.) Not a good impression. The steering radius was terrible. I've gotten used to turning around in the street in one move with my Element and my Prius and the Neon didn't come close. The accelerator was so "pumped" toward the beginning that it was all but impossible to start the car moving without jerking, which isn't good when you're trying to maneuver in a tight space. Fairly noisy engine and interior compared with the Prius. (Mileage on this 2005 Neon vs. my 2001 Prius: the Prius has 20,000 more miles, though I'm sure they were easier miles than on this rental!) Significantly better mpg and far fewer emissions with the Prius (even my 2001), of course. Less passenger room and trunk space with the Neon, but not a whole lot less. I'm sure the Neon is cheaper, even when you add all the options, especially given today's outlandish Prius prices. Still, I'd have to be on a pretty damned tight budget to choose it over a Prius. FWIW. Jan
eek. sorry you had to drive that thing. we had a week with a cavalier last summer. made us so glad to get our prius back!
Aren't they discontinuing the Neon for the Caliber? The Caliber has a great design but we'll have to wait and see how reliable it is.
Yeah they are. Funny, in Canada, it's called the SX 2.0 cause apparently Neon was just as bad as Echo. galaxee, I rememeber the Cavalier. Had it once as a courtesy car. God that thing was awful. The glovebox was... well I guess it's typical american style? Rather than the whole box opening, it was just a door and you had to reach all the way inside to find whatever you put in there. The rear windows would barely open halfway and the rear seatbacks were rather upright.
