I'm not saying running a 1320 isn't fun once in a while but in all honesty, I could care less about the power output of a car over how well it feels. A 250 HP Evo would certainly be fine by me if I got the same excellent handling as the rest of world. The fact that this Neon appears to be able to tear in a straight line fast but not handle makes it very less attractive, than say, something like a 2.5RS.

 

I hear what everyone is saying, and I fully agree...

But I know, and most of you all know, that when it comes down to it...on the streets of America, you and your car are judged by the 1320 and stop light to stop light. I love the Evo, and I would never want to buy a Uber Neon, BUT, It will be targeted and classified in the same catagory as an Evo in the eyes of American Auto Journalist.

The Evo will be faster, BUT, the SRT-4 will do 0-60 in 5.6 seconds and the 1/4 in around 13.8-14.02, Bone Stock. Thats pretty damn quick. Were talking raw power to start with, not including all the go-fast parts Mopar and the rest of the tuner world will create. This car will be rippin up the track all day. Imagine upgraded turbo's, Boost controllers, Fuel upgrades, etc. etc. This car will easily become a 11 sec Viper eater and as far as handling is concerned, Mopar is very well known for creating handling packages, even for the current neon. There would be lowering kits, performance shocks, coilovers, you name it.

I personally HATE the Neon and wish it were never made, but for under 20G's you will have a very potent car. And lets not forget the very upsetting reality that the bastard atrocity of the Neon is going to be built on the same Chassis as the Lancer and potentially share the same power plant in future Neon iterations.

Thank our good friends at DaimlerChrysler for that.

 

Even if it is not what the EVO is designed for, in the 1/4 an EVO is still faster stock (12.9-13.4), has more mod potential, and is not fighting the negatives of FWD. On the neon the more hp it has the less traction it gets. Very few FWD cars are street terrors, unless you roll around town on drag slicks. For a street tire car, the EVO is going to be way faster in a straight line, nevermind the benefit of actually being able to turn (also something a FWD car will never quite be able to match).
The real difference here is price and only price.
However if you say well I can buy the Neon and put 10k mods in...it still may not be as fast as the EVO with $20 in mods. Also you could buy a 2G eclipse, put 10k worth of mods and youll have a better looking and faster car, and still have money to spare.

The Neon is a good cheap car, that lots of people are going to be running around in, but it can not be compared to a WRX or EVO other than price. It is only designed to beat the RSX, Sentra SE-R, etc.

 

I think the only people to buy the SRT-4 will be newbies who dont know much about cars other than the obvious. I have a feeling they will think about the price before anything. I mean seriously, Im sure we all know Neons arent very well built cars. Car buffs know the difference in FWD and AWD. And I totally agree with Tear, if you buy a neon and think you can take the extra money and do mods. Think again, it wont even come close to the style and performance of an Evo. I personally dont like Neon styling, the interior is anything but comfortable or stylish. Its so plain. Dodge is making the SRT-4 to combat the flood of the imports. Little do they know that not everybody is out for straight line performance. Long Live the EVO...LoL

 

I think that's the worst observation I've read yet. If anyone knows about straight line performance it's Dodge. Neons are as well built as any other car. My friend owns/tunes a 95 R/T and has NEVER had a problem with it.

Just because the car is FWD doesn't mean it will be slow, it means it will not be AS quick as an AWD or RWD version assuming same weight and horsepower. Their autox potential has already been mentioned (in other threads mostly and I touched on it a bunch of posts up) and I'm sure it will be well worth the 20g's. I'd like to see these SRT-4's embarass the people sleeping on them. If nothing else, it'd put a smile on my face.

EDIT: Not to mention my friend runs in the high 15's with nothing but an Iceman CAI, Pacesetter header (if I remember correctly) and Pacesetter cat-back for those of you into straight line.

 

"CAR BUFFS KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FWD AND AWD". ahaha... that is why 99% of race cars are RWD. AWD adds weight if you are actually racing..... (racing in the snow is a different story).

Obviously for 50% more money ($20k vs $30k) the EVO should be and will be a better car. My point of this thread was WOW the Neon kicks *** and especially for $20k.

Look at the 0-120mph time for the Neon...20.0 seconds. That is 4 seconds faster than a S2000. That is pretty damn fast. Traction is only a factor for the first 2 seconds.

I would guess most Neon SRT-4 buyers are happy with the stock performance and warranty. Just as most S2000 owners are. Just as most WRX owners are....

 

Yea I agree that the Neon SRT-4 is a pretty impresive car for $20K

 

Neon = apple, Evo = orange. Oranges taste better anyway.

Lets compare Autox cars instead. Hmm, SRT vs. Mazdaspeed sounds nice. Mazdaspeed comes with everything that the SRT dosnt, and vice versa (ex: LSD for Mazda, ***** for Dodge). Personally, I would rather go with the Mazdaspeed, if I could find one.

 

The Neon is comming with a TD04-L-16G turbo and front mount.