I had some time this afternoon drove a SRT4 at a dealer. Got in a nice mix of hiway, and city, and some country roads as well. The car is a nice size - seems about equal to the XD.

The gear box is solid, and feels like a short throw. For a turbo, I was surprised how torquey the car was - I experience some wheel hop when I punched it. Handling reminded me a little of the xd, a little tighter, and a little firmer - cornered very nicely. Acceleration is defintely a step up from the xd.

In short I really like the car. Was it twice the car the xd is - probably not, but if I wanted an up-grade, I think this would be the car. Just make sure everything is warrantied (I'm not hot on dodge reliablility). It reminded me of a xd on steriods.

- Woody

Cool! Did they send a salesman out with you? All the local dealers near me are like "Sign here..." before they will even think about a test drive. Oh well.....

Its listed at 230hp but some have dyno'd a bit higher than that. There has been talk that Dodge listed a lower number for insurance purposes. Ya Dodge's reliabilty is shady but a stock turbo is still more reliable than an aftermarket. Its fast and for the price its a damn good deal.

Never had one single problem on my '98 Neon in 95k miles. Oil changes, one set of brakes, two sets of tires. I'd buy an SRT4 in a heartbeat. It's the second-fastest accelerating production car Dodge makes, and that's not small talk. I would have to get the Viper hood for it, though, and a couple other mods for it to be perfect.

Oh yeah - I had to deal with a salesman. But I made it clear I could not make an offer till I talked to my wife. He was not too pushy. If I could break even on the xd, I'd probably do it - but this will not happen.

- Woody

You don't want a car that's about to be discontinued anyway. The neon, and subsequently the sRT-4, is dead after this model year... or maybe it was next model year. Either way, bye bye to that ugly pos.

You don't want a car that's about to be discontinued anyway. The neon, and subsequently the sRT-4, is dead after this model year... or maybe it was next model year. Either way, bye bye to that ugly pos.

Ugly? Really? I thought it looked pretty cool but thats just me. Theres a few of them driving around here, they sound pretty mean even off the lot...though I dont think it would take a whole lot of tuning to beat one around a little.

still a neon :(

still a neon :(

lol... man, the srt4 crowd hates that saying so much! :D

I don't think I'd get one. I'm not big on domestic vehicles. Neons are much like saturns, They're chick cars.

Even after all the updates the car has had, whenever I see one I think back to the "Hi" commercials of when they were first introduced. That does it for me... I'm laughing and just can't take that car seriously.

still a neon :(

NOTHING ABOUT IT is the same as the neon. Dual exhausts, rims, exterior styling, chassis, interior is completely different, and probably the most obvious difference is how it eats up every other 4-cylinder out there (excluding sti and evo of course).

uhm SRT-4 will not eat a STI... I don't know where you are getting your information from, but stock vs. stock a STI will chomp a SRT-4 all day and all night.

Don't forget that the stock clutch on a SRT-4 is the SAME clutch on the neon, go figure, you know how many clutches i had to warranty when i was working at Eddie Acardi??? those things blew @ 1k miles every time. the 05 year comes with a stage 2 clutch stock, but still, with small modifications you are above 260 whp, with a small little 4 puck push type clutch you will burn that **** out in four races lol

They are ok, but give me a turbo elantra over a turbo neon all day, and bull**** on the "exterior and interior styling" is different, no its not, its the same damn car with some ricer addons, its still a neon, just a pretty damn quick neon

shawn :)
shawn :)

Saying that an SRT-4 is still a Neon is like calling the Evo a Lancer or the STi an Impreza. These cars are nothing like their counterparts. I hate domestic cars with a passion, but given the opportunity I wouldn't mind having an SRT-4. Factory turbocharged with a warranty and still cheaper than the WRX... no one else can claim that.

uhm SRT-4 will not eat a STI... I don't know where you are getting your information from, but stock vs. stock a STI will chomp a SRT-4 all day and all night.

Don't forget that the stock clutch on a SRT-4 is the SAME clutch on the neon, go figure, you know how many clutches i had to warranty when i was working at Eddie Acardi??? those things blew @ 1k miles every time. the 05 year comes with a stage 2 clutch stock, but still, with small modifications you are above 260 whp, with a small little 4 puck push type clutch you will burn that **** out in four races lol

They are ok, but give me a turbo elantra over a turbo neon all day, and bull**** on the "exterior and interior styling" is different, no its not, its the same damn car with some ricer addons, its still a neon, just a pretty damn quick neon

shawn :)
shawn :)

i said EXCLUDING sti and evo

uhm SRT-4 will not eat a STI... I don't know where you are getting your information from, but stock vs. stock a STI will chomp a SRT-4 all day and all night.

You read his post incorrectly.. he said excluding STi and Evo.


They are ok, but give me a turbo elantra over a turbo neon all day, and bull**** on the "exterior and interior styling" is different, no its not, its the same damn car with some ricer addons, its still a neon, just a pretty damn quick neon


I'd take a turbo XD over an SRT-4 also but you can't buy one stock with the manufacturer's warranty. And who knows how much work it will really take to make it a daily driver?

srt4 is a neon
sti is an impreza
but an evo is not a lancer
two very different cars

lol.. I remember those stupid "Hi" commercials. Didn't they debut during a Super Bowl?

yeah I have driven the SRT4 and a TON of other various cars. my friend is a sales manager at a local dealership where I bought my Tib and XD/GT. The SRT4 is ok, but still a Dodge. Im a huge STi fan. I have been an Impreza addict since 99 when I first drove one, but theres NOTHING like 4wd and wet roads to drift on!!! Even the non-turbo Impreza 2.5RS still has more balls then the SRT4, and a hell of alot more potential then the neon. Remember, just cuz it has a turbo and a new badge that says SRT4, its still a NEON!!! lol

Suposedly Dodge went and reengineered the entire car, and block on the SRT4 that I read somewhere. But to me it drove like it was taken to a tuner shop, slapped a new suspension, and turbo kit on it, and everything else was left the same.....I really wouldnt call that reengineered!

I've never driven an STI. But I forgot about the Cobalt SS. Motor Trend had a recent comparo on the SRT4, and Cobalt SS. They gave the nod to the Chevy. Yes, the SRT4 is older technology - I did not know it was to be discontinued. I will have to drive the SS - not too many around right now. Interesting that the SS has 25 less hp but stayed neck and neck with the SRT4 - the SS is faster in the slalomn. Maybe supercharge vs. turbo advantage?

- Woody

I will have to drive the SS - not too many around right now.
- Woody

They are back ordered for 6 months, there are 2 guys on aleromod.com that just picked them up to replace there aleros.

And BTW a SRT-4 is not a neon, it may be made on the neon chassis but it has the GT Cruiser Motor and the turbo is Mitsubishi made and Tuned like lots of Dodge parts they are Mitsubishi made.

2005 Cobalt SS 0-60, 6.96 seconds
2004 SRT-4 0-60, 5.5 seconds
2005 Mustang GT 0-60, 5.2 seconds
2004 WRX sti 0-60, 4.8 seconds
2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII 0-60, 4.8 seconds

the truth is, for the money the Dodge SRT-4 is the most bang for your you buck, then after that would be the Mustang GT, then the Lancer Evo or the sti.

I drove a base Neon a few years ago - the difference between that and the SRT4 is night and day.

Motortrend had SS 0-60 6.1, SRT4 0-60 6.0.

People say the Mustang GT is a bargain, and it probably is. I'm not a Ford guy. Also, the GT is around $25/26,000 The SS and SRT4 are right around $20,000.

BTW - KBB trade in on my car is $9,100 - loan pay off is $12,600 - I don't think the deal is going to happen for a while.

- Woody

haha wel sorry for the misconception on the SRT4, but thats how the car felt. driving on a riced up Neon. lol
Well another car that hasnt been mentioned, and dont know if anyone else has driven it is the Sentra Type R. That is like driving on a rock hard suspension. Not to mention the tranny is and shifting is pretty stiff, but hard to find gears. Then again it takes time to adjust to it. eh its a type R in the states, I guess cant expect too much.
Has anyone driven the Saturn Ion Redline????

The difference with the cars compared up there is that the turbo/super charged engines are getting pushed pretty hard. I think from a longevity and maintenance standpoint, a N/A V-8 is better than a FI 4cyl.

SRT anything owns. I wish Hyundai had the balls to set in motion a PVO of their own.

EDIT: Chevy is gross. The SS may be fast, but for one, it features electric steering with all the numbness of typical GM economy power steering, but without any of the typical GM pump squealing.

hyunelan2 - I would agree with you. Longivity is better on n/a. The question I am looking at is, can there be a significant upgrade from the xd for around $20,00 - and based on my experience with the SRT4, I would say yes. BUT, the bumper to bumper warranty on both the SS and the SRT4 is only 36/36,000 miles...hmmm.....

Steve - Motortrend said the electric steering is nuch improved on the SS.

Be all this as it may - I'm still 100% convinced that the XD is the most fun/bang for buck. It still is a hoot to drive. I don't regret buying it.

- Woody

I saw that article in Motortrend but didn't get a chance to read it yet.

I do like the styling of the Cobalt SS over the SRT-4.

And it's a Sentra SE-R Spec-V (not Type R).

my bad on the model name, but I just remembered it has the pretty R badge on the back, and I was too lazy to look it up on google or something.

Gm has yet to produce a reliable 4 cylinder dohc quad 4's-ecotech are both junk and the gtp 3.8 supercharged was a not that reliable either. GM has a long way to go yet. They are filing for bankruptcy.

a srt4 is only 21 g's an sti is 55 g's add 10 g's in after market parts to a srt 4 and u have a 400 horse 4.2 0 to 60 and a top speed of 168 that kills an sti and u still have 20 g's to spare now whats a better car (for the money) those stats are dynoed at my buddys shop mobil dynamics so i aint lyin and the lancer is just as pricey

^^^ An STI is $32,995, not 55K. Even with the factory options (like subwoofer) it's still under $36K

Im a huge STi fan. I have been an Impreza addict since 99 when I first drove one, but theres NOTHING like 4wd and wet roads to drift on!!!

too much Intial D :rolleyes:

Gm has yet to produce a reliable 4 cylinder dohc quad 4's-ecotech are both junk

I didnt have a problem with my 2.4 Twin cam in my Alero was almost 80,000 Miles on it till I traded with not a single bit of engine workexcept oil and filter every 3000 miles. THe only engines that GM makes that are crap are the 60 Degree V6 motors mostly the 3400SFI almost everyone who has that motor has had the Lower Intake Manifold leak and thats about the worse I have ever seen. Except for maby the front hubs on the N bodies in general.

Wow. Some ideas that get thrown around the internet never cease to amaze me.

Ok, the SRT-4 Neon is a beefed up Neon. That PT motor, where do you think it came from? Derived from the notorious head gasket popping neon. So now we have a high pressure head gasket popping, clutch stripping neon that is obnoxious to listen to on a daily basis. Fine. If that's what you like, then go for it.

The Quad 4, as gutless as they were weren't a bad engine. Improper maintenance on a high mileage anything will lead to failure. Most quads haven't exactly had an easy life, let alone been PROPERLY maintained. Most domestic cars aren't because the automakers don't care how long they last as long as you buy a new one every few years.

The 2.8/3.1/3.4/3.5L V6 from GM last forever. Yes, you will need to replace the intake manifold gaskets. Replace them every 100,000 miles and go on with life.

The 3.8 V6 is arguably the best pushrod V6 ever built. They are known to last upwards of 300,000 miles with normal maintenance. The SC motors had issues with the SC causing problems but the basic motor is strong.

But back on topic, the SRT-4 is fun, but do you really want to risk reliabilty with a car(and company) known to be unreliable? Neon's aren't exaclty the picture of reliabilty.

I've worked on to many quad 4s and and ecotechs there junk! ( I used to help out a friend of mine at his shop on the week ends a couple years ago). For the most part that doesn't mean you may get one that doesn't seem not to bad or doesn't give you any problems once and a while. I learned real fast that being a mechanic is a headache especially when you put on a part like ac-delco starter and it stops working shortly after you put it in and then you have to change out again for free.

Wow. Some ideas that get thrown around the internet never cease to amaze me.

Ok, the SRT-4 Neon is a beefed up Neon. That PT motor, where do you think it came from? Derived from the notorious head gasket popping neon. So now we have a high pressure head gasket popping, clutch stripping neon that is obnoxious to listen to on a daily basis. Fine. If that's what you like, then go for it.

Never ceases to amaze me either. The Neon problems were almost all in the first two years ('95 & '96). Take a walk over to the Neon enthusist sites and they'll tell you they have almost no problems '98 to present. How were Hyundais the first two years they were made?


The Quad 4, as gutless as they were weren't a bad engine.

This I will agree with you on. The Quad 4 and its predecessor, the Tech 4 were durable engines. They had no power whatsoever, but you could do 150k miles in them at a time when nobody else was building a 4 that would do much more than 90k.

I love my 'Lantra, and I loved the Neon when I had it. Dollar-for-dollar, I count them as numbers 1 & 2 for the best value you can get out of any car. the others mentioned in this thread are nice, but nowhere near the value. Little better cars, $15k more. Do you really want to spend $15-$20k more to make the same commute every day? I can't imagine how stupid or vain someone would have to be for that to be the case. But then, I do warp past an awful lot of those people every day.

Bah. There's nothing at a higher price that impresses me. I wish these would have gone into production:
http://www.bug.hr/autonet/interview/corbin/merlin.jpg
Now THAT would have been fun for $16k. Hopefully someone will pick up where Corbin left off.

"Even the non-turbo Impreza 2.5RS still has more balls then the SRT4"
Nonsense. i've raced and beaten several impreza RS's with my all motor first gen neon. the RS is a mid to low 15 second car. a stock SRT-4 is a very low 14 to very high 13 second car, depending on the driver. (they are very hard to launch properly)
i personally love it when people say "it's still a neon" it's usually people i've beaten. A few years back i beat a kid in a Firebird Formula 350. coming down the return road people in the stands just brutalized him "you lost to a neon! ha ha!"
for the record my neon is kind of modified, but is still on the original clutch after 65,000 miles and nearly 120 passes at the dragstrip.
the head gasket issue alluded to was corrected in late 1998, but Chrysler's treatment of owners for what should have been warranty issues (Dakota/Durango ball joints, neon headgaskets) has been pathetic.

I actually think the SRT4 is a good looking car, plust the seats are awesome, I never drove one but I do like it. I never liked neons untill this one

Even the non-turbo Impreza 2.5RS still has more balls then the SRT4 :bs:

^^ BULL PUCKEY^^

The Subaru Impreza 2.5RS ($18,095 MSRP) weighs 2,972 pounds with 165 horsepower@5,600 RPM and 166 lb-ft torque@4,000 RPM. The Dodge Neon SRT4 ($20,600 MSRP) weighs 2,900 pounds with 230 horsepower@5,300 RMP and 250 lb-ft torque@2,200 RPM.

How could you possibly say the 2.5RS has more balls than the SRT4??

Even the Impreza WRX ($24,895 MSRP) is not as powerful (227 horsepower@6,000 RPM/217 lb-ft torque@4,000 RPM) as the SRT4.

I have two workmates who own WRXes and while I admit they are fun to drive, they are also like sitting in sardine cans. The "B" pillar is pressed against your shoulder and there is no room between the passenger and driver. While the Impreza and WRX (68.5" wide) are wider, the Neon (67.4" wide) makes better use of interior space along with a 6" longer wheelbase. I hate to admit it but I would rather have the Dodge Neon SRT4. At least until the warranty runs out. :D

All figures are from 2004 model year.

^^^ I'm unopinionated on the matter. Though the N/A 2.5RS Impreza may feel more balzy if it has better low-end torque, as opposed to the Turbo-Lagged SRT-4. Dunno, never drove either of them.

I still call a spade a spade, and a neon a neon though.

Never ceases to amaze me either. The Neon problems were almost all in the first two years ('95 & '96). Take a walk over to the Neon enthusist sites and they'll tell you they have almost no problems '98 to present. How were Hyundais the first two years they were made?

I might be inclined to agree with you if Dodge/Chrysler was only in its second year of making cars. But they've been doing it for close to a hundred years. That's a long time to be building cars and still not get it right.

I guess I am just too old for this forum anymore. Loud, bounce-your-kidneys-out ride, so-so quality and rediculous fuel economy(especially for a 4 banger) just don't appeal to me anymore. I really hate the grocery cart look (tall *** wing). So with all of that said I can safely bet that I'll never buy an SRT-4. I'm sure they are alot like the Evo, fun to drive, but a ***** to live with on a daily basis.

Wait, don't go that far, nobody is ever too old for EXD.

Oh, and, SRT-4's are too common here... I love owning a car nobody cares about except us.

Wait, don't go that far, nobody is ever too old for EXD.

Oh, and, SRT-4's are too common here... I love owning a car nobody cares about except us.

I agree completely but forget about the SRt-4 a WRX would be really nice... :)