Neon SXT's style staying a head of curve

Don't get too excited, The Dodge Neon turns 10 this year - and in its third incarnation - she's a bit more stylish on the outside and a bit more refined on the inside.
But despite the outer shine, the SXT is no sports car and Dodge seems to have cut a few corners with their compact to save a buck or two.

Before I get into specs, however, I should say that I only spent a week with the 2005 model. Me and an automatic Neon
SXT went from western Pennsylvania to southern Virginia and back - so I won't pretend to be an expert.

POWER: The main Neons - SE and SXT - are equipped with a 4-cyl. 2.0, 132 hp. engine. (SRT-4 is apparently 2.4 DOC)
It has a good "punch" accelerating at lowers speeds but levels out around 70 mph when the engine starts to sound like its working overtime... and in typical Neon fashion, you're gonna start rattling a bit around 85 mph.
But all in all, judging from the Ford Escorts and Focuses I've been forced to drive, this compact isn't too bad power-wise. For $10,000 to $14,000, what do you expect?

HANDLING: The suspension and handling weren't too bad. I'm used to my car - a much wider Stratus - so it was fun to steer a little on the winding, rural roads. The SXT also responded well to a couple "emergency" lane-changing maneuvers on the way (Some people drive too slow in Pennsylvania).
One more plus - something some previous Neon owners may recall - this car doesn't bottom out the way its 1995-2001 brother did. Pa is full of deep potholes and dips, and my old Neon was ripped up pretty good from them.
There were a few times with the rental where I braced for impact... and had no reason at all to be worried.
I could go on and on about the importance of good shocks and struts... but that's another article.

COMFORT/SEATS: are both better than average overall. I've driven a handful of compacts and a handful of Neons as well. I'm 6 feet tall, which is probably about average and was comfortable throughout most of the trip. Again, I'm used to a bigger car, but I've driven oodles of compacts, including Neons and distinctly remember how I felt after more than 2 hours in my old Neon or a late 1990s Escort. Soft yet firm seats.... and far more comfortable than the stiff, flimsy buckets I've dealt with prior.

Back seats weren't used, other than for some suitcases. But I will say that there appeared to be some leg room back there with my seat back and well reclined.
SXT had tilt. AC was nice and cold but I only used it for a few minutes.

This Neon came with an AM/FM Cd with six speakers and it is standard on the SXT. Nothing spectacular but the Dodge's tuner remains impressive. Power locks, truck release and key-less entry are also standard. So are the power windows - yet only in the front. Someone decided to save a buck or 2 here and made the windows crank only. I suppose they'll say this was a safety feature- "No toddlers can shimmy out the back" but I'll let you judge that one for yourselves.

TIRES: Sporty 15 inch tires with alluminum wheels on the SXT, and the traditional 14 inch tires on the SE.
SRT-4, by the way, has a standard 17" tire.

OTHER GOODIES: SE and SXT are available in Dodge's rendition of all the traditional colors - red, white, gray and black, blue and burgandy. This year, orange blast has been added. Not a bad looking color if you like that kind of thing.