NEON lights up

By Alastair Sloane.

The spotlight on Chrysler products in the past couple of years has centred mostly on the Jeep range, swinging over to the Voyager people-mover every now and again and sometimes searching in the shadows for the Neon sedan.

Now the American carmaker has pushed the mid-size Neon towards centre-stage. It is, says Chrysler, no longer a meek and mild vehicle of questionable standard and a nondescript image.

The new Neon is bigger, roomier, stronger, more powerful and better built than the old model, which always struggled in the market.

At one stage Chrysler was so disturbed at the old model's failure to turn heads that it imported a Neon painted red with a double white stripe on the bonnet, a clumsy marketing attempt at showing if off as a relative of Chrysler's high-profile, red and white and heavily muscled V10 Viper roadster.

It didn't work. It was like putting Muhammad Ali's boxing robe on the diminutive singer Prince. The skin colouring of both men might be similar and many people would call them brothers, but the robe was Ali's alone. Prince, all powder and ponce, would look ridiculous in it. Just like the Neon did in Viper colours.

But, Chrysler assures us, the new Neon is no longer a pretender. Quality has improved immeasurably, although there was an interior fitting in the car we drove around the block that didn't quite measure up.

Nevertheless, the new Neon (there are three models) has much going for it, from its starting price of $26,990 for the SE through to its roomy interior and improved ride, courtesy of longer suspension travel.

The all-new body is 4390mm long, 26mm longer than the previous Neon. It is also 37 per cent stronger. The wheelbase is longer by 25mm and the car's height is up 26mm.

Chrysler's cab-forward design style has allowed engineers to push the windscreen forward by 76mm, providing more interior room.

But the mid-range LE model ($28,990 for the five-speed manual; $29,990 for the three-speed automatic) is perhaps the best value-for-money model, coming more goodies, including ABS anti-lock brakes. The premium LX has leather and costs $34,990.

The power-assisted steering is weighted on the heavy side, which some drivers will like. It provides a suitable amount of information on the straight-ahead but gets wooden off-centre.

The four-cylinder, 2-litre 16-valve engine, a marginally improved version of the previous powerplant, produces 98kW at 5600 rpm and 177Nm of pulling power at a high 4600 rpm. But Chrysler says improvements it made to the engine's breathing mean 160Nm is available from 2200 rpm.

The engine is mated to either a five-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission. Chrysler is, from our knowledge, the only carmaker in New Zealand selling a 2-litre car with a three-speed automatic. It might just be the only carmaker anywhere selling a three-speed automatic.

The transmission works well enough around the block where its first and second gear ratios hold on under acceleration, but it is dated.

A four-speed box, certainly with an engine that will get raucous at the top end, would be better on the open road.

But the Neon overall is a big improvement on the previous model. It rides better, looks better, handles better. As long as Chrysler doesn't try to turn it into something it's not.