1996 Plymouth Neon Sport Coupe

To some, the Neon is merely a low-buck commuter, but to others it's a mini-mini-Viper. During its year in residence at Motor Trend, our long-term Plymouth Neon Sport Coupe begged to be flogged and we regularly complied. After a few hundred break-in miles were quickly accumulated, Editor C. Van Tune rushed our Neon Sport Coupe to Willow Springs Raceway for some on-track preparation for the Detroit Grand Prix Neon celebrity race.

However, while we were immediately impressed with the performance abilities of this economical front-driver, we were often underwhelmed by its performance as an everyday commuter. Yet the Neon owners we surveyed loved their cute little cars. So go figure.

In the realm of Neons, our long-term Sport Coupe was a well-equipped, relatively pricey variant. From its $12,500 base, our window sticker shot to $15,315. The most expensive option was a $1250 package that included air conditioning and a six-speaker AM/FM/cassette stereo. Other extras: flash decor ($120), light group ($130), cruise control ($225), power-operated windows ($265), 14-inch aluminum wheels ($355), and the bargain-priced 2.0-liter/150-horse DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder ($150).

Our owner survey included Neons of all trim levels. Just over 30 percent of the respondents owned Coupes, with 11.4 percent choosing the Sport package. The Highline was the most popular version at 44.9 percent. Almost half said they paid less than $13,000 for their Neon, which is decidedly frugal in this day and age. Nearly two thirds of the survey participants were female, with 36 being the average age-a bit higher than the 32-year median age Chrysler claims for the Neon owner. A whopping 72.5 percent of surveyed owners said price influenced their purchase decision. (Other leading factors were its styling and the fact that it was made in America.) During our year with the spunky black Neon, it often felt as if Chrysler was so focused on keeping this model's cost low that it left out much of the refinement and craftsmanship we've come to expect even from other economy cars.

"The first thing I noticed was the poor fit and finish," says the initial entry into our logbook. "The driver's door won't fully close unless you slam it: It feels like it's not hung square on its hinges. I'd gladly pay extra to get a Civic over the Neon."

"I want to like this car with its attractive styling, strong engine, and sporty handling," said another editor. "But it's amazing that after two and a half years of production, Chrysler couldn't improve fit and finish and reduce noise levels."

"The Neon is inexpensive and feels that way," said a third editor.

Our staffers also complained about the Neon's loud engine noise, myriad rattles and squeaks, numb steering, vague-feeling shifter, poor switch feel, a strange odor coming from the air-conditioning system, wind noise around the side windows, and poorly sculpted seats. Despite our gripes, the Neon proved reliable: The only operational problem was when the car shed its power-steering belt on a high-rpm shift at the track. (It was covered by warranty.) By the way, Chrysler issued no recalls for '96 Neons.

During the lengthy process of reviewing the surveyed owners' information, we discovered that few Neon owners share our negative feelings and instead offered about as high praise as we've seen from an owner group: 90.3 percent rated their overall ownership experience either good or excellent, and 83 percent said quality and workmanship fell into the top two categories. Neon Sport owners had an even more positive feeling: 95.3 percent rated their experience either excellent or good. Still a sizeable 30 percent of all owners said they had experienced at least one significant problem. Top area of complaint was brakes, reported by 13 percent of those who had trouble, followed by electrical woes, with several owners reporting horns that honked by themselves. Other top specific complaints from the owners were its weak defroster and limited rear visibility.