2003 Dodge Neon Reviews, Pricing & Specs
Overview
The 2003 Dodge Neon now comes in four trims, the base SE, the best-buy SXT, the high-performance R/T, and the fastest, sportiest SRT-4. ...
The 2003 Dodge Neon now comes in four trims, the base SE, the best-buy SXT, the high-performance R/T, and the fastest, sportiest SRT-4. The ACR and ES trims were dropped in 2003. As the base model, the SE still does not offer many standard features, and you'll have to pay extra for air conditioning and side airbags, but it's an adequate choice if you're looking more for affordability than comfort. The SXT offers a lot more standard features for little extra cost. Both trims feature the 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder, 132-hp engine and 5-speed manual transmission. The sportier R/T has a sports-tuned 2.0 engine (to 150-hp), suspension, and steering, with badging, stripes, 16-inch wheels, and leather trimmed steering wheel and gear shift.
In 2003, the Neon got a minor facelift to its front and rear moldings, door handles, and grille. The hood was lowered and the tail and headlights were tweaked slightly. The SXT features body-colored moldings for extra style.
As always, the 2003 Neon is praised for its large interior. 60/40 split rear seats add extra cargo room. Headroom, legroom, and seats are all comfortable for four adults. There is also good availability of aftermarket parts for interested tuners. Engine power, first-off-the-line performance, and easy handling around curves and in rough conditions are oft-overlooked features of the Neon that distinguish it from other compacts. Criticisms center on squealing brakes, poor performance with the 4-speed automatic, and an inadequately sized gas tank.
What owners say
"Overall, owners of the 2003 Dodge Neon appreciate its affordability, reliability, and fuel economy. Many drivers enjoyed the fun driving experience and commend its decent handling and acceleration. However, some mentioned the lack of power, especially with the automatic transmission, and noted issues like blind spots and certain maintenance problems over time."
This is, by far, the greatest car I have ever owned. Period. I bought this particular model because it had no equipment; manual windows, manual locks, no A/C, and in a manual transmission. When I bought it, it was 3 years old and had about 70,000km on it. Since then, I have really only replaced brakes, tires, rear wheel bearings, cam and crank sensors, and serviced fluids and performed tune-ups as required. It has a few upgraded parts on it as well. I installed B&G drop springs, a Progress 3-way adjustable rear sway bar, and installed a custom front strut tower brace, cool-air intake with heat shroud, and replaced the muffler with one that's a bit louder. I also installed EBC Greenstuff brake pads. I drive this car all year round, and for the summer I have a set of 15" Motegi wheels with GT Radial 328 tires. I will admit, with the car lowered, it's a bit of a plow in the winter, but that's life. The car has nearly 200,000km on it, and the last 130,000km has not been easy on it. It's had many miles of hard driving, and even a track day thrown in for good measure. It's still running with a factory clutch, factory alternator and factory starter (knock wood), and the engine has no leaks.
November 14, 2012Not the most powerful car on the road but it has held up under some great abuse and keeps pushing back, great investment. Easy to work on as well, and the cost of the parts are cheap, plus when it's running well it can be a fun car to drive.
June 5, 2010If you bought this car you didn't but it for being the fastest car out there. Although you can fix it up to be considerably quick for not too much out the pocket. Its a really easily maintained vehicle that if you keep up with can last a while. In my opinion it looks pretty good. At most depending on which package you got you'll need an upgrade in the wheels area of the car. The gas is excellent and everything is good. It's a very fun car to drive. This was my first car bought brand new off the lot.
July 4, 2010What owners say
This is, by far, the greatest car I have ever owned. Period. I bought this particular model because it had no equipment; manual windows, manual locks, no A/C, and in a manual transmission. When I bought it, it was 3 years old and had about 70,000km on it. Since then, I have really only replaced brakes, tires, rear wheel bearings, cam and crank sensors, and serviced fluids and performed tune-ups as required. It has a few upgraded parts on it as well. I installed B&G drop springs, a Progress 3-way adjustable rear sway bar, and installed a custom front strut tower brace, cool-air intake with heat shroud, and replaced the muffler with one that's a bit louder. I also installed EBC Greenstuff brake pads. I drive this car all year round, and for the summer I have a set of 15" Motegi wheels with GT Radial 328 tires. I will admit, with the car lowered, it's a bit of a plow in the winter, but that's life. The car has nearly 200,000km on it, and the last 130,000km has not been easy on it. It's had many miles of hard driving, and even a track day thrown in for good measure. It's still running with a factory clutch, factory alternator and factory starter (knock wood), and the engine has no leaks.
November 14, 2012Not the most powerful car on the road but it has held up under some great abuse and keeps pushing back, great investment. Easy to work on as well, and the cost of the parts are cheap, plus when it's running well it can be a fun car to drive.
June 5, 2010If you bought this car you didn't but it for being the fastest car out there. Although you can fix it up to be considerably quick for not too much out the pocket. Its a really easily maintained vehicle that if you keep up with can last a while. In my opinion it looks pretty good. At most depending on which package you got you'll need an upgrade in the wheels area of the car. The gas is excellent and everything is good. It's a very fun car to drive. This was my first car bought brand new off the lot.
July 4, 2010As far as econoboxes go the Dodge Neon tends to sacrifice some of the superior fuel economy of a honda civic at the expense of some performance. The handles and feels rather tight compared to other cars in its class, and acceleration is decent for the little 4-banger. The seats are also rather comfortable for its class, and I found the driving position to be very nice (this is important for me). My only con on comfort is that the car seems to have very bad blind spots for me (it dosen't for my wife), so I feel claustrophobic when driving. Other than that, this is a great economy car.
April 3, 2008I like that it is red and has a spoiler. It has good acceleration and runs really smooth. The interiors are really great - red and black, instead of the beige that is so commonly found in used cars. In addition it is fuel efficient. 22-24 miles in the city per gallon.
March 19, 2013I went with the smaller engine & non-turbo to try to avoid the "sports car" hit on my insurance. Because it is a stick even though I wanted it for the mpg I still got tagged for the sports car increase. 250,000 miles and no major repairs, good gas mileage, paint has held up well, quick off the line w/ the stick in the 2.0L. Drives & handles well, best tire wear is to use the pressure listed on the tires not the ones in the door/owners manual. I can get 65k out of 60k tires using the tire pressure but only 50k if I use the door. Using the door pressure also reduces the mpg by 15-20%. I usually get 32-36mpg but with the factory pressures I am lucky to get 28.
April 28, 2012I've had this car since 2005 and I have loved it since. I love driving it and being in it. It has a powerful enough engine to have fun in. The pull on the E-brake is solid for going around corners. Aside from burning my brakes out, this car has been running great with only the necessary fix-ups (oil change, spark plugs, etc.). Car looks much better with stock spoiler or SRT-4 spoiler compared to the oversized aftermarket wings.
June 11, 2008Solid Interior, 18-30 miles a gallon depending on when where and how I'm driving, VERY simple mechanics, good solid car
April 15, 2008Basically it works, starts when I need it to, gets me from point A to point B. It is cheap to own, low insurance, low maintenance, easy to work on. I find it fun to drive, for what it is.
September 28, 2010the acceleration on this car is instant, and the body of the car and the interior of the car is excellent. it is so much fun to drive and to go places in the car! the gas milage is great its only at max 30 bucks to fill and it lasts two weeks because i drive a lot at least 20miles a day at max 28miles a day.
February 9, 2012
