Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged sport compact
2001 Dodge Neon R/T
Jul 9th
That American icon of the ’60s, the muscle car, is back. It’s true. This story should be familiar: young hot-rodders take the smallest cars in the lineup, beef up the engines, add fancy wheels and paint jobs, and have a grand old time. Before long the manufacturers want in on the game, and out come the factory hot rods, which get progressively wilder as everyone tries to outdo the next guy. Sound familiar? Now, are the main players in this story Ford Fairlanes and Dodge Darts, or Honda Civics?
And now there’s a name common to both hot-rod eras: R/T. Those letters that graced the sides of high-powered Dodge Challengers in the early Seventies can now be seen on high-performance Dakota pickup trucks, Dodge Intrepids, and on this week’s feature, a hot-rodded Dodge Neon. And it’s more than just a trim job, too–under the hood resides a 150-horsepower powerplant.
The Neon was all-new for 2000, but retained its happy face. The evolutionary redesign gave the car a bigger, more tiptoed look, but the familiar round headlights and happy face were retained. The redesign also addressed noise, vibration, and handling issues. Now that the bread-and-butter models have made their debut, Dodge is bringing out the sporty ones. The 2001 Neon R/T offers more grunt for the street, and the upcoming Neon ACR (Automotive Club Racer) is geared toward track performance.
The most aggressive Neon available from Dodge doesn’t hide its light. Sixteen-inch wheels and a big spoiler announce the R/T’s intentions from the first. The Neon’s arched-cat stance is emphasized by the larger wheels, and by large wheel arches. Out back, curved taillights bracket a wide, oval tail. The wheels are a multi-spoked, open style, and look good. A body-colored, slightly larger-toothed grille treatment doesn’t take quite enough of the cuteness out of the Neon’s round-eyed face, though. The Neon seems more likely to coo than to snarl, even though it’s more overtly sporty than a similarly appointed Ford Focus ZTS.
Inside, the updates to the interior are welcome, and put the Neon on a plushness level with competitors from Nissan and Subaru. It lacks the machinelike European precision of a Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf, but that just makes it seem friendlier at first blush. The seats are comfortable, a nice compromise between heavily bolstered sport seats and long-trip benches. The stereo controls are an ergonomic nightmare; buttons are large enough to push easily, but they’re labeled too small for quick use. Worse, the optional CD changer is located at the bottom of the console, nearly out of sight and convenient for items in the console to bump the buttons. On the plus side, the Neon R/T’s optional leather interior features side airbags.
A dead pedal would be welcome, as well, because the Neon R/T does have the moves to back up its racy face. The Magnum powerplant pulls strongly. It does its best work toward the middle of the tachometer–off-the-line performance seemed less than urgent to us at times. A 150-horsepower 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine sets the pace, and it’s linked to a five-speed manual transmission. The combination works well, although it runs out of steam at the extreme low and high ends of the powerband in a big way. An occasionally bratty clutch led to some embarrassing stalls at traffic lights, but that was as much driver error as it was the car’s fault.
The MacPherson front suspension has been tweaked with stiffer springs and struts, and uprated sway bars. At the rear, the R/T receives a similar treatment. The tightened Neon holds the road well, with some reluctant understeer coming in at the very edge of the Goodyear RS-A tires’ grip. It’s a very forgiving setup, making the R/T a good companion for younger drivers who want to play on the twisty roads but don’t enough experience for more serious performance cars. A Focus ZTS has less horsepower, but will outhandle the Neon R/T without question. Four-wheel disc brakes and standard ABS on the R/T increase the forgivability factor. Traction control is also available.
Unlike its stripped-for-drag racing forebears of the Sixties, the Neon R/T doesn’t skimp on the appointments. Our test car featured a raft of options: full leather interior, side airbags, a sunroof, spoiler, 4-CD changer, traction control, and anti-theft system, and stickered for $18,885. The interior options are also available on the Neon SE, but the R/T’s engine and suspension options are unique.
So, then. Anybody who wants to get into a muscle car war for the new millennium, the glove has been tossed. With competition from Subaru, Nissan, Mazda, and Ford looming on the horizon, the Neon R/T is going to have its sporty little hands full.
Specifications:
All specs are for the 2001 Dodge Neon R/T which we tested.
Length: 174.4 in.
Width: 67.4 in.
Height: 56.0 in
Wheelbase: 105.0 in.
Curb weight: 2559 lb.
Cargo space: 13.1 cu. ft
Base price: $12,715
Price as tested: $18,885
Engine: 2.0 liter SOHC 16-valve four cylinder
Drivetrain: five speed manual, front-wheel drive
Horsepower: 150 @ 6500
Torque: 135 @ 4400
Fuel capacity: 12.5 gal.
Est. mileage: 27/33
6/2009 update: Time has not been kind to the Neon. Dodge’s little happy-face didn’t age well, and quality problems cropped up quickly, resulting in a lot of Neons hitting the used-car lots and falling into the hands of young buyers looking for bargains. The Neon’s fun-to-drive qualities are still there, but it’s hard to find one in good condition, just eight years down the road.
2001 Volkswagen GTI GLS
Jun 19th
We happened upon an impressive, chaotic scene during the Volkswagen GTI’s stay with us. An import custom-car show had just closed for the night, and the roads were filled with bespoilered and bewinged compacts, all painted bright colors, cruising slow and throbbing bass into the night. The GTI actually fit in reasonably well with this crowd, as our test car was painted in vivid “Tropic Orange Metallic.” But after a few minutes of 10-mph cruising, we’d had enough of wasting the driving-oriented GTI. We got out of line, sped past the show cars, and found a curvy little road to play on. Splashed through a mud puddle and took the shine off that paint job, too. And the GTI was happy.
The Volkswagen GTI comes with a long history behind it. The original Rabbit GTI was a boxy little hatchback with a few hot-rod cues and a lot of hot-rod substance beneath the style. It was a revolutionary idea in 1983, and a huge hit. In the mid-Eighties, it grew into the slightly larger Golf GTI, which faithfully and reliably carried the sporty-hatchback banner for VW until a few years ago, when the GTI became a separate nameplate. Starting mid-2001, all GTIs will feature a side-curtain style airbag that covers front and rear side windows when it deploys.
The practical, mini-wagon design has always been a GTI hallmark. It shares its basic structure with the Jetta, so at a glance they’re similar; a smoothed-off Volkswagen face and big VW badge dominating the grille up front. Look again, though, because the Jetta and GTI don’t share any frontal bodywork. The GTI has a more playful face, with teardrop-shaped headlamps instead of the Jetta’s rectangular units. Headlamps, projector-style foglights, and turn signals are grouped behind a single clear lens. The narrow grille and flat hood have been featured on GTIs since the beginning. The stubby, vertical tail will appeal only to lovers of hatchbacks and station wagons, and Volkswagen’s signature center-mount antenna juts up from the roof like a bee’s stinger. Large five-spoke aluminum wheels in 15″ through 17″ sizes are available. The GTI is subtly aggressive and sporty–subtle enough in fact that only car people are going to immediately recognize it for what it is.
The interior matches that of the comfortable Jetta. The blue-on-red gauges are the same, as are the well-positioned seats and pedals that were designed for heel-toe downshifts. Our test car had an appealing light-dark-light color scheme, with beige cloth on the pillars and roof, traditional matte black Volkswagen plastic covering the dash, and then lighter colors below. It’s much airier than the usual somber black Volkswagen interior. There’s room for four, and folding rear seats allow the hatchback to be turned into a small station wagon (remember the Volkswagen commercial in which a GTI swallowed a discarded La-Z-Boy?). We had only one gripe; the floormats had a habit of sliding under the pedals and lodging there. We chucked them into the trunk after an hour.
From the inside it looks like big brother Jetta, but the GTI has a hot-rod soul, whether it’s powered by the 150-horsepower turbocharged four in our GLS test car, or the 174-horsepower V6 in the GLX. It may look like a grocery-getter, but the GTI is an aggressive car that doesn’t like to sit in traffic. Our test car was happy to spin the tires with little provocation, and it had the smaller of the available motors. The 1.8 liter turbocharged four features five valves per cylinder for improved breathing at high revs, and it’s torquey for its size as well. A smooth-shifting five-speed manual is standard in all GTIs, with an automatic available.
Around town, the sporty Volkswagen prefers open road to congested traffic. Visibility is good, and it’s easy to maneuver, but it just doesn’t feel happy unless it’s being pushed hard. Independent front and beam-axle rear suspension and four-wheel disc brakes enable it to make the most of whatever twisty road it’s thrown at. ABS, traction control, and a limited-slip differential are standard. The GTI feels slightly softer than competitors like the Ford Focus hatchback. Although the Focus gives away a bunch of horsepower to the VW, the little Ford is likely to keep up in the turns thanks to its greater stability. Up-and-down motions, while perfectly acceptable in your average car, make the GTI feel a little more unsettled than a sports car ought to. It seems to be going out of its way to attack the corners, jumping on them rather than staying perfectly planted. The precise steering and quick reflexes are nonetheless on par with GTIs of the past, as well as the current competition.
The GTI is available in GLS and GLX trim levels, which are equipped with four- and six-cylinder engines, respectively. Cruise control, sunroof, Audi/VW’s cool switchblade key fob, the Side Curtain airbag, and power windows are all on the standard equipment list. Most of the GLS’ options–including a Monsoon sound system and leather interior–are standard on the GLX. GTI prices start at $19,800 for a GLS. To get the V6-equipped GLX the base jumps to just over $23,000. Our GLS test car stickered for $20,470 with the leather interior and Monsoon sound system.
Sure, you’ll see plenty of them tricked out with big wheels and bigger subwoofers, cruising at ten miles per hour with a caravan of import hatchbacks, because the GTI’s handsome, blank-slate styling, great road manners and familiar nameplate appeal to customizers. And that’s a good thing. Just remember to let it loose on a twisty road once in a while, because it’s also a delightful car to Drive, with a capital D.
Specifications:
All specs are for the 2001 Volkswagen GTI GLS1.8T, which we tested.
Length: 164.9 in.
Width: 68.3 in.
Height: 56.9 in.
Wheelbase: 98.9 in.
Curb weight: 2860 lb
Base price: $19,800
Price as tested: $20,470
Engine: 1.8 liter turbocharged four-cylinder
Drivetrain: five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Horsepower: 150 @ 5700 rpm
Torque: 155 @ 1950-4500 rpm
Fuel capacity: 14.5 gal.
Est. mileage: 24/31
6/2009 update: The GTI is an expensive used car; it’s held its value better than many of its contemporaries. That said, it’ll return the favor in fun-to-drive-ness.
2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS
Jun 19th
If your initial reaction to the scoops, spoilers, wings, and flares of the 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS is anything other than, “Wow, it looks like a rally car!” then it’s not likely to be the car for you. If the letters WRX don’t have any car-related meaning in your vocabulary, and if Colin McRae is an unfamiliar name, then the 2.5 RS isn’t going to make a great deal of sense. You have to love the sporty Subaru for what it represents as well as for what it is.
The vents and spoilers look like the body kits currently in vogue with the sporty-import drag racer crowd, but this Subie is no drag racer. Those body add-ons are derived from those on the Subaru Impreza WRX. In America, Subaru’s success in the mostly European sport of rallying is known only to diehard Subaru fans and to the small but dedicated cadre of US rally fans. Basically designed to race all-out on any surface–paved, gravel, sand–rally cars represent the toughest, fastest cars that manufacturers can come up with. Subaru Imprezas won the World Rally Championship in 1995, 1996, and 1997. Roadgoing versions of rally cars are popular in Japan and Europe, and the legendary Subaru Impreza WRX is one of these. To the chagrin of performance and rally fans, Subaru decided that the 300-hp WRX is too hot for American roads and, starting in 1998, offered the next best thing: the 2.5 RS. The hyper-Impreza benefits from the addition of a limited-slip rear differential as standard equipment for 2000.
The car certainly looks like there’s a racer in its lineage. The 2.5 RS look is that of a little coupe clad in automotive armor, ready to do high-performance battle. A massive scoop grows out of the middle of the hood, flanked by a pair of smaller vents on either side. The deep front spoiler houses two large, rally-style driving lights (depowered for on-road use, of course). Big 16” five-spoke alloy wheels add to the impression of a tensed creature about to spring. Perched atop the trunklid is a massive spoiler which leaves no doubt as to this car’s position among humbler Imprezas. It’s not subtle in the least.
Inside, front-seat travelers are treated to snug, comfortable seats and a standard Impreza dash with white-faced gauges. Rear-seat passengers have to duck under a stiff, poorly placed positioning arm for the front seatbelts. Once back there there’s room for two adults to get comfortable in the back as well–a trick that most small sports coupes can’t manage. While the seating and driving positions are comfortable for short hops or long trips, the 2.5 RS shares many of the Impreza’s minor ergonomic quibbles. The radio is hard to operate without taking one’s eyes off of the road, even after becoming familiar with the buttons. The center console feels cheaply made. The sunvisors are hard to latch without looking away from the road yet again. The two cupholders are afterthoughts; one is a fussy folding affair located inside the console whose use precludes any storage, and the other slides out of the dash, only to block the ventilation controls.
Unfortunately for WRX fans, the hood vents on the 2.5 RS are blocked off. And it’s not turbocharged. Under that television-sized hood bulge is the same 165-hp 2.4 horizontally opposed (“boxer”) four-cylinder found in the Outback. Of course, the smaller Impreza reaps measurable performance benefits from the larger Outback’s engine; it’s just not the skull-cracking hammerblow of power suggested by the bodywork. Subaru’s boxer fours are known for developing prodigious amounts of torque, and the 2.5 RS is no exception. The car is great for in-town point and squirt traffic-carving antics because if its ability to make use of its power at low revs. Just don’t expect to beat an Integra GS-R or a Mustang V8 in a drag race. You can’t.
The Subaru has two flaws–the aforementioned raised expectations, and a lack of sports-car mood in the driving experience. This can be traced to the car’s rally-car lineage. Sports cars are toys. They want to be your friend. They’re ready and willing to play. Rally cars are tools. Their job isn’t to make friends; it’s to conquer whatever stretch of road is thrown at them. As a result, the 2.5 RS is a little bit short on personality. The handling and brakes are impeccable. Between Subaru’s all-wheel-drive system and a limited-slip differential, it’s nearly impossible to put a wheel wrong. The 2.5 RS just pulls strongly away, regardless of road conditions. Unfortunately, the car does all of the mechanical things wonderfully, but doesn’t talk about itself much. Part of the joy of driving a sporty car is the feeling of the car working in a way that it was meant for, in a way that pleases it. This is missing in the 2.5 RS. The car takes little pleasure in a turn or a shift well executed, which makes it hard for the enthusiastic driver to do the same. It’s okay for a race or rally car to have this “as you wish” feeling about it, but roadgoing cars ought to have a greater role in the driving experience. It’s supposed to be a dance partner, not a simple tool. The 2.5 leaves a driver satisfied, but a little bit cold.
Personality aside, the 2.5 RS makes an excellent road-carving tool. The all-wheel drive and limited-slip differential make it almost impossible to spin a tire, whether the Subie is diving into a corner, accelerating out of one, launching from a dead stop on a pea-gravel road or splashing through a deep puddle. The 2.5 RS just finds grip and takes off, regardless of the terrain. This stability directly affects the handling and braking, of course. Sudden transitions are handled with perfect poise. Slamming on the brakes mid-turn is an invitation to a spin in most cars; the Subaru merely takes a tighter line. With all of the grip available and plenty of low-end torque, many sliding situations can be corrected with a counterintuitive stomp on the gas! The ability to power out of uncertain situations is bred into rally cars, and the 2.5 RS has a good dose of it. It’s exciting enough to make the complaints about the ergonomics seem meaningless.
The jack-of-all-trades stability is enhanced by fantastically quick steering response. The 2.5 reacts with no hesitation, thanks in part to the low center of gravity provided by the low, wide boxer engine. It’s a very easy car to drive, despite its hard-core hot rod appearance. Around town it is a little bit more sensitive than lesser Imprezas because of those big, grippy tires, but the ride isn’t race-car rigid.
Of course, the 2.5 RS is the top of the line when it comes to Imprezas. The larger wheels and tires, more powerful engine, and limited-slip differential are all standard equipment. Our test vehicle featured the optional CD player. Subaru offers 24-hour roadside assistance on all of the vehicles it sells. For 2000, a 2.5 RS sedan is also available. It’s equipped identically to the coupe, the only difference being a smaller spoiler on the trunklid. Both versions start at $19,295.
The Fact Box:
All specs are for the Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS coupe, which we tested.
Length: 172.2 in.
Width: 67.1 in.
Height: 55.5 in.
Wheelbase: 99.2 in.
Curb weight: 2.820 lb.
Cargo space: 11.1 cu. ft.
Base price: $19,295
Price as tested: $20,214
Horsepower: 165 hp
Fuel capacity: 15.9 gal.
Est. mileage: 21/28
6/2009 update: Well, not long after this review was written, the WRX came along and made the 2.5RS kind of redundant. There are probably a few running around out there still, but everything it can do, the ‘Rex can do better.