Dodge Neon Is Alive and Well, Just Not in America
Looks like the beloved Mopar sedan merely faked its death and is vacationing in Mexico!
Among the many passenger cars Chrysler has built over the years, the Dodge Neon is still beloved by many. Mostly because of the vastly underrated SRT4, but we digress. The little compact sedan lived on from 1995-2005 before it was discontinued and replaced by the more crossover-like Caliber. Most people, us included, thought that was the end of the Dodge Neon. But apparently, a new Neon lives on in certain other parts of the world. We know this because Autoblog spotted one while vacationing in Cancun, Mexico.
Yes, the Dodge Neon was apparently raised from its shallow grave in 2016 for a third generation. And this time around, it’s essentially a sedan version of Fiat’s Egea. The Neon is built alongside that similarly small car, having been co-developed by Fiat and Turkish industrial company Koç Holding. Offered in Mexico, the Middle East, and Africa, the Neon 3.0 is actually selling pretty well, too. To the tune of 125,000 in Europe and 47,000 in Turkey last year alone.
Even better, it pretty much looks exactly what you’d expect a new Neon to look like. No old round headlights here, just modern oval/rectangular pieces. The familiar Dodge “crosshair” grille is there, too. Overall size is quite a bit smaller than the recently departed Dart. As in, a full 6 inches shorter with 3 less inches of wheelbase.
The interior is pretty much all Fiat, which isn’t such a bad thing. In fact, it packs a rather modern and attractive look. Power comes from a 1.4-liter four-cylinder that produces a whopping 95 hp and 94 lb-ft of torque. Or, you can step up to a bigger 1.6 that makes 110 hp and 112 lb-ft. Sadly, there’s no SRT version in the works that we know of.
When the new Dodge Neon first appeared, there were rumors that it would replace the Dart in the U.S. in 2018. Obviously, that never came to fruition. And given how poorly the Dart sold, it also seems unlikely. For now, however, we can just celebrate the fact that the Neon lives on. Even if it isn’t here.
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