Why the Dodge Neon SRT-4 is Underrated

Feeling Lucky, Punk?

During the early 2000s, many car companies began to offer performance models that were accessible to a younger demographic. The trend was largely in part due to the popularity of one Fast and the Furious movie franchise that began to put sports cars at the forefront of people’s minds on a mass scale. Dodge smelled a good old opportunity to get in on the action and came up with this: The Dodge Neon SRT-4. A lot of us forget about this car since it never really took off in the way the Viper or revamped Challenger did. It was a front-wheel drive 4-door sedan with a 5-speed manual transmission. However, this is no boring commuter car. 

Accessible Speed

Horsepower always gets the blood pumping and when it comes to the SRT-4, Dodge wasn’t playing around. These 2,400cc engines featured oil squirters that coated the underside of the pistons, forged internals from Mahle, and a TD04 turbo that was provided by Mitsubishi. All in all, a very advanced engine for a Neon. Horsepower was reported to be 230 HP with torque coming in at up to 250 lb-ft at a very nice 2,400rpm. All of this resulted in a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds (on par with a 2009 BMW Z4) and a quarter mile time in the low 14-second range. These Neons had a good engine, but that’s just the start of what makes them cool. 

>>Join the conversation about the Dodge Neon SRT-4 right here in Dodge Forum.

Track the Ripper

One thing people forget about this car is that it was very light. A curb weight of 2,900 lbs easily puts this performance sedan into a weight class that is almost nonexistent in “sports cars” nowadays. Dodge recognized the need for this car to track well, so they didn’t hesitate to put a limited slip differential on it as well as adjustable Tokico shocks on select ACR models. Yes, there was a Dodge Neon ACR. Few cars are designed this way from the factory that don’t command major price tags, just one way the company was on the ball when it came to designing this track star. Light, good suspension, and the ability to put all that power down on corner exits made them pretty impressive machines for the price. 

>>Join the conversation about the Dodge Neon SRT-4 right here in Dodge Forum.

Super Sleeper

Kept stock, no cop is ever going to look at a Neon SRT-4 and think about pulling it over. These cars really lay low in traffic and have no indicators that they house a platform with endless potential. As of 2017, the fastest SRT-4 has covered the quarter mile in 9.56 seconds with a trap speed of 159.9mph. If these numbers sound familiar to you, it’s because those are almost identical numbers to what a Dodge Demon will do. Is there any doubting how fast these little 4 bangers can be? You just have to love when a muscle car company of this stature puts their signature on a family sedan that was never meant to go fast. These cars are awesome. 

>>Join the conversation about the Dodge Neon SRT-4 right here in Dodge Forum.

Blue Book on the Red Horns

Current market values on these cars are barely $6,000 according to Kelley Blue Book, which makes it one of the coolest low price cars on the market today. Throw a total of $15,000 into one of these—including the price of the car—and you’ll have something that will embarrass BMW M3s on back roads and race tracks alike. One of the reasons Dodge is such a brilliant company is that they truly understand what makes a car fast, what doesn’t, and how to produce a car that goes ridiculously quick for a very low price tag. Of all the performance cars in the lineup, the SRT4 has to be one of the coolest, meanest, and low key sleeper cars that you can buy.

>>Join the conversation about the Dodge Neon SRT-4 right here in Dodge Forum.

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