[AWD OWNZ U]

I thought it was pretty good...

Drove the SRT on Friday.
First impression;
1- Small but comfortable. Seats are good, offer good lateral support. A little cheap on the inside. Fit and finish is lackluster for a $21K veh.
2- Exterior fit and finish is sub-standard. This is a $10K Neon body. I would be a little concerned about how this car will look in 5 years.
3- Under the hood looks pretty good, although maint. and access to turbo could be troublesome. You can say this about dam near all of the new stuff.
4- Exhaust note on start up is very nice! The duel exhaust, I was told, has no mufflers from the cat back. That is what the salesman told me. He was not a very techy guy, but a very nice guy. The exhaust note, at speed, is very nice but almost too quiet. This is a matter of taste, I love engine and exhaust noise. Comes from Many years of British car ownership.
5- Engine response is very civilized, and low end is much better than our opposed 4's. Mid range accel. is VERY GOOD, and I think you may want to give this veh. a wide berth, unless you have a few mods. I dont think its a great deal faster (straight line) than the WRX, but you will need 3K RPM before you try this guy or gal on. At launch, from standing start, I think you will get him, but mid range he will catch you. Tire spin will be a real problem for the SRT with the stock tires. In the rain this car may be a real handfull for anyone. I like the engine response, and was pleasantly surprised that there was very little torque steer. Could it be that Damlier engineers had a hand in this powertrain??
6- Handling is fair, a little darty and seems to be on the edge whenever you are accel. in a turn. This could be tires, but I worry about high speed corners with this car. On the other hand it may be a real kick in the ass, for auto/X. If you like the solid controlled feel of the Subaru, you probably wont like this car at speed, and you will need a large dose of Prozac when the clouds begin to gather. If I could afford a new weekend auto/X toy, I think I would give this car a long look. If you need a year round driver and weekend racer, then stay right here on NASIOC. This is just my opinion, and is based on a 20 min test drive, that was spirited, but is only my first impression! Anyone else out there that has driven one ? What are your thoughts?
My only qualifications for giving this opinion, is my 44 yr love affair with British cars and speed. With British Cars, the Speed thing, is usually a figment of my imagination.
Please excuse my spelling and punctuation, I had other things on my mind in High School.
HAPPY MOTORING, Jerry C

 

[cali]

some good points and some complete bullshit!
I wonder where he had his head when he did this test.

Especially this

I dont think its a great deal faster (straight line) than the WRX, but you will need 3K RPM before you try this guy or gal on. At launch, from standing start, I think you will get him, but mid range he will catch you. Tire spin will be a real problem for the SRT with the stock tires. In the rain this car may be a real handfull for anyone.

Very nice in the rain yesterday, at launch and at speed for me!

 

[NeonDan]

typical Brit..they hate the neon saying "its as harsh as the strip of light it is named after.." WTF?

 

[ohyeahwright]

I thought it was pretty good...

Drove the SRT on Friday.
First impression;
1- Small but comfortable. Seats are good, offer good lateral support. A little cheap on the inside. Fit and finish is lackluster for a $21K veh.

This also is a matter of taste. I've always liked the Neon interior, which is what the SRT basically has (with the added boost gauge and better seats.)

 

[AWD OWNZ U]

Oh ya, here is a response. Anyone here?

Too bad there is already one of these back at the dealership with a blown head and only 700miles on it. Then again it was someone stupid who was obviously abusing it as it had rubber from the tries all in the fenderwells. Don't people know to break in an enigine before you do a burnout?

 

[lifeisdeath]

This is a $10K Neon body. I would be a little concerned about how this car will look in 5 years.

hmmm... i have seen tons of old nice looking neons.

 

[440sixpack]

Oh ya, here is a response. Anyone here?

Too bad there is already one of these back at the dealership with a blown head and only 700miles on it. Then again it was someone stupid who was obviously abusing it as it had rubber from the tries all in the fenderwells. Don't people know to break in an enigine before you do a burnout?

This is interesting to me, since I had a crappy headgasket on mine too. I didn't drive over 55mph or over 4k to break it in tho, so I don't think it's from beating it too hard. Hope there isn't a bigger issue. Has anyone heard of any more cases of this?

 

[lifeisdeath]

no.