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1995
Dodge Neon

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$9,500
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Available trims

See the differences side-by-side to compare trims.
  • 4dr Sedan Base
    Starts at
    $9,500
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  • 4dr Sedan Base Competition
    Starts at
    $9,500
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  • 4dr Sedan Highline
    Starts at
    $11,240
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  • 2dr Coupe Base Competition
    Starts at
    $11,240
    See all specs
  • 2dr Coupe Highline
    Starts at
    $11,240
    See all specs
  • 4dr Sedan Sport
    Starts at
    $13,267
    See all specs
  • 2dr Coupe Sport
    Starts at
    $13,567
    See all specs

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Expert 1995 Dodge Neon review

our expert's take
Our expert's take
By
Full article
our expert's take

Chrysler Corp.’s stunning success with its Plymouth/Dodge Neon sedan has led to the introduction of a 1995 Neon Sport Coupe.

While the coupe is based on Chrysler’s Neon four-door, sharing the same basic dimensions of wheelbase and overall length, the car is more than a clone of the sedan minus two rear doors.

The coupe has a decided sports flair to it, and is designed to appeal to the driver enthusiast.

To whet this enthusiasm, there is a new 2.0-liter (122-cubic inch) double overhead cam four-cylinder engine, with the twin-cam motor sporting four valves per cylinder. It is by far the best engine package, as the dual cammer puts out 18 more horsepower than Neon’s 2.0-liter single-overhead-cam engine.

“We haven’t ordered any Sport Coupes with single-overhead cams,” said Joe Etchison, general manager of Palmer Dodge West. “The coupe is an enthusiast’s type of car, and that calls for a performance-type engine.”

Enhancing the product mix by including two doors instead of four is a body that has a 10 percent increase in bending stiffness, and 2 percent more torsional rigidity. When mated to a five-speed manual transmission and performance suspension system, you have quite a potent vehicle.

The coupe by virtue of these design parameters lends itself to a get-up-and-go atmosphere.

“The four-door (with a single-overhead-cam engine) is oriented toward family use,” Etchison said. “Owners are more interested in economy than in performance, although it’ll step right out and go.”

The heart of the Sport Coupe is an engine which is Chrysler’s basic l22-cubic inch 4, but is equipped with an aluminum head and two camshafts. The standard sedan engine’s single cam also sports four valves per cylinder. But valve action is via rocker arms instead of direct-valve activation, and this accounts for the dual cams higher engine speed and higher horsepower.

The twin cam is rated at 150-horsepower at 6,800 rpm, the single cam at 132-horsepower at 6,000 rpm.

At 2.0-liters, the twin-cam and single-cam engines are the smallest ever built by Chrysler, with the dual-cam version having the highest specific power output — 75 brake horsepower per liter – of any naturally aspirated (non-turbocharged) motor in the corporation’s history.

It revs right now, and has a 5.6 percent gain over the single cam when going 0-60 mph.

To take full advantage of this twin-cam motor, Chrysler is offering a performance five-speed manual gearbox that differs from Neon’s standard five-speed in three ways. Fifth gear and the final-drive gear ratios in the performance transmission are numerically higher (the higher the number the lower the ratio) than in the standard version. And there is a reverse “brake” for easier shifting.

Performance fifth gear ratio is 0.81 to the standard’s 0.72. Performance final drive is 3.94 to the standard’s 3.55.

This final drive ratio benefits all five speeds, providing quicker acceleration and sometimes negating the need to downshift to make a q uick pass in traffic.

The Sports Coupe has a little more taunt suspension than the standard Neon sedan, courtesy of performance-tuned strut calibrations and larger front/rear roll bars. The suspension calibration also incorporates unique front struts that include a camber-adjustment feature.

To keep everything going in the right direction the steering ratio is 16-to-1 for quicker wheel response, and the power system incorporates a unique valve control. To increase feel to the wheel, additional driver effort is required before the power assist begins.

This coupe will turn better than 87 mph in the quarter mile and has an estimated top speed of about 120 mph.

Style-wise, the Sport Coupe has a “power-bulge” bubble on the hood bearing 16V DOHC graphics. There is a deck-lid spoiler at the rear, and tinted, fixed quarter windows that are mounted flush with the body.

Instrumentation is somewhat standard for a sports-type coupe, consisting of a speedometer, tachometer, an d temperatu re and fuel gauges. They’re laid out well, right in front of the driver. But with a manual five-speed and dual cams I’d still like to have an oil-pressure gauge.

Chrysler calls the Sport Coupe a five-passenger car. But I’d say four would be more appropriate, unless you’re carrying children in the back seat.

The Neon Sport Coupe is a niche automobile, as compared to the sedan. But it’s a car with personality, and one in which drivers can play showroom stock racer everyday at an affordable price.

1995 Plymouth/Dodge Neon Base price: $12,405Type: Front engine, front-wheel drive, five-passenger, sports coupeEngine: 2.0-liters, DOHC in-line 4, 16 valves, fuel-injected, 150-horsepower, 131 foot-pounds of torqueTransmission: Five-speed manualMileage: 29 mpg city/38 mpg highwayAcceleration: 0-60 mph in 8.5 secondsWheelbase: 104.0 inchesLength: 171.8 inchesWidth: 67.2 inchesHeight: 52.8 inchesCurb weight: 2,490 poundsOptions: Air conditioning, AM/FM stereo ETR, three-speed automatic transmission, power locks, rear defogger, power mirrors, cruise control, tilt wheel, light group, roof rack, power trunk release, wheel trim, child safety seat

1995 Dodge Neon review: Our expert's take
By

Chrysler Corp.’s stunning success with its Plymouth/Dodge Neon sedan has led to the introduction of a 1995 Neon Sport Coupe.

While the coupe is based on Chrysler’s Neon four-door, sharing the same basic dimensions of wheelbase and overall length, the car is more than a clone of the sedan minus two rear doors.

The coupe has a decided sports flair to it, and is designed to appeal to the driver enthusiast.

To whet this enthusiasm, there is a new 2.0-liter (122-cubic inch) double overhead cam four-cylinder engine, with the twin-cam motor sporting four valves per cylinder. It is by far the best engine package, as the dual cammer puts out 18 more horsepower than Neon’s 2.0-liter single-overhead-cam engine.

“We haven’t ordered any Sport Coupes with single-overhead cams,” said Joe Etchison, general manager of Palmer Dodge West. “The coupe is an enthusiast’s type of car, and that calls for a performance-type engine.”

Enhancing the product mix by including two doors instead of four is a body that has a 10 percent increase in bending stiffness, and 2 percent more torsional rigidity. When mated to a five-speed manual transmission and performance suspension system, you have quite a potent vehicle.

The coupe by virtue of these design parameters lends itself to a get-up-and-go atmosphere.

“The four-door (with a single-overhead-cam engine) is oriented toward family use,” Etchison said. “Owners are more interested in economy than in performance, although it’ll step right out and go.”

The heart of the Sport Coupe is an engine which is Chrysler’s basic l22-cubic inch 4, but is equipped with an aluminum head and two camshafts. The standard sedan engine’s single cam also sports four valves per cylinder. But valve action is via rocker arms instead of direct-valve activation, and this accounts for the dual cams higher engine speed and higher horsepower.

The twin cam is rated at 150-horsepower at 6,800 rpm, the single cam at 132-horsepower at 6,000 rpm.

At 2.0-liters, the twin-cam and single-cam engines are the smallest ever built by Chrysler, with the dual-cam version having the highest specific power output — 75 brake horsepower per liter – of any naturally aspirated (non-turbocharged) motor in the corporation’s history.

It revs right now, and has a 5.6 percent gain over the single cam when going 0-60 mph.

To take full advantage of this twin-cam motor, Chrysler is offering a performance five-speed manual gearbox that differs from Neon’s standard five-speed in three ways. Fifth gear and the final-drive gear ratios in the performance transmission are numerically higher (the higher the number the lower the ratio) than in the standard version. And there is a reverse “brake” for easier shifting.

Performance fifth gear ratio is 0.81 to the standard’s 0.72. Performance final drive is 3.94 to the standard’s 3.55.

This final drive ratio benefits all five speeds, providing quicker acceleration and sometimes negating the need to downshift to make a q uick pass in traffic.

The Sports Coupe has a little more taunt suspension than the standard Neon sedan, courtesy of performance-tuned strut calibrations and larger front/rear roll bars. The suspension calibration also incorporates unique front struts that include a camber-adjustment feature.

To keep everything going in the right direction the steering ratio is 16-to-1 for quicker wheel response, and the power system incorporates a unique valve control. To increase feel to the wheel, additional driver effort is required before the power assist begins.

This coupe will turn better than 87 mph in the quarter mile and has an estimated top speed of about 120 mph.

Style-wise, the Sport Coupe has a “power-bulge” bubble on the hood bearing 16V DOHC graphics. There is a deck-lid spoiler at the rear, and tinted, fixed quarter windows that are mounted flush with the body.

Instrumentation is somewhat standard for a sports-type coupe, consisting of a speedometer, tachometer, an d temperatu re and fuel gauges. They’re laid out well, right in front of the driver. But with a manual five-speed and dual cams I’d still like to have an oil-pressure gauge.

Chrysler calls the Sport Coupe a five-passenger car. But I’d say four would be more appropriate, unless you’re carrying children in the back seat.

The Neon Sport Coupe is a niche automobile, as compared to the sedan. But it’s a car with personality, and one in which drivers can play showroom stock racer everyday at an affordable price.

1995 Plymouth/Dodge Neon Base price: $12,405Type: Front engine, front-wheel drive, five-passenger, sports coupeEngine: 2.0-liters, DOHC in-line 4, 16 valves, fuel-injected, 150-horsepower, 131 foot-pounds of torqueTransmission: Five-speed manualMileage: 29 mpg city/38 mpg highwayAcceleration: 0-60 mph in 8.5 secondsWheelbase: 104.0 inchesLength: 171.8 inchesWidth: 67.2 inchesHeight: 52.8 inchesCurb weight: 2,490 poundsOptions: Air conditioning, AM/FM stereo ETR, three-speed automatic transmission, power locks, rear defogger, power mirrors, cruise control, tilt wheel, light group, roof rack, power trunk release, wheel trim, child safety seat

Certified Pre-Owned program benefits

Age / mileage
6-10 MY and / or 75,001-120,000 miles
Basic
3 Month 3,000 mile Max Care Warranty
Dealer certification
125 point inspection

Consumer reviews

3.1 / 5
Based on 6 reviews
Write a review
Comfort 3.0
Interior 2.9
Performance 3.3
Value 3.8
Exterior 3.1
Reliability 3.6

Most recent

  • Best Cheap Car

    I've heard people say that a Neon is a horrible car. They say it's a cheap piece of junk that's horribly unreliable. That's exactly opposite the experience I've had with mine. I bought my base model Neon for a pittance with low miles, in good working order. Nothing was power other than the steering. It had, and still has, crank windows, manual locks, manually adjusted seats, good old manually controlled A/C and a manual transmission. It had the absolutely basic interior, which meant almost no amenities other than A/C, a radio, and adjustable seat belts. This is just fine by me, because seats are seats unless they're unbearably stiff. The upshot of this model is that with regular maintenance it is incredibly rare to have major problems like in the 'Dead in less than 100k' review. I maintain mine and I drive it like I stole it and I have never had a blown head gasket, a snapped timing belt, or any other major malfunction. It is, quite simply, BASIC but fun transportation. Keep your foot down and the worst mileage you'll get is about 20mpg, but normal driving with maybe a little bit of full-throttle, 30mpg is normal, give or take one or two. All highway driving, I've seen as high as 50 with a decent tail wind before I got back into city driving, but normal highway driving should net high 30s normally, 40 or a bit more if you go the full hypermiler route. The only real downside to the car is that until the last half of the first generation (95-99), the paint quality was pretty bad, so once the cars got a few years under their belts the paint would get scraped and knocked off fairly easily and the car would rust out fairly quickly. It's fairly uncommon to find a pre-97 or -98 Neon without at least one or two small rust spots. In my case rust will eventually make me scrap this one and swap all the major components over to a rust-free one. Basically a great cheap car with a lot of inter-changeability and good all-around performance (for what it is - an economy car). Find a 97 or newer with a manual, have a trusted mechanic look it over, and chances are you'll find it's a good deal even if it requires a little work.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 5.0
    0 people out of 0 found this review helpful. Did you?
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  • Dead in less than 100K

    Engine runs rough and sometimes dies. Mechanics have worked on it and can't fix it. And it has just under 100K!
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does not recommend this car
    Comfort 2.0
    Interior 3.0
    Performance 1.0
    Value 2.0
    Exterior 4.0
    Reliability 1.0
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  • Very well designed vehicle

    Neons are known to blow headgaskets, however that is the only flaw I have seen in the Neons that I have owned. The Neon is a very reliable vehicle and is fun to drive.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 2.0
    Performance 4.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 2.0
    Reliability 5.0
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  • Beats The Heck Out Of Honda's

    Well we got the Neon is 96 with 50,000 on it and its been a great car. its a Highline 5-speed with the normal options... and its hardly ever seen the shop. its been about 12 years old now and it has 237,000 miles and still going strong and i still beat Civics when they pull next to me.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 4.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 5.0
    Reliability 5.0
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  • 11 Year Perspective

    Wow, just read another review from somebody who "rented a Neon" several years ago. Although I've formed strong opinions about cars I've rented for a weekend or a week, such a short exposure doesn't qualify an individual to speak with credibility on the merits or failings of a vehicle (particularly value for the money and mechanical reliability). I bought my 95 Neon in 95: Highline 4DR Sedan, 5 Speed Manual Transmission, AC, power door locks. This car has been a relatively trouble-free, economical, and enjoyable vehicle for the past 11 years. It shows no signs of "wearing out" any time in the near future, so I'll probably have it a few years more. Styling: Anybody who buys a specific car usually does so because the model has some initial appeal. The Neon's quirky exterior appearance is high style to some, but just goofy to others (especially from the front). I find it appealing. The interior layout is spacious. I'm of average height, and I have tremendous headroom in this car. Rear passengers are usually surprised by the room in the rear seat. Reliability: Over 11 years, here's the ONLY problems I've had: 1) Speedometer failed @ 75K miles. Replaced the cluster myself for $125, but replacement speedo failed about 25K later (it's intermittent, a problem with the circuit board). 2) AC failed, hose needed replacement, $300. 3) Chrysler radio quit about 60K miles (replaced it myself for $35). 4) Plastic headlights crazed after 8 years, replaced with clear ones for about $60 each. 5) Here's the big one: Engine head gasket failed at 65K. $600 repair. This is a major problem with the early Neons. When shopping for a used Neon (95-98) look for oil leakage around the heads. Ask if head gasket was ever replaced with the new aluminum gasket. 6) Clutch burned out. Not really counting this one..... every clutch wears out sooner or later. Value: This car was cheap to buy and it has been cheap to maintain. Fuel economy? Last year I took a 1500 mile highway trip and averaged 37 MPG. It was winter, and the AC was off, and I have the manual transmission .....still outstanding for a 10 year old car. Overall: If you want a luxury vehicle, or a car with terrific acceleration and handling, this isn't for you. If you want a great car for the money that will hold 4 1/2 people, get you there in reasonable comfort, this may be the one.
    • Purchased a New car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does recommend this car
    Comfort 3.0
    Interior 4.0
    Performance 3.0
    Value 5.0
    Exterior 3.0
    Reliability 4.0
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  • Zippy handling but no sense of safety

    I drove this car as a rental many years ago. I would never BUY one, but it was ok to zip around in for a few days. The thing that bugged me about it was the skimpy skeleton and slipshod interior. The doors felt as if they were made of cardboard glued together, with flattened tin cans for the exterior. Not sure how this rated in crash tests or reliability, but -- let's just say that riding in the back seat sure felt like having two pieces of paper between yourself and total oblivion. I am not an owner, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I would approach this model with caution. You can surely do better.
    • Purchased a Used car
    • Used for Commuting
    • Does not recommend this car
    Comfort 1.0
    Interior 1.0
    Performance 2.0
    Value 1.0
    Exterior 1.0
    Reliability 2.0
    1 person out of 1 found this review helpful. Did you?
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FAQ

What trim levels are available for the 1995 Dodge Neon?

The 1995 Dodge Neon is available in 4 trim levels:

  • Base (1 style)
  • Base Competition (2 styles)
  • Highline (2 styles)
  • Sport (2 styles)

Is the 1995 Dodge Neon reliable?

The 1995 Dodge Neon has an average reliability rating of 3.6 out of 5 according to cars.com consumers. Find real-world reliability insights within consumer reviews from 1995 Dodge Neon owners.

Is the 1995 Dodge Neon a good Coupe?

Below are the cars.com consumers ratings for the 1995 Dodge Neon. 66.7% of drivers recommend this vehicle.

3.1 / 5
Based on 6 reviews
  • Comfort: 3.0
  • Interior: 2.9
  • Performance: 3.3
  • Value: 3.8
  • Exterior: 3.1
  • Reliability: 3.6
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