First drive: 2017 Dodge Neon in the UAE

The Dodge Neon is back, but not in the way you think. While the original was an all-American compact sedan, the new one is born from the Fiat-Chrysler conglomerate. In fact, the 2017 Dodge Neon started life as a Fiat Tipo, and it was was even displayed at the last Dubai Motor Show as such.

The Dodge version gets a new signature grille and other miniscule branding changes, and is still built alongside the Fiat in Turkey, with the powertrain coming from Brazil. It’s a decent-looking car in the top SXT Plus trim, with 17-inch alloys and various chrome bits. The base SE model gets black plastic trim and 15-inch steel wheels with hubcaps.

Fiat-Chrysler is keen to position the 2017 Neon as a rival to cars such as the Toyota Corolla and the Nissan Sentra, but the Neon actually falls between the sub-compact Yaris and the compact Corolla in terms of overall size and wheelbase. This is reflected in the rear legroom, which is more in line with its sub-compact rivals. However, they claim to have more boot volume than even the Camry.

Up front, the ambience is nice in the SXT Plus trim, with a soft-touch dash, a free-standing 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with UConnect, easy-to-use auto a/c knobs and leatherette/cloth upholstery. Hard plastics are still prominent on the door panels and lower half of the dashboard, but otherwise, it’s a decent cabin. The base model gets a lot more hard plastics and a more basic stereo integrated into the dash. All get good air-conditioning and Bluetooth phone.

The Neon comes with 6 airbags, ESP, ABS and a tyre-pressure monitor as standard, which is definitely a segment-first.

The standard engine is a 110 hp 1.6-litre 4-cylinder, mated to a 6-speed automatic with manual-shift mode. Expectedly, it’s a very slow car, especially when loaded up with a couple of passengers, and with our aggressive driving, we ended up with 10.8 litres/100 km in fuel consumption. There may be larger engine options in the future.

The suspension is tightly tuned for a reasonably smooth ride with no floatiness, very “European” if you will, although a mild jitter can be felt on some surfaces due to the low-profile tyres, aside from noticeable road and wind noise at 100 kph. Still, it’s well within the standards of the segment.

The steering is on the firm side, with a fair bit of feedback and a thick leather-bound wheel on the SXT variants. The electric power-steering weight can even be reduced by pressing a “city” button on the dash, for easier parking manoeuvres, and it’s standard on all models.

Even the brakes are decent, with good pedal feel. Combined with well-controlled body motions around corners, the Neon is a respectable handler.

The Dodge Neon is a very competent entry, straddling the line between two segments, but also priced perfectly to reflect that. While it could do with a more powerful engine, the Neon does set new benchmarks for gearbox, boot space and safety features.

Photos by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury and Fiat-Chrysler.

For prices and specs, visit the Dodge buyer guide.