2000 Plymouth Neon Say hello to refinement. By Mitch McCullough, Editor-in-Chief, New Car Test Drive .com

Chrysler has completely redesigned its Neon for model year 2000. The new one is far more refined than before. This, of course, generates a new clichT: Neon no longer says "Hi." Now it says "Hello. How are you?" You'll recognize it as a Neon, but you'll also notice it's new. This second-generation Neon should make its owners happy. It will be more pleasant to live with than early models, which were Spartan, unrefined and noisy.

Expectations have changed since Chrysler introduced the first Neon in January 1994. Back then, it was the roomiest car in its class. It was quick and fun to drive. And it was inexpensive. Chrysler talked to prospective compact car buyers before designing that car. They told Chrysler they were tired of paying high prices. What they wanted was a good five-cent cigar. Chrysler took them at their word and built the Neon to be a low-priced car. But people really wanted more than that. They said they wanted a cheap car, but they also wanted refinement, quality and comfort. It was a hard lesson for Chrysler. Though more than 1.5 million Neons have been sold during the past five years, other manufacturers introduced larger, more refined and more feature-laden cars. Chrysler continually refined and improved the Neon throughout its life cycle and the later models are much nicer than the earlier models. But it came time to redesign the car. And that brings us to the 2000 Neon.

This new, second-generation model moves the Neon up another rung on the compact car food chain. Compared with the previous model, the new Neon is solid, serious and sophisticated. It can be seen at your local Plymouth or Dodge dealer.