2001 Plymouth Neon Value and practicality don't have to be boring. By Mitch McCullough, Editor-in-Chief, New Car Test Drive .com

Completely redesigned and re-engineered last year, the Plymouth Neon offers a solid value among compact sedans. It's roomy, stylish and fun to drive. It's also far more refined than the first-generation Neon, which made a big splash when it was introduced as a 1995 model.

Base price for the Plymouth Neon is $12,715. Air conditioning ($1,000), side-impact airbags ($350), four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, and aluminum wheels are all extra-cost options.

Plymouth Neons all come equipped with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 132 horsepower. A 5-speed manual transmission comes standard and we prefer it, but a 3-speed automatic transmission is optional ($600).

Plymouth offers option package 21G ($1,820) that loads the Neon up with air conditioning, nicer seat fabric, head restraints for the rear-seat passengers, 15-inch wheel covers, a nicer looking instrument panel with a tachometer, power heated mirrors and power front windows, remote keyless entry with two transmitters, alarm, Sentry key theft-deterrent system, power door locks, central locking, power trunk lid release, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, and traction control.