The only "bad" reliability wise neons were the early first gens. I had a 98 Neon ACR and that car was a blast, yeah the interior felt cheap, but that's because it's to lighten the load. Feel lucky, the old ACR's like the one I purchased was a true sport compact, bitch didn't even come with an antenna, just a plug, let alone a radio . No cruise, nothing. But you put it on an auto-x course and that thing would truly shine. The adjustable factory koni's were a nice touch too . When it comes to sport compact, especially the Neons, Dodge has done a very good job. I have yet to drive an SRT-4, but I would expect it to be at least as good handling wise, as the old ACR 4-door I had. The crap models were and always will be the base models, they are made as cheap as possible.

If you look at other cars near it's price range in the sport compact car field you won't get anything that touches it. The Focus SVT a 16 second car with awesome handling (18k), the Civic SI(18k) another 16 second car that no offense but lacks about everywhere and costs way too much for what you get, or an RSX-S, which costs more and isn't nearly as fast. So in comparison yeah this car is the best buy for the money point blank. I would truthfully buy one if they didn't rape me on insurance . Not only for the car, but for the warranty. I love my Fords, but warranties are much better.