Chrysler Neon 1.6 SE

August 2001

Chrysler extends Neon range with 1.6-litre SE

A third model has been added to the South African Chrysler Neon line-up – a 1.6-litre SE with manual 5-speed ‘box (complementing the 2.0 LX manual and auto and R/T manual) which is bound to attract the attention of company and rental fleet owners.

The newest Neon is powered by a highly refined 1598cc four-cylinder engine rated at 85 kW. Chrysler claims that the engine’s 154 Nm of torque is higher than that of any other naturally aspirated 1.6ℓ engine currently available in Europe or the US, is highly fuel-efficient and is well within European and other strict emission standards.

Incidentally, this engine was developed in collaboration with BMW and is used in similar form in the New Mini. It is produced by Tritec Motors in Curitiba, Brazil.

According to a Chrysler release, the engine is very compact and uses a cast iron cylinder block and aluminum head with a single overhead camshaft and four valves per cylinder.  It features the Chrysler group’s first application of electronic throttle control (ETC).  The lightweight pistons, rods and crankshaft were designed to provide excellent responsiveness and reduced noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).

The addition of the 1.6 SE is set to significantly increase sales of the already successful Neon range in South Africa, adding around 25% to the figures achieved by the LX luxury and R/T performance models.

The 1.6 SE comes with virtually all the luxury specs of the upmarket LX models - bar leather trim (slate gray cloth instead) - and includes such items as power steering, electric windows and mirrors, central locking, aircon and high-grade sound system.

LX features not found on the SE include cruise control, leather covering for the steering wheel and gear knob, woodgrain finish on the console and power adjustment for the driver’s seat. The only exterior feature distinguishing the SE from the LX is the use of wheel covers instead of alloys and the omission of front fog lamps.

On the safety front, the SE comes with twin airbags, losing the LX’s side bags, ABS brakes and traction control.

Capacity wise, all Neons have a 47ℓ fuel tank and 371ℓ of luggage space.

The Neon SE is sold with Chryslers standard 3 year/60 000 km bumper to bumper warranty. Service intervals are set at 12 000 km.