Neon vs ZX2

So here is the deal... My son is 17. He wants to be a mechanic eventually and is pretty handy with a wrench...but only with maint. type things...nothing crazy. He had a Mercury Mystique and wrecked it....not his fault. So looking for another car. He has less than $2k to spend.

We live in the country...he drives 10 miles to school, 25 to work. Hes looking for a car that is fun to drive...5 spd...has potential to be quicker than the average car... I dont see him trying to make a real race car out of it...but he will prob mod it some.

Hes going into the Marines in a year...so this isnt a forever car...

locally we have found a couple Neons 2 dr but not R/T's...and a couple zx2's. He needs a car pretty soon...within a week prob...We live in Omaha NE.

There is a Maxima but it has rust...the other two have none...also the Maxima guy isnt returning calls etc...so it might be sold.

Leaning towards the Neon only because there is a 2dr that is in good shape for the money...but I have always been a Ford guy...so that is a little hard to accept...haha. at the end of the day I want him to have something he can have fun in...your only 17 once.

Any insights, thoughts, opinions...etc would be appreciated.

Neon or ZX2 is pretty much a pick em, I think. Buy the one with the least rust and miles that looks the best. ZX2 won't bend valves when the belt or pump fails, the Neon will. Clutch is easier in a Neon.

That is kind of what I was thinking...that its really about the same...seems like both have their little following. the zx2 looks better...but other than that...

Only buy a neon if you don't mind doing the timing belt and water pump.

The one we are looking at is at 137k miles. supposedly the timing belt was done at 125k. Dont know about the water pump

I would go with the Zx2. Sorry, but all the neons around here are either dead or have been through the "pimp my ride" school of modification

I prefer the Neon (nothing that special about the R/T that can't easily be duplicated as part of a freshening up package) to the ZX2, but I agree, I'd buy whichever one is cleanest and has the best maintenance history.

I see Neons killing in Lemons racing but ZX2s seem to be buried in the pack.

Neon > ZX2.

Neons did have more aftermarket, if that matters. Not sure what the present status is for either car now though.

ZX2s have terrible manual transmissions

Wifey drives the focus more than the zx2 because with a stage two clutch and lowering springs she says the car is too much to handle.

Tuna, I know you as one of the most intelligent guys around here. Your transmission comment make me . Mine is great, keeping in mind that I have changed out every sensor on my car. I've replaced about 1000 in parts, but only paid 1000 for the car.

The Neons around here are dogged and usually barely holding up, but thats a maintenance issue. Obviously there are good ones.

Pulling it all together, I'm a Ford guy and LOVE my zx2. I was thinking of getting a new car and the little machine changed my mind. Clutch is a bitch to change, but most surgeries are actually pretty simple. An easy car to learn on.

I loved my Neon and didn't like the ZX2, but these days, I'd pick up whatever you can find a better example of, especially in this part of the country.

I saw a Neon R/T going down the road yesterday and was stunned. I probably hadn't seen one in two years or more.

N Sperlo wrote: Tuna, I know you as one of the most intelligent guys around here. Your transmission comment make me .

High praise, my friend!

I only speak of my experience. My replacement one lasted about 10-20k miles (although it was used when installed, it shifted fine when installed). I have no idea how many were threw it before that happened, but the ZX2 forums seemed to point to the transmission as an especially weak piece.

I could be an outlier.

Nice car, other than that. That little Zetec would sing, too.

I got a ZX2 for my son. Great car so far. First thing I did was buy the S/R suspension kit for $150 - shocks and springs for all four corners. Then I put a thicker sway bar on the rear from an Escort wagon ($25) and decent tires.

The car really looks great and handles very well for that level of car. (tho I prefer my Focus SVT - a lot more car, and way more refined design/construction.)

As an Escort owner, i'd say Neon. Don't worry about R/T vs. base.

Neither is really quicker than the other. The SOHC is a torquey mofo, and usually has the tighter gearbox, so it moves just fine.

The "hot" setup would be an R/T with a base trans.

Now... if we were talking EGT vs. Neon, i'm not sure which i would pick.

I endorse the ZX2 on styling over the Neon. ZX2s didn't have ads where the car gave you a friendly hello. I'm a big fan of non-interference engines. Also, the ZX2 water pump is accessory-belt-driven, so a failed water pump won't take out the timing belt.

ZX2 transmissions are strong enough -- if you're not drag racing the car. The differential can't handle that kind of abuse. The shift forks don't like to be slammed around hard either. If your son avoids hard launches and doesn't shift with a leaden fist, he won't break anything. 2003 models are rarer and probably out of your $2k price range, but they had stronger shift forks.

It's a Mazda G-series transmission, nearly identical to the one in the EGT. mFactory makes a helical LSD for it.

Purely anecdotal evidence for ZX2 reliability: I ran mine to 211k miles (bought at 106k), at which point I swapped the engine into my LeMons car -- its still runs strong. My only repairs were an alternator and a timing belt, and some front end parts near 180k: wheel bearing, ball joints, tie rod ends. That's the car I abused through college.

My brother wrecked his at 160k miles, also without issues (bought at 110k). My dad's is at 180k miles and has a noisy exhaust leak at the flex pipe; otherwise no problems (bought at 120k).

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: The SOHC is a torquey mofo, and usually has the tighter gearbox, so it moves just fine.

You've got that backwards, the DOHC always got the shorter performance final drive, and the SOHC always* got the taller economy final drive.

• except for ACR trim

MCarp22 wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: The SOHC is a torquey mofo, and usually has the tighter gearbox, so it moves just fine.

You've got that backwards, the DOHC always got the shorter performance final drive, and the SOHC always* got the taller economy final drive. * except for ACR trim

Oops, my bad.

Either way, SOHC + tighter gearbox = fun!

i don't like the headgaskets in the neons. or the p/s pumps. or changing the timing belt. or the broken speedo.

the zx2's vibrate too much at idle.

If the headgasket has been done properly with the MLS gasket, it's no longer an issue.

Finding out stuff I either didn't know or had forgotten about with these cars.

I would have been inclined, at first, to say it's a toss-up. It now looks like the Z is the better car. Only bad thing about the ZX2 is the radio. I think the '03 finally got a radio panel that uses a standard size opening, while pre '03s used that funky Escort "flowing buttons" cluster that can make upgrading a radio difficult.

Since both cars are out of production, I would imagine the aftermarket is nearly the same on them. Don't ZX wheels have a center hole or a bolt pattern that limits the number of wheel upgrades, at least in comparison to a Neon? That's the only possible advantage that I could see to buying the Neon over the ZX.

ZXs are pretty normal 4x100 fare, not something i'd worry about.

Hmmmm....some of the transmission comments make me pause a little.

Not that my son is an all out racer or anything...but he IS a 17yr old boy...in the country...with a little bit of a competitiveness problem. He does Mt Biking competitively etc. Although I know he's better than he was at 16...a little more mature about the who and where...he is still likely to thrash it a bit. He has also said it would be fun to go to the track a couple of times and pay the $25. or whatever it is to see what the car will do.

Let me ask this. Both are a low 15 second car in stock form right? Which one would be least $$ to make a low 14 second car with? or is that reasonable? That is out of my area of expertise...which is computer sales....hahaha.

Thanks for everyone treating the old non-car guy so nice.

mcompton1973 wrote: Hmmmm....some of the transmission comments make me pause a little. Not that my son is an all out racer or anything...but he IS a 17yr old boy...in the country...with a little bit of a competitiveness problem. He does Mt Biking competitively etc. Although I know he's better than he was at 16...a little more mature about the who and where...he is still likely to thrash it a bit. He has also said it would be fun to go to the track a couple of times and pay the $25. or whatever it is to see what the car will do. Let me ask this. Both are a low 15 second car in stock form right? Which one would be least $$ to make a low 14 second car with? or is that reasonable? That is out of my area of expertise...which is computer sales....hahaha. Thanks for everyone treating the old non-car guy so nice.

I'd say they're more like 16s cars. The neon will be faster, and cheaper to get into the 14s.

Getting a ZX2 into the low 14s would be a turbo or a motor swap i think.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: As an Escort owner, i'd say Neon. Don't worry about R/T vs. base.

I still see old Escorts on the road.. not so many Neons