The SXT's seats are quite comfortable, cushy and supportive. The side bolster appears a bit soft, but felt fine while driving. The cloth upholstery feels good and looks durable. Vinyl trim on the front edges of the seats gives them a nicely finished look and feel.

Dash and door trim are made of a premium material that's soft to the touch, providing an attractive appearance and feel and avoiding the plastic look that afflicts so many compacts. The body-color bezels that come with the Sport Appearance and SRT Design packages add a racy accent to the SXT. Map lights are mounted on the rear-view mirror, not the best location as your co-driver may accidentally adjust your mirror when using the light switch. Otherwise, switchgear is easy to use and works well, though the turn signal stalk on our test car wasn't smooth. The standard stereo sounded mediocre. And having to press a button to get the key out of the ignition slot is an annoying extra step.

Back-seat riders benefit from the Neon's big interior. The back seat of a Neon is not a bad place for short-to-medium-length trips. Rear-seat roominess is about average for the class, bettering the Civic for hip room, while the Honda offers more head and leg room.

Neon's trunk is reasonably large, at 13.1 cubic feet, but about average for the class. Gooseneck hinges intrude into the cargo space, but afford a relatively large trunk opening. Lift-over height is on the high side. The rear seat splits 60/40 and folds down for carrying additional cargo.

SRT-4 comes with special interior trim, including a satin-silver center stack, shift knob and door handles. SRT-4 seats are modeled after those in the Dodge Viper with enhanced lumbar and lateral sections for better support when cornering. Agate-colored cloth is designed to grip the driver. Cast aluminum pedals look like those seen in race cars. A turbo boost/vacuum gauge sits to the right of the instrument cluster, underneath the dash brow.