Faults:

The engine began "fluttering" at about 35, 000 Km in October of 2005. It kept wanting to die unless I put it in neutral and kept the RPMs up. I thought maybe I picked up a batch of bad gas, but then the engine light came on and I knew it was something more serious. When I took it into the dealership two days later, they basically informed me something fizzled out on the car's computer and that they gave the car it's first tune-up.

Ever since then, I've noticed a steady decline in the car's fuel economy. Up to this incident, I was getting approximately 550 Km to 600 Km per tank of fuel, but ever since it's been maybe getting 425 Km at its best (approx. 31 mpg or so). I thought maybe the engine was still breaking in, but the economy is still terrible and is 10 mpg less than what it's rated for (42 mpg). I have kept up with the recommended service changes and so forth, so I am not very impressed with this vehicle at all after owning it for two years.

General Comments:

PROS

-I upgraded the seats to leather and they are very comfortable to sit in.

-With winter tires on, it handles and brakes well on icy/snow covered roads (but isn't that the point???)

-Decent sound system, excellent heating system and A/C system.

CONS

-The shape of the car (high in the back end and low in the front) makes it difficult to shoulder check, especially during city driving.

-Because of it's front-end being so low to the ground, the bottom gets very, very scraped up and scratched.

-When passing somebody or when acceleration is needed: After pressing the foot pedal down, the RPMs shoot up and there's a 1-2 second delay before the transmission kicks in and then the car speeds up. I hate this about the Dodge SX 2.0. Any other vehicle I've ever driven, the engine and transmission work together and the acceleration is instantaneous when the pedal is pushed down.

-Terrible on gravel roads... DO NOT GO ANY FASTER THAN 60 KM/HR if on a gravel road (35 MPH), or you will find yourself all over the map or upside down. Thankfully the only gravel it ever sees is the road to my parents house and that's about 1-2 times per year.

I am a big fan of Dodge, but this car is a real let-down. The only reason why I got this make is because fuel prices went up and I couldn't afford to keep gas in my truck, but I regret getting the Dodge SX 2.0.

Faults:

Engine light came on. Sensor replaced.

General Comments:

Surprised, well made, handles well, but not as well as my '86 Prelude, just different. After 17 years in Prelude had to get used to different interior - good layout, seats, roomier and better equipped than my wife Protege. Odd A/C controls. Bit sluggish at low RPM, excellent at high, quick. Not a fan of power steering, in this case works well. Wanted SRT-4 but was not available at the time and Prelude fell apart.