2013 Dodge Dart
Fiat and Chrysler's first kid is a good one.
April 2012
BY DON SHERMAN
Chrysler must have a death wish, an inferiority complex, or a burning desire to stay third among the domestic Big Three. Thirty-odd years ago, Lee Iacocca begged Congress for loan guarantees to keep the Chrysler ship afloat. This company had another encounter with the Grim Reaper in the Nineties followed by a full Chapter 11 reorganization three years ago. Ownership stints by Daimler-Benz, Cerberus, the U.S. and Canadian governments, and Fiat have left the Pentastar brand feeling like a toxic orphan.
Yet Chrysler keeps bouncing back with breakthrough products that save its bacon: K-cars thirty years ago, the LH family in the 1990s, and the 300 sedans in the Aughts. Now it’s the Dodge Dart’s turn to prove that Chrysler is back from the brink to make amends for the misbegotten Dodge Caliber.
Married with Child
The Dart is the first child of the Chrysler-Fiat marriage, a union still in the honeymoon phase. By achieving 40 mpg combined in EPA testing (unadjusted mileage figures, not the lower window-sticker numbers), the Dart singlehandedly earned Fiat an ownership increase of five percent, lifting its controlling interest to 58.5 percent. The Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association—operated by Chrysler’s long-suffering UAW workforce—owns the remaining 41.5-percent chunk.
Like this company’s previous savior cars, the Dart is charged with a mega mission. Phase One: Invade the hotly contested, fast-growing compact-sedan class where 20 or so Asian, German, and domestic models fight to survive. Phase Two: Share its underpinnings with abroad range of future Dodges, Chryslers, and Jeeps. Phase Three: Bring the SRT performance brand down from $100,000 Vipers and $50,000 Grand Cherokees and Chargers to the $30K–40K price range.
What makes these ambitious tasks doable is the warm, loving parent that took in Chrysler from the cold. To trim a year or more from the Dart’s gestation process, Chrysler-Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne shipped over one of the most admired platforms in the combine’s inventory—the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Born two years ago with a classic name and fresh front-wheel-drive technology, the Giulietta has earned Alfa major kudos across Europe.
Well aware of the consequences of screwing up what could be their last shot at prosperity, Chrysler designers and engineers proceeded with caution. Style-wise, the Dart is a Charger with a pointy nose and less bad-boy attitude. Size-wise, it straddles the compact/mid-size boundary. Stretching the Giulietta’s 103.7-inch wheelbase to 106.4 inches, adding more than a foot to the overall length, and increasing width by 1.2 inches yielded what the Fiat-Chrysler alliance calls its Compact U.S. Wide platform, as well as 110.3 cubic feet of interior and trunk space. That gives the Dart more combined room than the compact-class leaders—Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla.
The Many Flavors of Dart
To intensify the invasion plan, Dart will be a withering onslaught of five models, six powertrains, 14 color and trim combinations, and three wheel sizes scheduled to roll forth from May through the end of this year. The $16,790 base SE is powered by a new 2.0-liter DOHC 160-hp engine designed and manufactured in the U.S. Called Tigershark in homage to the stillborn Northrop Grumman F-20 jet fighter, this aluminum-block-and-head, short-stroke, 16-valve four has variable valve timing and port injection.
The $18,790 Dart SXT adds 17-inch aluminum wheels, remote keyless entry, power mirrors and door locks, a split-folding rear seat (versus the SE’s single-piece folding backrest), and a six-speaker entertainment system as standard equipment. The SXT’s options list contains an 8.4-inch center-stack touch screen, a navigation system, a rearview camera, and a 506-watt, nine-speaker (plus a subwoofer) sound system.
The $19,790 Rallye middle-trim child sports a more aggressive black-accented front fascia, projector fog lamps, dual exhaust tips, a leather-wrapped steering wheel armed with audio controls, and an optional SOHC 1.4-liter turbocharged four borrowed from the Fiat 500 Abarth. That iron-block engine makes the same 160 hp as the base four but has a more entertaining 184 lb-ft of torque (versus the 2.0-liter’s 145 lb-ft).
The $20,790 Dart Limited brings to the party a 10-way power-adjustable driver seat, the aforementioned touch screen, a reconfigurable electronic gauge cluster, and a few bits of chrome exterior trim as standard equipment; the Limited’s options list includes Nappa leather seats, a heated steering wheel, nav, rear cross-path detection, and polished aluminum wheels.
The top model due later this year is the $23,290 Dart R/T powered exclusively by a second U.S.-designed Tigershark engine. This 2.4-liter four, which tops out at 184 hp and 171 lb-ft of torque, combines the base engine’s 88-mm bore with a 97-mm stroke. Like the 1.4-liter turbo, this engine is equipped with Fiat’s MultiAir system, which uses electronically controlled hydraulic fluid between the cam lobes and the valves to vary intake timing and lift. A sport suspension and 18-inch wheels are standard in the R/T, as are special Nappa leather seats, dual-zone climate control, and a heated steering wheel and heated seats.
Three transmissions back up the cadre of three engines. A six-speed manual supplied by Fiat is standard for all trim levels. A Powertech automatic, also providing six speeds, comes from Hyundai’s West Point, Georgia, manufacturing plant and is optional in all Darts except those equipped with the 1.4-liter turbo engine. The automatic transmission that is optional with that engine is a dual-clutch design also supplied by Fiat.
Beyond the nuts and bolts, tempting spoiled customers with long goody lists of safety, entertainment, and communication features is compulsory. To fulfill that obligation, every Dart has 10 air bags—three more than a Mercedes C-class and four more than an Audi A4. The Dart’s optional rain-sensing wipers, blind-spot monitoring, and backup camera are rare in the compact class. Venturing beyond cup holders and door slots for beverage containers, this new Dodge has a glove box large enough to swallow an iPad and a secret storage compartment hidden under the front passenger’s seat cushion.
Darting To and From
Since the 2.4-liter four-cylinder won’t hit the market for several months, our northern California test drives were limited to the three middle trim levels. The great news is that the solid underpinnings and communicative electrically assisted ZF rack-and-pinion power steering engineered by Alfa chassis pros are happily at work here. The Dart’s strut-type front suspension, independent trailing-arm rear axle, and monotube dampers are tuned with an emphasis on roadholding and steadfast body control at the expense of ride isolation. Compared to our favorite compacts—the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3—there’s significantly more steering feel and feedback. On-center, there’s no slack and the rise in steering effort twisting into a bend is delightfully linear. The rigidly attached front and rear crossmembers and major suspension components are aluminum to provide a high level of chassis rigidity with a reasonable (about 3200 pounds) curb weight. Two-thirds of the unibody is made of high-strength steel.
Instead of the usual four-cylinder thrash, the base 2.0-liter engine hums contentedly while it works, thanks in part to twin balance shafts and a meaty forged-steel crankshaft. In spite of its lazy throttle response and a numb clutch pedal, this engine revs to 6000 rpm without complaint. Heel-and-toe operation of the gas and brake are possible with a bit of stretching, and the big-ball shifter glides through its H-pattern with angelic grace. With 20 or more pounds for every pony to bear, the base engine is happiest when kept in the last third of its rev range. The 2.0-liter/automatic combination serves up willing downshifts to provide more hustle than 160 hp would suggest. A manual mode, which holds gears to redline, is controlled by the shift lever.
The best powertrain of the three we’ve experienced thus far is the 1.4-liter turbo mated to the six-speed manual transmission. Chugged down as low as 1300 rpm, it pulls willingly and enthusiastically with much crisper throttle response than the base engine. There’s a pleasant growl through the mid-range, followed by nicely modulated rowdiness above 5000 rpm. Revving this Dart to its 6200-rpm redline is the best way to bring the stout chassis, taut suspension, and willing powertrain into harmony.
The Inside Story
Dodge interior designers also devoted extra effort to avoid the compact-class blahs. Hot red accents are used in contrast stitching, in two-tone leather seat trim, and to illuminate large and small instrument panel details. The usual gray, black, and beige tones are enlivened with sculpted surfaces, background lighting, and electronic display panels. Top trim levels have an 8.4-inch touch screen plus a 7-inch instrument cluster with reconfigurable secondary instrument and trip-meter displays.
Front bucket seats provide an endearing blend of attributes—easy entry, firm lateral and longitudinal support, and all-day-in-the-saddle comfort. The steering wheel’s rim contouring and grippy leather wrap are good enough to impress your average Porsche fan. Overall, the Dart’s cabin feels more like a sport sedan’s than a budget-conscious family hauler’s. That said, we noticed a few lapses. The dead pedal is too short and too slippery to provide a secure left-foot brace for hard cornering. And the rear seat won’t transport three adults for more than a few blocks. The center-position cushion and backrest are suitable for kids but too firm and high for grownup use.
For a company backed onto the ropes only three years ago, elbowing into the fastest-growing, most competitive segment in the car business is a remarkable feat. The inevitable conclusion is that high stress levels and impossible goals are what motivate Chrysler to achieve great things. So far, Sergio Marchionne’s moves seem shrewdly aimed. During the first quarter of this year, Chrysler sales rose by a third over 2011. Everything we’ve learned about the Dodge Dart convinces us it’s sailing straight and true to a bull’s-eye landing.
BY DON SHERMAN
Chrysler must have a death wish, an inferiority complex, or a burning desire to stay third among the domestic Big Three. Thirty-odd years ago, Lee Iacocca begged Congress for loan guarantees to keep the Chrysler ship afloat. This company had another encounter with the Grim Reaper in the Nineties followed by a full Chapter 11 reorganization three years ago. Ownership stints by Daimler-Benz, Cerberus, the U.S. and Canadian governments, and Fiat have left the Pentastar brand feeling like a toxic orphan.
Yet Chrysler keeps bouncing back with breakthrough products that save its bacon: K-cars thirty years ago, the LH family in the 1990s, and the 300 sedans in the Aughts. Now it’s the Dodge Dart’s turn to prove that Chrysler is back from the brink to make amends for the misbegotten Dodge Caliber.
Married with Child
The Dart is the first child of the Chrysler-Fiat marriage, a union still in the honeymoon phase. By achieving 40 mpg combined in EPA testing (unadjusted mileage figures, not the lower window-sticker numbers), the Dart singlehandedly earned Fiat an ownership increase of five percent, lifting its controlling interest to 58.5 percent. The Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association—operated by Chrysler’s long-suffering UAW workforce—owns the remaining 41.5-percent chunk.
Like this company’s previous savior cars, the Dart is charged with a mega mission. Phase One: Invade the hotly contested, fast-growing compact-sedan class where 20 or so Asian, German, and domestic models fight to survive. Phase Two: Share its underpinnings with abroad range of future Dodges, Chryslers, and Jeeps. Phase Three: Bring the SRT performance brand down from $100,000 Vipers and $50,000 Grand Cherokees and Chargers to the $30K–40K price range.
What makes these ambitious tasks doable is the warm, loving parent that took in Chrysler from the cold. To trim a year or more from the Dart’s gestation process, Chrysler-Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne shipped over one of the most admired platforms in the combine’s inventory—the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Born two years ago with a classic name and fresh front-wheel-drive technology, the Giulietta has earned Alfa major kudos across Europe.
Well aware of the consequences of screwing up what could be their last shot at prosperity, Chrysler designers and engineers proceeded with caution. Style-wise, the Dart is a Charger with a pointy nose and less bad-boy attitude. Size-wise, it straddles the compact/mid-size boundary. Stretching the Giulietta’s 103.7-inch wheelbase to 106.4 inches, adding more than a foot to the overall length, and increasing width by 1.2 inches yielded what the Fiat-Chrysler alliance calls its Compact U.S. Wide platform, as well as 110.3 cubic feet of interior and trunk space. That gives the Dart more combined room than the compact-class leaders—Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla.
The Many Flavors of Dart
To intensify the invasion plan, Dart will be a withering onslaught of five models, six powertrains, 14 color and trim combinations, and three wheel sizes scheduled to roll forth from May through the end of this year. The $16,790 base SE is powered by a new 2.0-liter DOHC 160-hp engine designed and manufactured in the U.S. Called Tigershark in homage to the stillborn Northrop Grumman F-20 jet fighter, this aluminum-block-and-head, short-stroke, 16-valve four has variable valve timing and port injection.
The $18,790 Dart SXT adds 17-inch aluminum wheels, remote keyless entry, power mirrors and door locks, a split-folding rear seat (versus the SE’s single-piece folding backrest), and a six-speaker entertainment system as standard equipment. The SXT’s options list contains an 8.4-inch center-stack touch screen, a navigation system, a rearview camera, and a 506-watt, nine-speaker (plus a subwoofer) sound system.
The $19,790 Rallye middle-trim child sports a more aggressive black-accented front fascia, projector fog lamps, dual exhaust tips, a leather-wrapped steering wheel armed with audio controls, and an optional SOHC 1.4-liter turbocharged four borrowed from the Fiat 500 Abarth. That iron-block engine makes the same 160 hp as the base four but has a more entertaining 184 lb-ft of torque (versus the 2.0-liter’s 145 lb-ft).
The $20,790 Dart Limited brings to the party a 10-way power-adjustable driver seat, the aforementioned touch screen, a reconfigurable electronic gauge cluster, and a few bits of chrome exterior trim as standard equipment; the Limited’s options list includes Nappa leather seats, a heated steering wheel, nav, rear cross-path detection, and polished aluminum wheels.
The top model due later this year is the $23,290 Dart R/T powered exclusively by a second U.S.-designed Tigershark engine. This 2.4-liter four, which tops out at 184 hp and 171 lb-ft of torque, combines the base engine’s 88-mm bore with a 97-mm stroke. Like the 1.4-liter turbo, this engine is equipped with Fiat’s MultiAir system, which uses electronically controlled hydraulic fluid between the cam lobes and the valves to vary intake timing and lift. A sport suspension and 18-inch wheels are standard in the R/T, as are special Nappa leather seats, dual-zone climate control, and a heated steering wheel and heated seats.
Three transmissions back up the cadre of three engines. A six-speed manual supplied by Fiat is standard for all trim levels. A Powertech automatic, also providing six speeds, comes from Hyundai’s West Point, Georgia, manufacturing plant and is optional in all Darts except those equipped with the 1.4-liter turbo engine. The automatic transmission that is optional with that engine is a dual-clutch design also supplied by Fiat.
Beyond the nuts and bolts, tempting spoiled customers with long goody lists of safety, entertainment, and communication features is compulsory. To fulfill that obligation, every Dart has 10 air bags—three more than a Mercedes C-class and four more than an Audi A4. The Dart’s optional rain-sensing wipers, blind-spot monitoring, and backup camera are rare in the compact class. Venturing beyond cup holders and door slots for beverage containers, this new Dodge has a glove box large enough to swallow an iPad and a secret storage compartment hidden under the front passenger’s seat cushion.
Darting To and From
Since the 2.4-liter four-cylinder won’t hit the market for several months, our northern California test drives were limited to the three middle trim levels. The great news is that the solid underpinnings and communicative electrically assisted ZF rack-and-pinion power steering engineered by Alfa chassis pros are happily at work here. The Dart’s strut-type front suspension, independent trailing-arm rear axle, and monotube dampers are tuned with an emphasis on roadholding and steadfast body control at the expense of ride isolation. Compared to our favorite compacts—the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3—there’s significantly more steering feel and feedback. On-center, there’s no slack and the rise in steering effort twisting into a bend is delightfully linear. The rigidly attached front and rear crossmembers and major suspension components are aluminum to provide a high level of chassis rigidity with a reasonable (about 3200 pounds) curb weight. Two-thirds of the unibody is made of high-strength steel.
Instead of the usual four-cylinder thrash, the base 2.0-liter engine hums contentedly while it works, thanks in part to twin balance shafts and a meaty forged-steel crankshaft. In spite of its lazy throttle response and a numb clutch pedal, this engine revs to 6000 rpm without complaint. Heel-and-toe operation of the gas and brake are possible with a bit of stretching, and the big-ball shifter glides through its H-pattern with angelic grace. With 20 or more pounds for every pony to bear, the base engine is happiest when kept in the last third of its rev range. The 2.0-liter/automatic combination serves up willing downshifts to provide more hustle than 160 hp would suggest. A manual mode, which holds gears to redline, is controlled by the shift lever.
The best powertrain of the three we’ve experienced thus far is the 1.4-liter turbo mated to the six-speed manual transmission. Chugged down as low as 1300 rpm, it pulls willingly and enthusiastically with much crisper throttle response than the base engine. There’s a pleasant growl through the mid-range, followed by nicely modulated rowdiness above 5000 rpm. Revving this Dart to its 6200-rpm redline is the best way to bring the stout chassis, taut suspension, and willing powertrain into harmony.
The Inside Story
Dodge interior designers also devoted extra effort to avoid the compact-class blahs. Hot red accents are used in contrast stitching, in two-tone leather seat trim, and to illuminate large and small instrument panel details. The usual gray, black, and beige tones are enlivened with sculpted surfaces, background lighting, and electronic display panels. Top trim levels have an 8.4-inch touch screen plus a 7-inch instrument cluster with reconfigurable secondary instrument and trip-meter displays.
Front bucket seats provide an endearing blend of attributes—easy entry, firm lateral and longitudinal support, and all-day-in-the-saddle comfort. The steering wheel’s rim contouring and grippy leather wrap are good enough to impress your average Porsche fan. Overall, the Dart’s cabin feels more like a sport sedan’s than a budget-conscious family hauler’s. That said, we noticed a few lapses. The dead pedal is too short and too slippery to provide a secure left-foot brace for hard cornering. And the rear seat won’t transport three adults for more than a few blocks. The center-position cushion and backrest are suitable for kids but too firm and high for grownup use.
For a company backed onto the ropes only three years ago, elbowing into the fastest-growing, most competitive segment in the car business is a remarkable feat. The inevitable conclusion is that high stress levels and impossible goals are what motivate Chrysler to achieve great things. So far, Sergio Marchionne’s moves seem shrewdly aimed. During the first quarter of this year, Chrysler sales rose by a third over 2011. Everything we’ve learned about the Dodge Dart convinces us it’s sailing straight and true to a bull’s-eye landing.
[video=youtube;wrdxDk_jWkQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrdxDk_jWkQ[/video]
[video=youtube;q6z7f0TtvwA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6z7f0TtvwA[/video]
