Dodge Dart Review

[A Horse With No Name]

So I didn't drive it but checked out a Dodge dart at the local dodge dealer...had a few minutes to kill and thought the car looked interesting.

Liked:

Paint quality was good, probably better than average for a new car.

Exterior has really sharp styling.

Car is sized nicely, should be easy to park and is a nice balance with need for interior room. Really well packaged.

Love the fact that it's available in a manual

Reports of 40 mpg plus from reviewers and owners make the car maybe worth a look at some point.

Disliked-

Interior is nice, but poorly assembled. Car had been at the dealership for a week or so and several interior trim pieces were already starting to come loose.

Dashboard has soft touch plastics but still feels really cheap.

Car I looked at was almost 25K, or GTI or Verano money...and it ain't nowhere near as nice as a GTI or Verano. I could see it in the teens can't really see it in the mid twenties....

Looking forward to test driving this so I can give it a full report.

[daves87rs]

I smell lease deals....

[A Horse With No Name]

I smell lease deals....

...and I think you would be correct, sir!

[G. David Felt]

Very cool, would like to see pictures of this one as to what was loose and how it looked.

Poor assembly is just wrong at this time in our economy of jobs. Dodge needs to jump all over this crap and fire the morons who do not care about doing their job right.

I mean was it a poor design by the engineer or assembly. Someone was lazy.

Edited July 25, 2012 by dfelt

[regfootball]

this car was conceived quickly, poor assembly does not surprise me.

If it even turns out nicer than an Avenger (which in theory should not be hard but for Chrysler....) then I will be surprised.

[A Horse With No Name]

It's a nice car...but trust me, the build quality on the Verano I drove was eleventy billion times better.

And agree with Dfelt, there is no excuse for poor build quality.

[regfootball]

Verano is indeed very well done.

Dart is admirable, but when i worked the autoshow this year, walking by the dodge part more than once hearing people liken the dart to the Neon because of looks, I can't help but hope it's not a pile like the Neon.

[vonVeezelsnider]

Still not out in Canada yet and I am really looking forward to seeing it. Based on what information is available I think the packaging and pricing is pretty much right on. It's an appealingly styled car although if I was to have one I'd want the blacked-out headlights and grille, it doesn't look quite right without them. I'm concerned to hear about the quality observations by others as they really need this to be a well built successful unit. I wouldn't expect it to have quite Buick-levels of quality control but certainly it should be competitive with the Cruze and Focus... Time will tell, could just have been that car. The reviewers who've been driving them have been mum on fit'n'finish issues.

[Guest MyerShift]

The hood over the IP feels flimsy in the Dart, but having sat in one, it feels nicer overall than the Cruze, but the styling is definitely a Chrysler evolution of the past before Daimler ruined it all.

Pricing seems fine to me. It's right in line with everyone else.

It hardly looks like a Neon. Why people say this is beyond me. Is it because it's a small Dodge with four doors and wheels/tires? It's unbelievable to me how stupid most people are.

[MyerShift]

Pricing is right in line with everyone else, no problems there.

Interior materials feel nicer than the Cruze although the hood over the IP feels flimsy. The Focus feels great upand front but transitions to Cobalt cheap in the rear (door panels).

The Dart has better customizability than everyone else which tend to bundle features in trim lines, although I hate being forced into things I don't want just to get another option.

Memo to Chrysler and GM: heated CLOTH seats/steering wheel as stand alone option like Ford's Focus.

I don't understand the people saying it looks like a Neon. Why- because it's a small Dodge sedan? Talk about stupid to say the Dart LOOKS like a Neon.

[Robert Hall]

I don't understand the people saying it looks like a Neon. Why- because it's a small Dodge sedan? Talk about stupid to say the Dart LOOKS like a Neon.

For some weird reason--don't know if it is the front end, but it reminds me of the Neon...like how a 3rd gen could have looked.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[G. David Felt]

Wonder if this started out as a neon 3rd gen before deciding it was time to go with another name?

[MyerShift]

Considering that the Dart is the spiritual successor to the Neon, it would make some evolutionary sense, does that mean people think the Cruze looks like a Cobalt looks like a Cavalier? Or the Focus looks like an Escort?

The shapes are very different.

If a Dart looks like a Neon, then surely a Neon looks like a Shadow, right? ;-)

**pardon my sarcasm gentlemen**

Edited January 24, 2013 by MyerShift

[Drew Dowdell]

It's in the grille, Dodge could have called this a neon and few would have protested.

[ponchoman49]

Dodge could have made the sheet metal a little more interesting. From the side it looks too plain and generic like a Kia Forte or any number of generica out today.

[Blake Noble]

The Dart Rallye 1.6 Turbo I test drove before buying my Charger wasn't a horrible car by any means and the build quality was actually quite nice. However, my biggest turn off about the Dart was the 1.6's performance dysfunction (it isn't the best match for a car the Dart's size) and the irritatingly odd variable electric power-assisted steering (the transition between being light and numb at low speeds and weighted and responsive at higher speeds is sometimes jarring and non-linear). The six-speed gearbox was nice though, with fairly neutral throws (not too long, but not short).

Big thumbs up for UConnect too. I love the base version that my Charger has, and the bigger system that the Dart I tested out had is even better. It's amazingly responsive.

Edited February 14, 2013 by black-knight

[regfootball]

some of the stance is similar but there are more differences than one would think.

[A Horse With No Name]

Agree with Reg...

[regfootball]

I wish Kia wouldn't have puked on the interior of this car.....stylish outside.