Part 1: The KIA Optima
Have you ever played the game "Would your rather?"
It's somewhat of a truth or dare game where you're given two rather awful choices to choose between and you have to decide which one is the least worst option. Say, would you rather slide down an incline covered razor blades into a vat of rubbing alcohol or be forced to watch Gigli for 72 straight hours?
Tough choice.
I faced somewhat of a similar choice (although not to that extent obviously) when I decided to go out and look at the sedan options offered by Dodge. The marketing group from Dodge will tell you that Detroit is back, never mind that they're now owned by Fiat. Don't get me wrong, I love Italy. I lover the food, the people, the climate, the wine. I also love Alfa Romeos despite the fact that they have an unfortunate tendency to break down all the time. And, while it is ugly, I'm a fan of the Fiat 500 as well.
However, I'm in the market for a four door sedan and Dodge only offered me two options.
The Charger:
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| Photo courtesy of Dodge |
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| Photo courtesy of Dodge |
Would you rather?
First, the Charger. I mean just look at it. It's really not an attractive thing and it's priced much higher than other sedans in the class. Add to this the fact that you're not going to see 20MPG in the City and I didn't even want to test drive it. So I didn't.
The Dodge Dart:
At least it's a prettier thing than the Charger, missing the Cyrano De Bergerac nose for one. And while it's still thirsty (rated at only 22 MPG in the city for the model I test drove) the 2.4 L inline 4 engine generates 184 horsepower. I didn't ask what the "top speed" is, because I'll probably never hit it and I really don't care. It comes with four disc brakes (which is almost mandatory now) and front independent suspension which is not as good on the Dart as I've found on other cars in the class. If you're into this sort of thing Dodge does name some of their engines "Tigershark" giving the impression that you're an alpha predator. This image holds one guesses until you tell everyone it's in a Dart.
To drive, the Dart is a challenge. I'm a hefty guy and I found the seats to be uncomfortable, and I had trouble finding a driving position that would come anywhere close to what humans call "comfortable". Add to that road noise, bad torque steer on take-off and a very, very rough ride and the Dart and I were not off to a good start. I'm trying to think of something nice to say about driving this car but I just can't. Given the pedigree of the Dart I really did want to like it. I wouldn't buy it because of the infamous reliability of Dodge cars but I was rooting for it at the outset. Back when people were throwing gasoline in the garbage because it was so cheap the wife and I owned a Dodge Ram 2500 with a V8 Hemi that we called "Big Thirsty". Yes, it sucked down gas but it was a great big ol' truck to drive. So to drive then, the Dart is not good.
It got worse after I stopped driving and took a look at the cabin.
I'm not sure why car companies think that racing cars look like this on the interior, or why red trim lends an air of class to the joint, but I wish they'd stop. The model I tested was the SXT (Starting MRSP is a cheap $18,895 but you get into the 20's fairly quickly if you want more than four wheels and an engine, the one I drove was somewhere around $22,500) which does not have the option for a back-up camera, nor does it have the option for an electronic nanny. On the bright side you can get a "Rallye" badge on the back and 17 inch wheels. No one could provide me with any evidence of the current Dart's 'rallye' pedigree.
If you're really feeling saucy you can go for the GT (Does Dodge even know what Grand Tourismo means?) edition but you'll be starting out at over $21K before many options and I'm sorry, but that's just too much money for this car. Especially when you consider the Toyota Corolla can be had for the same with plenty more features.
Then there's the predicted reliability. In it's recent history Dodge has not had much luck with designing cars that run consistently. Their trucks have been good and are consistently rated at or near the top of their class, but their cars are hovering somewhere down at the bottom. Hey Dodge, take a couple of engineers from your truck division and get them working on your cars. Warranty-wise the Dart checks in at 3 years/36K for the basic warranty and 5 years/100K on the powertrain.
Yesterday, when I wrote about the Kia Optima I mentioned reliability concerns but also noted that they offer a good warranty in an effort to address that. Dodge's warranties seem to be designed on the "well that's how it's always been done" motto which is not a selling point if the cars aren't rock-solid.
In Summary: The Dart rolled out with a huge marketing campaign, a short-haired, clean shaven Tom Brady and a ton of things that distracted from the car. After driving it, I have to say this was a smart move. Unfortunately, Dodge still can't get automobiles that don't have a bed right.
Why you might buy one: To be fair here, I'm decidedly NOT the target market for this car. I'm 42 years old, fat and work a 9-5. It's very clear that Dodge is marketing this to a more youthful market. That said, I can see someone in their late teens - early twenties really liking this car. It's not bad looking although I don't think the front grill design that works so well on trucks works out half as well smushed down on cars. It also can be had relatively cheap, since domestic dealers on cars in this class seem more willing to offer deep discounts than do some of the foreign manufacturers. That said, if you want a cheap car with a lot of features the Toyota Corolla or most others would be better. It's also really your only choice if you HAVE to drive a MOPAR. It's probably number two if you want American, ahead of the abysmal Chevy Cruze (a mistake of a car just like the the name itself) but falls well behind the new Ford Focus.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10: Most of the points come from the looks and what appears to be a fairly solid inline 4 engine. Everything else on this car falls way, way behind the current sedan competition.
