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| 2013 Dodge Dart |
The new Dodge Dart. Chrysler said that the Dart name traces back to the legendary Dart muscle car produced from 1960 to 1976 but by the looks of it, the modern Dart is no longer a muscle but rather a 21st century Neon you can now buy in North America. What surprised me that underneath the Dart was the same platform used on my favorite Alfa, the Giulietta. It's true, the Dodge Dart is more of the North American cousin of the award-winning Alfa Romeo Giulietta and what shook my mind was there was someone out there which is someone American that uses a platform of the European car. The Buick Verano is the North American cousin of the Opel Astra as you may recall last year and hey, the Dodge Dart is more like the tougher opponent to the Buick Verano and it will be like the man in track overalls against a man in business attire.
On the outside, it does look like a shrunken version of the Dodge Charger because hey, look at the back, it does look like the Dodge Charger if you know what I mean? Anyway, the exterior design of the new Dart is a bit round, it's a bit more oblong, it's a bit to oval. Wait, we're not talking about circles, eh? But think of this junior Charger as a basketball bouncing through the shooting hoops. SHOOTING HOOPS! It's the kind of compact sedan I would love to drive through the intersections of Los Angeles at night.
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| 2013 Dodge Dart interior |
When you get inside the new Dart, this is how it gets personal to me. The interior looks like some kind of Korean midsize sedan that I'm not going to say what is it because you might overload it but with so many ways that keep me satisfied. I could expect for an optional 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen with easy-to-use interface that allows me to take control of my music, my phone calls, turn-by-turn navigation, climate control, and more...or rather less. Anyway, the new Dodge Dart provides one of the most customizable interiors in the market, providing some exclusivity and bespoke for a reasonably priced American-made compact sedan. There's more, there's an available 7-inch instrumental cluster that is customizable by the driver but nope, it's not as fun as the Cadillac XTS's customizable instrumental panel.
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| 2013 Dodge Dart |
At the start, the new Dart comes with two available engines such as the 1.4 L I4 Turbo Multiair and the 2.0 L I4 WGE Tigershark engine. Firstly, the 1.4L Turbo Multiair engine produces 160 bhp (119 kW) @ 5,500 rpm of power and 184 lb·ft (249 N·m) @ 2,500 rpm of torque. EPA estimated fuel economy is about 39 or 41 mpg highway. On the brand new 2.0L Tigershark engine though, although I never know what in the world is the Tigershark engine, this newcomer produces the same power as the turbocharged 1.4L engine but with less torque, and if by less torque, that is 145 lb·ft (197 N·m) @ 4,800 rpm. A 6-speed manual transmission is available with all engine options, a six-speed automatic is optional on the 2.0 L engine and a Dual Dry Clutch Transmission TCT (Twin Clutch Transmission) is available on the 1.4 L turbo unit.
As for safety, the new Dart offers a class-leading 60 standard and optional safety features such as the advanced high-strength, hot-stamped steels, incredibly stiff overall structure, safety cage with outstanding protection, 10 standard airbags, reactive front head restraints, and available options like Blind Spot Monitoring and class exclusive Rear Cross Path Detection.
Available colors are; Redline Red Pearl, Header Orange, Citrus Peel Pearl, Laguna Blue, Blue Streak Pearl, True Blue Pearl, Pitch Black, Tungsten Metallic, Maximum Steel Metallic, Bright Silver Metallic, and Bright White.
My Comment:
For the first time ever, Dodge finally made a compact car that can change the way cars are, forever, and this new Dart is just a sign that Dodge is back on the compact genre ever since the Neon. Although it has Dodge design with Alfa Romeo DNA on it, European performance on an American-made sedan is what made this guy behaves well but as for me, this car can do better. Handling the Dart feels like...if you have the Desert Eagle on your room, get one and pull the trigger...Pulling the trigger of the Desert Eagle is that's how driving a Dodge Dart feels like. The sounds of the engine that powers the Dart feels like reloading the Desert Eagle with .357 magnum rounds and when it's locked and loaded, you felt like you're ready to jump shot through the corners. I really want to have one and yes you can with the pricing of 15,995 US Dollars or about 680,000 Philippine Pesos.
Photo: Chrysler Group, LLC.