Performance car enthusiasts will attest that the cars they like most are often least appreciated by bread and butter car buyers,
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
a scenario that’s getting played out once again with the fun-loving Dodge Dart.
In case you weren’t aware, the modern-day Dart, not the original circa ’59-’76, is one of the best driver’s cars in its class. It comes standard with a powerful four-cylinder engine that sounds as good as it goes and can be upgraded with two even zippier alternatives, gets a snappy six-speed manual gearbox, optional six-speed auto and even availability of an advanced six-speed dual dry clutch automated transmission, and agile fully independent suspension with struts up front and a multilink design in back, the entire car also benefiting from four-wheel disc brakes and all the usual active and passive safety gear. All this is gifted from a
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
legendary Italian performance brand, Alfa Romeo, which kindly donates the compact Giulietta’s revered underpinnings to the American model in an attempt to make this latest Dart a winner on the sales charts.
Unfortunately the opposite is true, the Dart barely feeding on the scraps left over by the bestselling Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra. I’m not exaggerating, as only 3,061 Darts were sold across Canada during all of 2015, the three top sellers managing 64,950, 47,918 and 47,722 in the same market. Even Mitsubishi’s aging Lancer sold nearly twice as much at 6,008 units.
What
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
to do? If you’re FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) you temporarily halt production until sales catch up to the backlog, and after that maintain the status quo while adding the odd special edition until finally pulling the plug. It will do the same to its Chrysler 200; a mid-size model based on the same Alfa underpinnings. While FCA is on record in stating that consumer demand for crossover SUVs is a “permanent shift,” hence their reasoning for focusing their efforts where there’s money to be made and not hawking mainstream cars for the time being (they’ll only have the subcompact Fiat 500 line and full-size Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 after the two models are phased out, unless a compact Fiat replaces the Dart such as the new budget-oriented Tipo 4Porte, 5Porte and Station Wagon, the sedan reportedly roomier than a VW Jetta), but a quick look back at sales numbers achieved by other brands and therefore potentially available shows that it’s not specifically a market shift, but rather FCA’s inability to compete in the compact and mid-size segments that’s at fault. It appears that Marchionne and company are well aware of this inter
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
nally because they’re reportedly looking for a partner to build the next generation of small and mid-size cars, Mazda seeming to me like the obvious fit being that the two automakers already share a relationship with the new MX-5 and Fiat Spyder, plus the 3 and 6 are both excellent cars with a leaning towards performance, they’re very reliable (FCA could use a boost from J.D. Power, Consumer Reports, et al), Mazda struggles to sell big numbers in North America and the company has already shown a willingness to partner up with numerous manufacturers (along with FCA they’re currently supplying a modified Mazda2 sedan to Toyota for its Yaris Sedan in Canada (Scion iA in the U.S.), and finally Mazda is small, lean and independent enough to be flexible to a big corp like FCA. Anyway, that’s just my take on what might work and why, but there are others that could potentially provide donor underpinnings too.
So
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
what’s wrong with the current crop of FCA small cars? Don’t ask me for driving impressions of the Chrysler 200 as I’ve only ever been a rear passenger for a short ride and can only say it felt claustrophobic due to an extremely low coupe-like roofline that resulted in difficulty seeing out the side window (to my knowledge there’s only been a single press car in my area during the two years it’s been available and one of my colleagues covered it here), but this is my fourth Dart so ask away. Still, I might be the wrong guy to ask because I’ve liked the Dart since I first slipped behind the wheel in late 2012 and truly fell for the car as soon as I hit the road. Of course, I’m a driving enthusiast and therefore appreciate the expense FCA paid for the independent rear suspension and other goodies already noted, its base 2.0-litre engine putting out 160 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque no less, so if I were laying my own money down I probably wouldn’t
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
balk at its base price being higher than average at $18,995 plus freight and dealer fees. This said plenty in the compact car class are primarily price motivated and they can step into one of the three models named earlier from $15,799 to $15,995.
What’s more I’m only five-foot-eight and therefore wouldn’t have a problem if the Dart’s front seating area wasn’t the largest in the segment, but I’ve listened to others grumble, and similarly I’ve only sat in the back seat for a few moments at a time while taking notes and noticed that it seems a bit smaller than some others in this class, but once again I can’t complain as far as roominess and outward visibility due to my smaller size, but others do. I actually found it quite comfortable back there, with good lower back support and the convenience of a fold-down centre armrest featuring a lidded compartment and twin cupholders.
Certainly
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
some rivals even offer rear seat heaters, while others are sporting more soft-touch surfaces and upping the content quotient to include proximity-sensing access with pushbutton ignition, dual-zone auto climate control, and forced ventilation for the front seats, but these features are only in top line trims that don’t sell as well. After all, the base Dart comes with all the features noted plus bifunctional halogen projector headlamps, LED taillights, body-colour powered mirrors, tilt and telescopic steering, a block heater, tire pressure monitoring, 10 airbags and much more, while the just-above-base Dart SXT gets the larger engine, 16-inch alloys, auto on/off headlamps, body-colour door handles, upgraded LED racetrack taillights, steering wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls, air conditioning, Bluetooth streaming audio, a six-speaker stereo, illuminated vanity mirrors, upgraded cloth upholstery, 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks with a centre pass-through expanding on an already accommodating 371-litre (13.1 cubic-foot) trunk, a security alarm and more.
That’s
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
close to the model I tested, mine even featuring sportier exterior and interior styling plus a performance-tuned suspension. Dodge dubs it the Dart Blacktop, and no it didn’t come with a black convertible top, a black glass sunroof or even a smattering of black paint up on its roof, but rather its top was Laser Blue Pearl like the rest of its bodywork; at least everything was blue that wasn’t finished in glossy black. Yes, Dodge didn’t leave black paint off the Blacktop’s menu, instead using it for the crosshair grille, centre bumper cap and surround, small circular fog lamps with black “spears” and surrounds, 18-inch alloys on 225/40R18 Yokohama all-seasons, and the side mirror caps, these upgrades joining a strangely named $835 Mopar Dual Exhaust Exterior package that adds a matte black air splitter type front lip spoiler, identical looking aero trim on the rockers, and a particularly sporty rear diffuser. In case you were wondering how the dual exhaust portion of that name came to be, a sweet set of fat chrome-tipped
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
exhaust pipes come with or without the racy upgrade, another Blacktop improvement, while the Blacktop upgrades continue with a rear stabilizer bar, a tweaked Touring suspension, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel inside.
Just so you know, this is a mid-pack Dart starting at $23,070 plus freight and dealer fees, not a full-load model, the top-tier leather-lined Dart Limited pushing the price over $30k when completely optioned out. As it was my tester did not include the optional $350 Cold Weather group that adds heatable front seats (hardly needed with cloth, but nice anyway) and heatable body-colour side mirrors, but it did include a particularly cold and unwelcoming Mopar aluminum shift knob that I’d certainly remove during winter if this were my car. I’d keep the $795 8.4 Uconnect Touchscreen group, however, which boasts the largest full-colour
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
infotainment screen in the compact biz at 8.4 inches in diameter, along with a useful rearview camera, a remote USB, iPod control, a glove box lamp, and a really cool illuminated instrument panel surround. On top of this my car’s infotainment system was upgraded with $525 worth of TomTom navigation, and you’ll have a hard time finding a better, easier to use GPS system than this.
I inferred earlier that the Dart wasn’t quite up to the same level of refinement as some others in the class, but that’s mostly because it’s door uppers are made of hard plastic. To be clear there are many in this segment that do likewise and others that offer the soft door uppers and don’t do their dash top as nicely as the Dart’s, the majority of which is covered in premium-level soft synthetic, incidentally,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
that material even wrapping all the way around the infotainment controls as well as around the left side of the primary gauges. What’s more, Dodge even goes so far as to cover the one-piece gauge hood/infotainment hood in a contrasting French-stitched leatherette that looks and feels very upscale. The outside of that primary gauge/centre stack cluster is circled by a unique red racing line similar to the racetrack taillights, adding to the Dart’s unique character, while the large VOL and BROWSE/ENTER/TUNE/SCROLL dials on the centre stack get matching backlit red rings around their backsides. On that note, all the dials are large and easy to actuate with rubber surrounds for a nice feeling easy grip, plus their quality, along with the quality of all the other switchgear, is quite good.
Back to those doors, the hard shell actually wraps around the entire outer portion of
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
each panel, which is quite nice looking, whereas the woven grey cloth inserts are padded from behind and attractive too, the leatherette door armrests are also nicely padded and stitched, plus large pockets down below accommodate water bottles and other items. The centre armrest is covered in leatherette too, albeit contrast stitched, while it opens up to a large bin featuring a 12-volt charger, aux plug and USB port.
More important than all the rest my tester’s upgraded seats were very comfortable and wonderfully supportive, while finished with a textured fabric in the middle and a woven cloth on the outside, plus nice contrast stitching all-round.
Overall it’s a sporty looking cabin, with some slick satin-silver detailing around the vents
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
and inner door handles that matched the aluminum shifter knob noted earlier, as well as the shifter surround just below. Additional chrome highlights can be found elsewhere throughout the interior for a classy look, while an always welcome padded sunglasses holder rested overhead.
As I made very clear earlier, while all this is great the best part about the Dodge Dart is how it drives. My tester’s optional 2.4-litre MultiAir four-cylinder has mega output for this class at 184 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque, that twist up 3 lb-ft since introduced, while it mates up beautifully to the standard six-speed manual shifter. What’s more, combined with the big exhaust pipes it made some delectable sounds. Really, this is a much better sounding four-cylinder than what BMW,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Mercedes Benz, or any other producer of direct-injected anything offers. Don’t get me wrong, as I’m a proponent of direct-injection for its performance and fuel economy benefits, but MultiAir manages to deliver all the benefits of DI without the carbon buildup issues and with a much better audio track.
Yes, the Tigershark engines have a wonderful growl, the 2.4 even more pronounced due to its larger volume and of course the result of foot to throttle a lot more lively, while that six-speed manual is a great deal more enjoyable to row through the gears than any current German box. I’m not going to compare the Dart to a similarly sized BMW 3 as far as handling goes, although for its class it’s a superb little dancer that’ll run rings around most Asian competitors, and does so while
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
delivering a nice compliant ride that’s ideal for long distance travel. While great from an enjoyment perspective, road holding is also important for avoiding accidents and to this end the Dart is one of the safer cars in its class. Unfortunately the NHTSA and IIHS don’t safety test cars for such active elements, but the Dart nevertheless fares very well with a top five-star rating from the former and a 2015 Top Safety Pick from the latter.
All that and it gets decent fuel economy with a five-cycle EnerGuide rating of 10.1 L/100km in the city and 6.7 on the highway as tested if driven moderately, this comparing well to the base model’s 9.4 city and 6.5 highway rating. That 1.4 turbo I mentioned earlier is good for 8.4 city and 5.8 highway and doesn’t give up much in performance to the top-line engine either, so it’s an interesting alternative
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
if the price of crude goes up again or you live in Vancouver where pump prices haven’t been all that affected by the drop.
Additionally, you may have heard that the Dart was plagued with reliability issues, a problem with the initial 2013 model for sure, but 2014, 2015, and so far 2016 Darts have been quite reliable with nowhere near as many complaints, FCA obviously ironing out any defects experienced with the fledgling first-year model.
As you can probably tell I’m personally disappointed that FCA is giving up on this great little car, especially now that most of the bugs seem to be exorcised from within. It’s no secret that I enjoyed every moment with it, but I can probably give more credence to this statement if you also knew that I had a pack of premium branded D-segment compacts at my disposal during the Dart’s test week, from Germany, Japan and the U.S, and spent more time in this little Dart SXT Blacktop than any of the others.
Truly, the Dodge Dart is a superb little car that deserves at least 10 times the sales it’s receiving, so take advantage of this fact and check it out before it’s gone, as I’m sure your local FCA dealer will only be too happy to reward your interest with a healthy discount.
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