Dodge Dart

	Dodge Dart
	Debut: 2012 Maker: Chrysler Predecessor: Dodge Caliber

Published on 25 Jun 2012

The arrival of Dart carries an important message: Chrysler is reborn! The smallest American domestic car maker experienced many rises and falls during its 87-year history, but the last few years were undoubtedly the most difficult. In 2007, parent company Daimler finally lost patience in its American arm and offloaded it to investment fund Cerberus. The latter did nothing but to let it dying. When the tsunami of global credit crisis arrived the next year, Chrysler was given a fatal hit and went straight into bankruptcy. Tax payers' money helped it to emerge from bankruptcy protection and found a new owner – FIAT. Many analysts thought FIAT CEO Sergio Marchionne must be a crazy guy. If not, why would he ignore the financial problems facing his own company and open a new battlefront? In fact, Marchionne is a lot smarter than we thought. He delayed the product plans of FIAT and redirected resources to the America, where the market is set to rebound and, unlike Europe, is free from overcapacity problem. In just 18 months Chrysler updated its 200 / Avenger, 300, Charger and a few trucks, good enough to turnaround its balance sheet and register thick profit. However, the real challenge is Dodge Dart. It is the first all-new product developed under the management of FIAT. From this car we can see how successful Marchionne consolidate the American brainpower and Italian expertize to realize a new product. Without being burdened by historical constraints, the Dart should be the best indicator of how good or bad the future Chrysler cars will be.

The Dart takes over the position left by Caliber – our Worst Car of the Year 2007 and 2008 – but its roots should be traced back to Neon, which means it is a conventional compact sedan that rivals Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cruze and Volkswagen Jetta in the North America. To distinguish from its rivals, the American design team gifted it a crosshair Dodge grille and a full-width LED taillight cluster that resembles Dodge Charger. It also differs from the class norm by raising the flanks slightly at either side of the bonnet, so it looks a bit like a coupe. A sleek profile contributes to the same feeling. That said, the Dart is by no means a radical design, unlike Hyundai Elantra or Ford Focus. Typical Chrysler designs should be loud and offensive. Not so the Dart. It is unusually civilized, a gentleman sportsman at best. Apparently, it wants to please the majority buyers.

Aerodynamics is very good, with 0.285 Cd, thanks to smooth composite underfloor panels as well as an active grille shutter which closes part of the grille at high speed.

In the mechanical side, FIAT made a big contribution to the car: Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform. More precisely, the Dart is built on CUSW (Compact US Wide) platform, which is a lengthened and widened version of the Compact platform underpinning Giulietta. While US motorists might have little knowledge about the Alfa, our readers should know it is highly regarded by AutoZine, being the only car in its class beside Volkswagen Golf to earn 5 stars rating. We highly praised its handling, ride and its 1.4 Multiair turbo engine. Thankfully, all these merits are also available to its American cousin. The Dart uses the same advanced suspensions – the fronts are MacPherson struts with lightweight aluminum hub carriers, whereas each of the multi-link rear suspensions consists of 2 lateral links and a cast-aluminum trailing arm on which spring and hub are mounted. The brake calipers are also made of aluminum to reduce unsprung weight. The suspension setting is slightly softer than the Alfa's to suit American taste. The ZF twin-pinion electrical power steering is the same as that of Alfa, so it should be one of the best of its kind.

Like Giulietta, the chassis of Dart is engineered to be highly rigid. Some 68 percent of it is constructed in high-strength or ultra-high-strength steel. Although that rate is not as high as the 90 percent of Giulietta, one should note that the Dart has its subframes constructed in cast aluminum instead of steel, which makes its number all the more impressive.

The key difference between the two is size – Dart runs a 2703 mm wheelbase, nearly 70 mm longer than that of Giulietta. It is also 320 mm longer overall (though comparison with a hatchback is unfair) and 32 mm wider. Naturally, the larger exterior dimensions translate to a roomier cabin. EPA measured its interior and classified it as a mid-size car. When you sit on the rear seat, you will be amazed with its extra width and legroom compared with class rivals, although the sloping roof compromises headroom a little. That is not much of a surprise, as American cars are always spacious.

What really surprising is the build quality and features of the interior. Forget the junk-grade interiors of Caliber and Neon, the Dart is a complete different story. Yes, there are still hard plastics at the lower half of its dash structure, but they are properly grained and feel durable, no more disgraceful than the ones you find in its key rivals. Elsewhere, the Dart even looks quite classy. Most surfaces you can touch are covered with either soft plastics, leather or soft pads. The 7-inch TFT instrument cluster is the first of its class, and it is reconfigurable to display different details in different styles, say, digital or analogue speedometer plus trip-computer display. Equally classy is the 8.4-inch infotainment touch screen on the center console. It gives the buyers a good excuse to tick sat nav and various multimedia options, and a great opportunity for Chrysler to improve profit margin. The displays are crisp and their operations are intuitive. In addition to the comfy front seats, the Dart washes away our unpleasant memory of previous Chrysler small cars.

The downside for all these added quality, space and chassis solidity is weight. Depending on which engine is fitted, the Dart weighs between 1445 and 1495 kg, some 100-200 kg heavier than the class norm. This mean it has to employ more powerful engines. Among the three engines, the 1.4-liter SOHC 16V turbo with Multiair electrohydraulic variable valve timing is definitely our pick of the bunch. This engine is basically the same as that powering Giulietta, but detuned a little bit to 160 hp and its assembly is localized in the USA (as in the case of the American version Fiat 500 Abarth). Its thick torque curve still peaks at a remarkable 184 lbft from 2500-4000 rpm. As long as you keep it revving above 2500 rpm, you will find an amazing eagerness to pull the heavy sedan. Its throttle response is quick, while the sound it produces at higher rev is sporty without noisy.

Comparatively, the base 2.0-liter Tigershark DOHC 16V engine is less remarkable. Although it produces the same peak output of 160 hp, its maximum torque is much less at 148 lbft, and the latter takes 4600 rpm to realize. The result feels markedly different in the real world. It needs to be revved harder yet delivers less performance. Despite of a new nickname "Tigershark", this engine is actually modified from the World engine of the old Caliber (it was a JV with Hyundai and Mitsubishi). The use of shorter stroke, wider bore, forged steel crankshaft and twin-balancer shafts might have improved its smoothness considerably, but not to mask its lazy throttle response and lack of eagerness.

The last and the most powerful engine is the long stroke, 2.4-liter version of the Tigershark. Unlike the 2.0, its cylinder head is converted to feature Multiair. This explains why its output gets a more noticeable increase, from the old engine's 172 hp and 165 lbft to 184 hp and 171 lbft. It is not available to the market yet, so we cannot tell whether it delivers the promise. Anyway, the engine will be used exclusively in the forthcoming Dart R/T, so we will deal with it sooner or later.

As for transmission, both the 6-speed manual and the Hyundai-sourced 6-speed automatic are satisfying to use. The 1.4 turbo will be available with Fiat's TCT twin-clutch 6-speeder, but based on our experience in Alfa Romeo it is unlikely to be very responsive.

As expected, the Dart drives very well on the road. Its steering is linear, naturally weighted and confident inspiring, avoiding the numb on-center feel troubling most rivals' EPS. Owing to the considerable weight it carries, it cannot match Ford Focus or Giulietta for agility, but it understeers little and its body motion is well controlled. The ride is European-style firm yet perfectly damped. It is a bit more comfortable than the Alfa. The chassis feels rock-solid over bumps and extension joints. Wind noise is well shut away from the cabin, although road noise suppression is not so good. Overall, the Dart is a well-rounded package, being fun to drive and comfortable to travel in for long distances. Its chassis feels more substantial and better engineered than most of its Japanese and Korean rivals. That is perhaps the biggest surprise for a car coming from the same assembly plant as Caliber and Neon. Chrysler must thank Sergio Marchionne and his Italian men for making this car possible. Vice versa, Marchionne must thank Chrysler for giving him the opportunity to invade the New Continent with an excellent car he already has on hand.

Verdict: