Gadgetory

dodj hasn't had a compact sedan in their lineup since 2005 I've been of a hole during a fuel conscious era wouldn't you say and they haven't used the dart nameplate since 1976 it's way back in their past until now let's drive the 2013 Dodge Dart completely new check the tech let's see other resurrections go how to say the Dodge starts a completely new clean sheet design is not exactly true it's based on Europe's Alfa Romeo Giulietta which several models are built on remember Fiat owns Chrysler now but this car is thoroughly American and its manufacturer the car is built in Toledo Ohio the engines come out of a plant in Dundee Michigan and it's got a much more American look than its European counterparts much more weaponized then say the Fiat viaggio which is also a stable mate one of the first things dodge had to get done was to say something in the cabin and this has a very stylized cabin especially at this price point you've got a nice design language here some of the materials are a little flimsy but that can often be a first-year model thing but of course your eyes are drawn to the main event the 8.4 inch you connect touchscreen this is not standard on this car but at the rally trim I doubt you'll find many of these on Lots that don't have it so let's go that way interesting how they've taken almost a tablet approach a persistent ribbon of functions at the bottom think of those as your apps basically though you don't install them they're all part of the car am/fm and saturated Irae do little disappointing there on the player side you get all your other sources your optical disk is in here in the console very strange facing up where it's dying to intake a big gulp so they put a little door on it to keep that from happening USB is also in there as is SD card I'm never going to use SD card I'd rather they give me HD radio instead but that's what I'm left with and of course standard hardware aux jack and bluetooth streaming the bluetooth streaming does not give me metadata at least not on an android 4.0.4 phone as we get to navigation you've seen this guy before on Chrysler and Mopar products it's the big goofy preschool looking garmin nav but don't laugh this is the highest rated navigation system according to a JD Power I think in terms of usability you put consumers in here who are not hoity-toity geeks and they say yeah I like it I get it but let's say you want to use voice command that buttons over here on the far left and the way the dart works is anything you see on here is valid voice text I like that it doesn't pop up another menu when you hit the voice button to give you the things you can say 2 3 5 2nd Street San Francisco California if you say 235 seconds straight simple one would you like to begin yes and that's how it works see it say it it's a good idea but the real question all this bags is that interface on the screen is so simple do you need voice command for it as I was using voice to drive it I don't think I was saving really any mental cycles it was keeping my hands on the wheel but it wasn't reducing my concentration on the tasks in fact the voice is a little more complex I think than just reaching out and touching that now here's an odd frustration kind of like in Acuras until very recently you have to voice buttons all voice commands for everything but phone are this one like I just showed you if you want to do a voice command for the phone you have to press the phone button that's not elegant now sometimes in a cheap little car the little things are what matter the most not the upholstery what's under it a Smuggler's box under the passengers but so crafty it makes anything in it look suspicious or it is okay to the engine-room on the new dart your base motor would be a 2 litre inline-four fairly conventional stuff this is not that this is an unconventional Lindley t-midi 1.4 liter inline 4 turbocharged intercooled not going out to the standard six-speed manual or even a 6 automatic but to a six-speed dual-clutch automated manual there's a whole lot and a very little amount of tech done to the hood in this car 160 horsepower same as the base engine but on the torque very different 184 foot-pounds that's all more than 30 above the base motor 0 to 60 about 8.2 seconds nearly 2 seconds faster than the base engine car and delivering 27 37 mpg because then little cylinders don't and can't drink much but as I've taught you many times specs and numbers on paper don't mean responsiveness on the road let's go find out which we have here while the overriding experience of driving a Dodge Dart with this powertrain is one of a question mark the question is how are the pedal the engine and the transmission communicating apparently by u.s. mail because there's enormous delays between sending the message in it being received this is not a responsive powertrain power delivery is rubbery and a real loopy feeling it's almost like you've got a CVT a continuously variable transmission but instead we have this dual clutch manual but it's not a well-executed one as a result it's not a car you like to drive hard because you don't know when you're going to get power or deceleration certainly not when you call for it with your right foot let's write an experiment I'm going to accelerate here on the gas and when I let off I'm gonna say off and you'll see what the RPM does off it's a shame because the suspension and undercarriage this thing feels rather nicely done firm enough to be sporty but not so tight that it's spending a portion of its time airborne it's a car that feels like more than its high tens of thousands of dollars base but this powertrain this particular one to me is a killer luckily there are the two others that are quite different architectures so you've got a chance to sort this car out by ordering it with something a lot more responsive and a lot more shall we say delivering on the promise of that sheet metal on the outside okay pricing I'd be angry at the dart if it weren't so damn cheap and stylish 18 995 for this rally which is near the top of the line then nickel-and-dime your way to go seen that style 595 for the UConnect interface the big screen 500 more for nav iPod SD card USB 300 more for voice command and Bluetooth in all this car is under 25 delivered though I would run not walk from that powertrain to little displacement and too many clutches wait for the 2.4 liter tiger shark engine which will be the new top motor and try that with a 6-speed manual