The Dart is back, and although its face looks very much like a Dodge, this sporty and economical compact sedan has an Italian accent.
Its ancestry is clear as the first American offspring of the Fiat-Chrysler marriage. Behind that trademark Dodge crosshair grille is a comfortable and nimble Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
The nasal exhaust note of one of the Darts I drove through Texas Hill Country sounded like something that might have run on the rooftop test track at Fiat's old Lingotto factory in Turin. It's no Ferrari, but its optional 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and standard six-speed manual transmission are the same as in the Fiat 500 Abarth performance edition.
On a winding road, near where the Pedernales River moseys past the ranch of the late President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Dart held its own against other comparably priced compact cars: Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cruze and Hyundai Elantra.
And a retro marketing plan to reach a generation of buyers born after the original Dodge Dart ended its 16-year run in 1976 will bring back a broad spectrum of options to let consumers customize their own car, straight from the factory. These options include mix-and-match interior and exterior colors, cabin technology, multiple powertrains, and high fuel efficiency.
The base $15,995 Dart SE comes with very little bling. But thanks to all the options, you can add a huge 8.4 inch center console color touch screen, voice-activated cellphone connectivity or a splash of wild color like Header Orange or Citrus Peel. A heated steering wheel in a compact? Sure. How about a 152 LED lighted "racetrack" taillight that stretches from fender to fender just like the Dodge Charger?
There is no confusing this with your father's Dart, an inexpensive and dependable midsized grocery-getter with a durable slant 6-cylinder engine. The old Dart also happened to have powerful V-8 engine options that propelled the Dart Swinger and Demon models very quickly in a straight line — making them popular with street and drag racers.
This Dart is just more continental.
Italian connection
Dodge and Fiat engineers and designers toiled side-by-side to lengthen, widen and re-sculpt the Alfa Romeo hatchback introduced in Europe three years ago.
The Dart's interior is quiet and large. The ride was Americanized, softening but still offering solid handling for a U.S. compact. It was a joy to drive on the twisting roads outside Austin and it remained quiet and comfortable through rush-hour traffic on the way back to the busy state capital.
To hear Chrysler's old hands talk, this Dart was the result of the kind of cooperation promised but never brought to fruition during the carmaker's decade of partnership with Daimler-Benz. Those barriers are gone with Fiat. Designers and engineers told me these trans-Atlantic partners scratch each other's backs instead of turning them.
The underlying architecture that resulted from the Giulietta remake is called "CUSwide," and will be the basis for making more cars, both larger and smaller. The Dart is going to be sold in China with a Fiat badge and grille.
With these kind of improvements, I've got to believe management can't get this team to redesign the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger midsized cars fast enough.
But while Dart favors the Italian side of the family when it comes to driving dynamics, it comes up short on Dodge horsepower heritage. That's because the initial objective was not a muscle car, but to get an EPA-approved 40 mpg window sticker for Dart — which hasn't happened — yet.
39 mpg not enough
Although the Dart models in showrooms next month already get good mileage, Chrysler is committed to fulfilling its public vow to build a 40 mpg compact car in the U.S. Dart's Aero model, which Dodge says will get a class-leading figure of "at least 41 mpg," will be produced this summer
The standard 160 horsepower, 2.0-liter engine got an EPA rating of 25 mpg city and 36 highway. The optional 168 horsepower, 1.4-liter, turbo engine for the SE, SXT, Rallye and Limited models is rated at 27 mpg city and 39 highway. No fuel consumption rating is available for the 184 horsepower, 2.4-liter performance engine in the $22,495 R/T model, also due this summer.
The numbers all outpace the 23 city/27 highway mpg of Dodge's compact SUV-like Caliber that never managed to fill the void for Dodge when Neon production ended seven years ago.
The Dart models will have cutting-edge aerodynamics, including composite sheathing under 90 percent of the car to smooth airflow. Electronically controlled shutters open the lower grille to cool the engine at low speeds and close to ease aerodynamic flow at higher speeds.
The Aero will be even lighter, sit lower on new suspension parts, have lighter alloy wheels, and low rolling resistance tires. It will get distinctive air deflecting fairings in front of its wheel wells. Despite its all-out economy treatment, Aero promises to remain as engaging to drive as the other models.
Dart's handling is so pleasing that there's plenty of range left to support the extra horsepower promised with the later introduction of the R/T model. Dart eventually will get turned over to Chrysler's tuning brand SRT for a serious high performance upgrade.
So there's still validity in the old Dart advertisements featuring young women in miniskirts and go-go boots. Some folks are going to see this car and get Dodge Fever.
BY DOUG GUTHRIE dguthrie@detnews.com
Southfield Chrysler
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