Overview:
This week I had the opportunity to test the 2014 Dodge Dart Limited midsize sedan. I have heard praises from a friend who owned a Dart in the 60s. That was a time when many were woo’d by Ford and GM cars that were simply much cooler. Chrysler at the time was not cool. Dart first came on the scene in 1960 and has been offered in much of the world over most of the years since.
The decades of the 60s and even 70s were kind of ho-hum for me as to my feeling of car designs in those years. But it was the adventuresome years of the 1950s that car makers were daring and concept cars then were introduced from fertile imaginations. Today it is all about profit and what the consumer should buy, not so much for cars they would be wowed by. I think people were so pumped by the end of the war and hope truly abounded in all hearts. We’d been given a new lease on life and we were going to make the most of it.
It was then that we also accepted living with plastic in every facet of our lives. Today it continues as we get cars from plastic minds devoid of any real imagination. I guess I don’t like the computer generated life that has replaced the wild original thoughts and designs of actual human beings as they toyed with artful creations before computers. Pretty soon, I fear, future generations will simply buy holograms and imagine they’re driving while contemplating their navels as entitlement payments are deposited into a computer chip in the brain that continues to shrink from lack of use. I love Henry Ford’s famous quote that is appropriate here – “Thinking is the hardest work, that’s why so few people do it”.
Okay, a little cynical and an existential journey to depart from my usual rational view of the world. I’m dredging up memories of my youth in the 50s when I actually attended those car shows that displayed futuristic concepts that were mimicked the TV shows of the day like Flash Gordon.
Remember Flash Gordon?
General Information:
Parts from the US / Canada 62%; Mexico 15%. It is assembled in Belvidere, IL USA, Classification is Midsize. Cars from Dodge: Avenger, Challenger, Charger, Dart, Durango, Grand Caravan, Journey and SRT Viper.
Handling & Performance:
The Dart on the other hand is far more practical. So to my point, should things always be practical?
Styling:
Dart is contemporary. In other words pretty much the same as most others. However, it is more competitive than I can ever remember it being.
Fit and Finish:
Very good. I was never a fan of Chrysler products in my youth because it just wasn’t cool. Chevy and Ford were the choice of most back then when the perception of cool was more important than cost and utility. It just had more to do with appearances. But mom owned Chrysler products and they just seemed cheaply constructed or at least that was the rationale of the youth I knew. We aren’t in Kansas any longer Todo. And neither is the auto industry.
Cost:
Today’s cars are an unimaginable value for the dollar generally and this Dart is no exception. It just reminds me every time I test a different car that it is simply true that you can own a new car for a couple of hundred dollars a month.
Conveniences and comfort:
Everything I need in a driving experience is basically fulfilled in this Dart, and at a price most can afford. Another feature that isn’t thought of by many is the ERM, or Electronic Roll Mitigation”. You’ll never know you have it but will be glad you do if radical maneuvers begin to cause the car to roll. Such devastating moves are no allowed through electronic sensors that will cut power, apply brakes or in other words take over certain functions from the driver to prevent roll over.
Another feature that necessarily is new is how cars are entering the 21st Century and this Dart is iPod conscious – or has a facility for connectivity to your iPod.
Consumer Recommendation:
This Dart has inherited so much from the Daimler Benz’s ownership of the Chrysler and that would fundamentally change the product for the good. I encourage you to include this car in your next search. It isn’t a stretch to say this will enjoy acceptance of a lot of people in the near future, and that will help it retain value.
Recognized Competition:
Dodge Dart $23,000, Chevrolet Cruze $24,000, Chrysler 200 $23,000, Honda Civic $23,000, Hyundai Elantra $22,000, Kia Optima $22,000, Mazda 3 $26,000, Mitsubishi Lancer $20,000, Nissan Sentra $20,000, Subaru Impreza $22,000, Subaru Legacy $26,000.
Good News:
Good energy at a price many can afford, I found it comfortable and nice looking.
Bad News:
A couple of riders thought it was a bit noisy inside.
Standard Equipment:
2.4 liter 184 horsepower inline 4-cylinder engine, 6-speed automatic transmission, front, side and side curtain front and rear airbags, and supplemental rear seat side airbags and driver and passenger knee airbags, LATCH child safety system, 4-wheel ABS power disc brakes, traction control, roll mitigation, keyless push button start and stop with proximity keyless entry and remote start, rear backup camera, Uconnect AM/FM/ Nav 8.4” touch screen display, Sirius XM satellite radio, Garmin GPS navigation, voice command Bluetooth, steering wheel mounted audio controls, climate control with dual zone control, heated front seats, heated leather wrapped steering wheel, cruise control, power 6-way driver seat, fog lights, 17” aluminum wheels, power heated mirrors, power mirrors with turn signals and power sunroof.
Gas Stats:
$3.75 / Gal avg. August 24, 2014
For more information.
23 City and 35 Highway MPG
Pricing:
MSRP $22,995.