2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds long-term update of the 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye includes discussion of the Dart's short gearing.

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yellowbal

That isn't bad. My Civic Si is at 3,000RPM @60mph.

reminder

Let's not forget the trade-off of physics. Small displacement without forced induction = not much torque. Probably an okay trade off for not having to drop two or three gears to make a pass.

quadricycle

@reminder: They have the 1.4L turbo. But yes, I think most small engine cars have this characteristic. Its actually not that 2,600 is so bad at 70 (could be ALOT worse), it just needs some more sound insulation.

agentorange

Josh, you're kidding, right? 1.4 turbo in a 3000lb+ car and you are surprised it needs 2600 rpm for 70? Really?

bankerdanny

My tiptronic equipped '04 Jetta 1.8 Turbo is turning 3k rpm's at that speed.

kirkhilles_

No, what's disturbing is when you're in my 2000 Miata and cranking out 4,200 RPM at 80 mph (70 mph speed limit) with a pretty loud factory exhaust. For the first month or two, I kept trying to Up Shift it beyond its 5 speeds.

fordson1

I find this complaint mysterious - short gearing, you say...compared to what? Spend some time with the Google and tell me how many cars in this class are below say 2500 rpm at that road speed. Your 2010 GTI and your Turbo Beetle were turning around 2700 at that speed, but nobody ever complained about it because that is a very quiet, refined engine, and the one in the Dart is not. The issue is not short gearing, it's this loud, unrefined engine. And that is particularly unforgivable with a turbo engine, because typically putting a compressor wheel in the exhaust tract is a significant help in making those engines quieter - it's very common for reviewers to complain that turbo engines don't have a sporting-enough exhaust note.

huisj

A manual Fit is at about 3500 at 70. Big whoop. About the only small car I've seen that's lower than the Dart is a Cruze Eco.

cynic783

^^^reminder the long term car that Josh is reviewing -is- the turbo lol you fail

bgsntth

Agree with the comments - not so surprising in a small, amped-up four cylinder. Now, 2950RPMs @ 70 in my Cayenne GTS Manual transmission with a 4.8l was odd, but the sound - glorious.

reminder

Small forced-fed engines have found a niche in the current market, but are still no replacement for cubic inches when it comes to low rpm torque. ^^^cynic783 you fail. LOL

fordson1

LOW rpm? Most 2.0L turbo engines are making more torque at 1800 rpm than a 4.0L NA engine is.

bankerdanny

Other than a slight lag off idle, my Jetta pulls much stronger than the NA 2.5L in 2007 Forester and the 3.4L V8 in my '96 Taurus SHO (the engine looked fantastic and sounded glorious at 7k RPM's, but was one of the most gutless I have experienced in the 20+ cars I have owned).

greenpony

A V8 Challenger this is not.

jlh3

My infiniti M35 used to rev at 2800 at 70 MPH It was a 5 speed auto

duck87

Yeah, the issue is that this engine has a drone because it's not very muffled compared to the other engines available. But 2600 rpms itself isn't very unusual; most mid 2000s Hondas seemed to churn at 3.5k rpm on the freeway....

barich1

"A manual Fit is at about 3500 at 70. Big whoop. About the only small car I've seen that's lower than the Dart is a Cruze Eco."

The Skyactiv Mazda3 is running at 2100 RPM at 70 MPH. My previous generation 3 with the 2.3 was geared lower than the Dart, but the engine was pretty much inaudible on the highway. Of course, the higher than average road noise could have been a big part of the reason.

cx7lover

The gearing for the dart is short though. It needs 2 shifts well before it reaches 60