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2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited September 2014 in Dodge

image2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds adds a 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye to our long-term test fleet.

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Comments

  • motorstreetmotorstreet Member Posts: 23
    My guess is you guys will regret getting the dual clutch. It's gotten some pretty bad reviews and the manual seems a lot better. I've been looking forward to a Dart long-term test, so this might just be enough to keep me coming back to this site despite being massively inferior to the old Inside Line site.
  • bassracerxbassracerx Member Posts: 188
    what happened to the lexus RX. dont think that anyone forgot about it! did it get wrecked?
  • duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    As it turns out, Car and Driver seem to be the only ones who liked the dual clutch (the most "automatic like")... or at least at first, because their followup reviews didn't paint a rosy picture either. Seems even Marchionne himself didn't think the dual clutch trans was ready for the mainstream. Same issue that plagues all dual clutch trans: works great when you're pushing the car, but hesitant at crawl speeds.

    I personally would have gotten the stick (though that one has its own problems- namely the super long clutch travel and just-as-long shifter throw).

    The interior is pretty good, the Uconnect system is the only infotainment out of the big 3 that seems to want to work (I thought it was actually really good), and the chassis seems very capable while being refined. I'm very interested in seeing what you guys think of it!
  • ed124ced124c Member Posts: 0
    For the same amount of money, I would buy an Accord EX. And the EX has pretty much the same standard stuff as this loaded SXT.

    There are many reasons to buy an Accord, but only a few for the unknown Dart. And don't ask me what the few are, because I can't think what they are right now.

    Oh, wait, I do remember one-- they are cute.
  • bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    Good mix of options. This is the version and equipment that I would likely choose for myself were I shopping for a replacement for my MkIV Jetta turbo Tiptronic.
  • jpnpowerjpnpower Member Posts: 0
    Hey Edmunds. WE WANT A GOOD WEBSITE, not some others cars to add to the crap. Stop draining big bucks on 911s, SLSs and Darts and design a friggin website! (what? manufacture provided? oops... anyway) rant. rant.
  • jpnpowerjpnpower Member Posts: 0
    Hey Edmunds. WE WANT A GOOD WEBSITE, not some others cars to add to the crap. Stop draining big bucks on 911s, SLSs and Darts and design a friggin website! (what? manufacture provided? oops... anyway) rant. rant.
  • jpnpowerjpnpower Member Posts: 0
    I'm lookin' forward to see if modern dodge's have nice quality though.
  • jpnpowerjpnpower Member Posts: 0
    I'm lookin' forward to see if modern dodge's have nice quality though.
  • jederinojederino Member Posts: 0
    Yes, the price is pretty steep, but hearing which options are most desireable will be informative. I'm most interested in the multi-air turbo engine and how engaging this car turns out to be.
  • schen72schen72 Member Posts: 433
    I don't see any comments from anyone until I post a comment.
  • shatnershatner Member Posts: 176
    Price as tested is a joke, much better options out there. Bigger, faster, better mpgs, more reliabel, all in one car for the same money.
  • burgersandbeerburgersandbeer Member Posts: 0
    Some tough competition around $25k. GLI w/autobahn package, any number of the newer mid-size cars in a mid-level trim, lower spec versions of all the so-called hot hatches are in the discussion too.

    From what I've read, the 1.4T sounds cool, but is so weak low in the rev range it is almost undriveable. Even if it is better than what I've read, I don't see how it can keep pace with the above mentioned company. And no amount of infotainment gimmicks is going to compensate for that. The competition isn't exactly lacking in that department.
  • cpokashuecpokashue Member Posts: 0
    I really like the look of the Dart and I'd love to buy American for my next car. The trouble is that as the engine bay photo caption implies, this is a car with sporty pretensions and Econobox performance. Combine that with the fact that, according to Dodge's website*, the muscled up RT will go for the same price as a fully loaded top trim version of the regular car, and buying the Dart right now just seems pointless. I'm sure some folks will go for it now- I've seen them around town- but since gadgets and customization are the big hook of the dart, it seems smarter to wait until the same coin gets you higher horsepower, too.

    To ed12c: The Dart has a lot to recommend it. On the other hand, as an owner of a 94 Plymouth and 04 Jeep, Chrysler cars always make me worry that they will catch fire and tip over for no reason while I drive them, and Hondas are sort of calming and grandmotherly. So peace of mind is in Honda's favor, at least until this test says otherwise. And now that the Accord is gunning for the Altima it's become a much more interesting car, no doubt.

    *According to which Dodge also significantly overvalued this Edmunds test car. But maybe the website lies, who can say?
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