2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye Long-Term Road Test

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2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye Long-Term Road Test

Two speedometers in our long-term 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye.

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gslippy

I hate the gauges on the Dart. This feature shouldn't be hard to get right, but Dodge chose the Tron route rather than the Volvo route (just look at the gauges on an S60). They're so bad, it would be enough to make me not buy the car.

juddholl10

Porsche has a similarly problematic speedo. The usable 0-85 speed range is smushed down at the bottom left. I know having a speedo go to 180 looks cool, but most of us will never take it past 100. Not having a digital dial on a Cayenne in a city would make it impossible to read the speed.

nukedetroit

Many, many, many reasons not to buy a Dart, gslippy. The speedo is merely one of the most readily apparent.

hank39

I don't get why certain recent cars (eg. FR-S, BRZ) have two speedometers. I would opt to look at the digital one before the dial as a personal preference and use the space from the dial for some other helpful info. This one from the Dart is horrendous.

gslippy

@nukedetroit - I know; I've test-driven two of them (1.4-M, 2.0-A), plus followed this blog. I wanted to like this car, but it's all kinds of letdown. The automatic transmission is nice, but it's made by Hyundai.

awddreamin

Dodge gauges in general are hard to read. I love having 2 speedos. I used to configure the 350z to show MPH in digital format on the programmable digital gauge atop the dash. Much easier to read than the analog speedo on the right side of the gauge cluster.

expensivehobby

I used to hate the secondary digital speedometer. I think it reminded me of the 80s when the digital was the only speedometer in many cars. Now I have to say it's the one I use most of the time, and my VWs have fairly legible gauges. Just too quick and easy a reference, particularly in traffic.

cromagnum_man

I generally like the Dart but not a fan of the gauges.

socal_eric

Also as you get older and need reading glasses, for some people a much bigger, digital gauge can be nice and easier to read with a quick glance without then. Its software and you can always change the display to show other data, so why not put it in the car? Although they can be a little more polarizing, what I'd like to see is more vehicle offered with option head up displays for the digital readout and bigger, conventional analog gauges rather than trying to cram a big multi-function LCD screen in the dash at the expense of the speedo and tach.