When people hear "Dodge," their thoughts turn to muscular cars like the Charger and Challenger. And muscular SUVs, like the Durango (especially the V8-powered R/T version).
But the government is making it hard for Dodge to continue making such cars and SUVs. The Charger and Challenger have already been retired, and not on account of lack of popular demand. The V8 Durango is probably next.
So, what's left?
Well, something different — that's trying to be similar.
What It Is
The Hornet is Dodge's newest model and a very different model from other Dodge models like the Challenger and Charger (RIP).
It is a muscular crossover.
While it doesn't have a V8, it does come standard with the most powerful engine in the class — and for the money. It's also closely related to an Italian exotic, the Alfa Romeo Tonale (which costs a lot more money).
A new Hornet starts at $30,735 for the base GT trim, which comes standard with a 268-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, paired up with a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
That's about $12,000 less to start than the Tonale, which stickers for $42,995 to start. The more expensive Tonale comes standard with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain and a smaller (1.3-liter) engine that makes 288 horsepower — and it can be driven about 30 miles on battery power alone when fully charged up.
This same plug-in hybrid drivetrain comes standard in the R/T version of the Hornet, which stickers for $40,935 to start.
What's Good
Personality (and power) that's sorely lacking in the $30,000-or-so crossover class.
More practical than most small crossovers in its class.
Choice of drivetrains.
What's Not So Good
The price of power is thirst (21 mpg city, 29 mpg highway with the standard 2.0-liter engine).
Plug-in hybrid version's cost to buy is probably too high to save you money via spending less on gas.
Under The Hood
The Hornet's standard 2.0-liter, 268-horsepower engine is not only larger than the Tonale's standard 1.3-liter engine. It is larger — and much stronger — than what comes standard in similarly sized and similarly priced small crossovers such as the Honda CR-V (1.5 liters, 190 horsepower) and Kia Niro hybrid (1.6 liters, 139 horsepower).
In fact, there is no other crossover available for about $30,000 that packs anything close to the Hornet's punch.
Or is it sting?
To get close, you'd need to step up to something like the BMW X1, which comes standard with a 2.0-liter turbo'd four that makes 241 horsepower. That'll cost you $38,600. The sporty Mercedes GLC comes standard with a mild-hybrid set-up and 255 horsepower from its 2.0-liter turbo'd four.
It'll set you back $47,450.
Meanwhile, you could be set back in your seat — by the Hornet — for just over $30,000.
The American Job can get to 60 in just over six seconds, which is two to three seconds quicker than other small crossovers in its price range and on par with luxury-brand crossovers that cost thousands more.
On The Road
The Hornet does its best to continue the tradition of the muscular Dodges that Dodge has had to take off the market. Though it is a completely different kind of vehicle — small crossover rather than hulking muscle car; small turbocharged engine rather than rumble V8 engine — it has similar attitude. Like its force-retired stablemates, it's pugnacious relative to the typical crossover appliance. It has more power than you need. And that is good in the same way the V8 Challenger and Charger were.
You do not buy the Hornet because you need an appliance. That is what all the others are for. You buy it because you can't buy a Charger or a Challenger anymore.
And even if you could, there's reason to buy this crossover manifestation of what makes Dodges something other than what everyone else is making. It is practical in a way that its V8/RWD siblings weren't — and not just because it's good in the snow, as they weren't.
Because it is a crossover.
And because it is, you can use it to cart home things like a new toolbox — the 4 feet wide by 6 feet tall kind — that I hauled home using the Hornet to do just exactly that.
At The Curb
It's hard to make a crossover look like something that isn't an appliance — without being at odds with the practicality of the crossover layout. The roofline can't be too low, or abruptly tapering. If they are, rear-seat headroom and cargo room are compromised, and now you have something with four doors that might as well just have two.
But, again, Dodge tries.
The Hornet has a set of recessed air vents on either side of its hood that suggest there's something under the hood worth taking a look at. There are large "hornet" badges on each front fender that are cockily rendered in the finest Dodge tradition.
The front end bears a family resemblance to the Charger you can no longer get.
Similarly, the instrument cluster inside looks like the Charger's — and there's a Performance Pages app you can call up on the LCD touch screen, too. It's not as braggadocious as the Performance Pages app that was included with the R/T versions of the Charger and Challenger; there's no real-time engine dyno (horsepower and torque produced) or quarter-mile/0-60 time displays.
But it's more than you'd get in most appliances.
The same's true of the space available for cargo behind the rear seats. The Dodge has 27 cubic feet — substantially more than the Kia Niro's 22.8 cubic feet. If you fold the Niro's backseats forward, the Kia has more total space (63.7 cubic feet vs. 54.7 cubic feet for the Hornet), but to get it, you must fold the backseats down.
The Rest
Usually, the R/T designation means a higher-performance version of a given Dodge model, as for example the optional V8 rather than standard V6 R/T versions of the Charger and Challenger. In this case of the Hornet, it means a higher-performance hybrid. And not just the horsepower. The package also includes high-performance Brembo bakes and a larger (18-inch vs. 17-inch) wheel/tire package. Also bundled in are heated seats and steering wheel.
These latter are available as options with the GT, along with a 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, wireless phone charger and navigation.
A Track Pack is available for the R/T that swaps out the 18-inch wheels for a 20-inch set and adds an adjustable suspension system, sport steering wheel and red powder-coated brake calipers at all four corners.
The Bottom Line
Sometimes, you do the best you can with what you've got. And that's just exactly what Dodge has done here.
Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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