We are still going to reserve our final judgment on the 2013 Dodge Dart until it is officially launched this morning at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. We had previously released the teaser images of the car that dodge had released before the holiday break and we were impressed. On the exterior we loved the look of the headlights and Alfa Romeo Giulietta inspired aggressive hood lines. On the inside of the car were intrigued with the looks of the level of high quality materials being used in combination with the re-designed instrument cluster and center stack controls.
2013 Dodge Dart - Offcial HD press image
However now that the first of the “b roll” footage has been released over the weekend we are wondering if we have fallen in love with the parts bin and poster images as the car in its entirety hasn’t wowed us as much as were expecting. Don’t get us wrong the car is not Veloster ugly but those rear tail lights put us off and as a total package the car is just missing something that we haven’t been able to put our fingers on yet.
While the official specs for the Dart won’t be release until the cars official launch video can confirm that Dart is in the same size range as the Chevrolet Cruze and Hyundai Elantra. Fuel efficiency has been one of the key design factors as Fiat need to produce a 40 mpg car to acquire another 5% of Chrysler, so the employees a new 6-speed dual-clutch automated manual gearbox with rumors of a 9-speed in the works. They also use more light weight high strength steel then most other cars in the sub-compact class which also should increase the cars stiffness resulting in better ride and handling as well as helping to reduce unwanted noise and vibrations.
The All New 2013 Dodge Dart
On paper the unadjusted fuel consumption numbers are 40 mpg on the combined cycle, however the real world adjusted fuel economy figures will not be that good. City numbers are dropped by 10 percent, while highway numbers get a 22-percent reduction. Some rough estimating says that the Dart will probably be rated at about 34-mpg combined once the final adjustments are made. Still a good score, for sure, but far from 40. This little white lie has also upped Fiats stake in the Chrysler group to 58.5% and they are still trying to purchase the more of the 41.5% that is owned by the UAW.
The All New 2013 Dodge Dart
All in all the new 2013 Dodge Dart is taking the approach of building a quality car and then loading it full of high tech features. Our only concern is that they are bringing too many different model variant to the market that may increase the cost of building the car. The 2013 Dart will be available by the mid to end of summer and will be offered in 12 exterior, 14 interior colour and trim combinations, 6 wheel designs, 3 engine choices and with 3 transmission options with a possible 4th nearing the end of development.
Could they be offering their customers too much choice? Time will tell but we are wishing them good luck!
Rest-In-Peace Caliber! Please fade off into the sunset knowing that you have been replaced by what looks to be a far superior car. Make sure to check out the video below.
To read our first impressions of the 2013 Dodge Darts exterior view the links here: Dodge Hornet Loses its Stripes and becomes the 2013 Dodge Dart and here The Dodge Hornet is Spied – Born out of the Calibers Ashes
To read about our first impressions about the cars interior view the article here: Dodge Releases Interior Images of the 2013 Dart and they Hit the Mark
