2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye: Fuel Economy Update February
March 4, 2013
Our Dodge Dart drove nearly 1,200 miles throughout the month of February, our second full month with the car. We averaged 26.5 mpg for those 28 days of mixed driving, which is slightly better than our overall average of 26.2 mpg.
Like Chris Walton mentioned last month, we're still well below the EPA's estimate of 31 mpg for combined city and highway driving. This month we filled up the tank exclusively with 87-octane fuel.
2013 Dodge Dart: Same Name. Why?
February 27, 2013
Dodge's new compact car goes by the name of Dart. And that's just plain weird given its roots (its platform is derived from the Alfa Romeo Giulietta) versus those of its namesake ancestor. Hell, that's like Pontiac calling a Daewoo-based subcompact a LeMans. Or Chevrolet calling a Toyota-based compact a Nova. Oh, wait, they did.
As most any middle-aged-and-up American can tell you, the old Dodge Dart was a very popular compact that competed against the real Chevy Nova and the Ford Maverick during the '60s and '70s. But very popular doesn't necessarily mean very good.
2013 Dodge Dart: Beware of Trunk Spikes
February 25, 2013
Since I was couch-ridden with back spasms, it was up to my friend Chris to load up the Dart come check-out time at our Lake Arrowhead cabin this past weekend. After the second load, he came back inside holding his cut and bleeding hand. Was he the victim of a bear? An enraged raccoon? Nope, Dodge Dart attack.
2013 Dodge Dart: The First (and Last) Road Trip
February 22, 2013
A compact car is not the ideal vehicle to take on a long-weekend road trip with four people and their stuff. And yet, with all our bigger sedans and SUVs already spoken for, the Dodge Dart was actually the most spacious car available for our weekend journey to Lake Arrowhead. No problem, I thought, we'll just have to make it work.
And make it work we did, as the trunk proved to be suitably ample without the sort of bulges or intrusions that can make a cargo area less useful than its cubic feet would indicate. It does have some nasty spikes in it, but I'll save that for the next blog. The cabin was sufficient for myself (6-foot-3) and my friend Chris (6-foot-4) up front, with our wives in back along with a few items that didn't fit in the trunk. Would there have been more room in a bigger vehicle? Of course, but as far as compact sedans go, the Dart was very impressive and I heard no complaints from my passengers.
2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye: Redeeming Transmission Qualities
February 20, 2013
Some editors have already pointed out the annoyances of the 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye's dual-clutch transmission. Basically, it's slow to react and easily confused. Since those are two deficiencies I've also been accused of on several occasions, I probably shouldn't be throwing stones.
Instead I'll focus on some of the redeeming qualities. Such as the perfect throttle blips on manual downshifts.
2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye: The Exhaust Note
February 19, 2013
I need to get something off my chest. I kinda dig the rumbly, slightly agricultural note that emanates from the twin-outlet exhaust system on our 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye long-term car.
I'm not saying it's a beautiful sound. But the deep burbling as you trundle around at low revs sounds mean. Especially with the windows down.
2013 Dodge Dart: No Premium Gas Needed
February 18, 2013
This is the gas cap for our 2013 Dodge Dart. You might notice that it makes no recommendation as to which kind of gas the engine prefers "for best performance" or any such nonsense.
It's a bit strange given that our Dart has the optional 1.4-liter turbocharged engine. Or at least it's strange to anyone who grew up driving a turbocharged car that required premium swill just to keep it from detonating itself to death.
2013 Dodge Dart: A Look Underneath
February 15, 2013
Our 2-post Rotary Lift has always afforded us unique views of our long-termers. This time around, our 2013 Dodge Dart gets the treatment. We're especially impressed with how aerodynamically clean the underside is, and the access panels for oil changes are a nice touch.
More pictures after the jump.
2013 Dodge Dart: Not Your Traditional Owner's Manual
February 14, 2013
I wanted to troubleshoot phone-pairing in the 2013 Dodge Dart. Muscle memory impelled me to click open the glovebox, where I expected to find an owner's manual and/or a manual for the Uconnect system. I felt around for the familiar, fat paper guide, but instead I found a thin vinyl pouch that contained an owner's manual on DVD. (There was also a trim glossy "user guide" in the pouch, but in my determination to find the car's unabridged sacred scripture, I overlooked it. Shame on me.)
The DVD initially seemed unhelpful for in-car assistance, unless you could play it on the screen. A hunt for the CD player ensued. It lives in the center console: a CD player location I hadn't encountered before. I popped in the DVD.
2013 Dodge Dart: Easy Bluetooth Streaming Audio
February 13, 2013
More and more, cars are passing the no-manual-needed rule when it comes to initial phone pairing. That's the case with the 2013 Dodge Dart. Touch the phone icon on the screen, pick "settings" then "paired phones" and "add device." There's the parallel process on the phone for finding the Uconnect system and adding the pin, and that's easy to do as well.
What I didn't expect was that Bluetooth streaming audio would be ready to go without any more fuss. When I touched "player" on the screen, the audiobook I had been listening to on my iPhone kicked right in. What a pleasure. In my own car (a 2011 BMW 328i), the initial set-up of Bluetooth streaming audio was less than intuitive. It's also no fun that I have to reset it if I should need to connect my iPhone via USB for charging. Believe it or not, BMW, that does happen from time to time.
2013 Dodge Dart SXT: Front Seat
February 12, 2013
A few days ago, I noticed that little tab sticking out of the front passenger seat and wondered what it's intended to do. So I tugged on it and found an odd little storage compartment. The owner's manual says nothing of its intended use, just that "some models may be equipped with storage under the front passenger seat cushion. Pull upward on the seat tether to open the storage compartment."
I found a use for it.
2013 Dodge Dart: Initial Annoyance Gives Way to Begrudging Acceptance
February 11, 2013
After my first night in our long-term 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye, which combines Fiat's turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder with a six-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission, I had the same reaction as Jay and James. This transmission simply doesn't feel well calibrated to the engine. This small-displacement turbocharged engine needs revs to make decent power. But between the transmission's early upshifts and slow gear changes, it's hard to stay in the power in cutthroat commuter traffic.
At least, that's how I felt after one day in the Dart. Now four days on, I feel like I've made peace with the drivetrain's peculiarities and, overall, the experience isn't any worse than a commute in our CVT-equipped Subaru Impreza. Honestly, once you're up to 70 mph, the Dart feels better than our Impreza, because its engine has more mid-range torque, so once you coax the transmission into the right gear, executing a passing maneuver is pretty much turnkey.
2013 Dodge Dart: Slick Voice Control Interface
February 8, 2013
I already told you how much I like the navigation system in our long-term 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye. In sum, the interface is simple, it processes requests quickly and the graphics are sharp with good street labeling. Well, since then I've used the voice control interface and it's equally excellent, so much so that I plan to make to make regular use of it.
Here's what makes it so good: You press the voice control button on the steering wheel, say "find address" and then it directs you to enter the entire address, yes, house number, street, city and state, all at once. That's right, you say the whole address just as you would if you were talking to a real person.
2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye: Best Navigation System in the Class?
February 7, 2013
I'm not sure where a factory navigation system falls in the order of priorities for real-life economy sedan buyers, but the system in our long-term 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye is excellent.
The interface is a large, high-resolution, 7-inch touchscreen, and it integrates various different functions, including navigation, audio, phone, climate and myriad settings. As James mentioned, the integration of the climate controls is a little clumsy (especially since it's just single-zone, manual A/C), but the nav and phone features work really well.
2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye: Rides Like a Big Car
February 6, 2013
It's no understatement to call our long-term 2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye a big car for its class. Among economy sedans, it's the longest (183.9 inches) and widest (72.0 inches), even if its wheelbase (106.4 inches) is right in line with the Hyundai Elantra and Nissan Sentra.
After commuting to work in the Dart for the better part of a week, I think it lives up to that big footprint. Specifically, it rides like the small midsize car that is and feels substantial going down the road, something Dan noted in our first drive and Jay in our full test of a conventional manual-shift SXT Rallye.
Together, the suspension calibration and 225/45R17 Continental all-season tires strike a good balance between compliance and control. The Dart soaks up impacts neatly without resorting to the floatiness you get in some competitors. At the same time, it rarely crashes over ruts and it copes with the rain-grooved/washboard sections of the I-405 freeway without feeling busy. It reminds me a bit of our long-term Chevy Cruze in this regard, and I prefer it to our Subaru Impreza.
2013 Dodge Dart: Mildly Useful Storage
February 5, 2013
There are plenty of ideas that look good on paper, but then fail to deliver much in the flesh. The Dart's underseat storage bin might be one of those ideas.
I say "might" because I have yet to find a use for the hidden compartment under the front passenger seat compartment. That doesn't mean it's useless, but I'm struggling to figure out what it's good for.
