Compact crossover packs plenty of power
AMERICAN AUTOMAKER CONSPICUOUSLY MISSING FROM SEGMENT HOPING FOR A HIT
Seeing an American automotive brand not playing in the lucrative compact crossover segment is like seeing a supermarket refusing to sell bread and milk — they’re missing out on a whole lot of customers.
Dodge has been conspicuously absent from this segment, but that will change with the introduction of the 2023 Dodge Hornet later this year.
Taking styling cues from other vehicles in the Dodge lineup, the Hornet will have two powertrain options. A gasoline-fuelled 2.0-litre turbocharged four from the Hurricane family will make 265 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque in GT trims, while the R/T will get an electrified plug-in hybrid power plant using a 1.3-L engine paired with a rear axle-mounted electric motor, plus a belt/starter generator and 15.5-kwh battery. This one will be good for 288 hp and a stout 383 lb-ft of torque, though the latter number is given as “installed” torque (199 lb-ft in the internal-combustion engine, and 183 in the e-motor) and not as a peak number.
The gas-only vehicle gets a nine-speed automatic transmission, while the PHEV has six speeds. All-wheel drive is standard across the board and, if you’re wondering, the PHEV weighs 425 lbs. more than the gasser — 275 lbs. of that is the battery — and it will be able to run about 48 kilometres on electricity only, in the right conditions.
The R/T will get a socalled Powershot feature, which permits the battery to dump more power — about 25 hp — into the equation at the push of a button, for about 15 seconds. This allegedly shaves about one second off acceleration times and is available when the battery is at the proper temperature and more than 50 per cent charged.
Incidentally, the head honcho at Dodge, Timothy Kuniskis, said “every electrified Dodge will have the Powershot” feature, meaning future EVS and PHEVS will also have some form of this entertaining go-fast button.
Topping the range is the Hornet GLH, a thinly veiled concept based on the GT that pays homage to the original Omni GLH (Goes Like Hell) of the mid-1980s. This socalled concept has said “yes” to a lot of the Direct Connection catalogue, including a suspension-lowering kit and unrestricted dual exhaust. A smattering of visual cues further separates it from the pack. Dodge won’t talk horsepower other than to say it beats the old ’80s Omni’s power-to-weight ratio. We found that to be roughly 14.63 lbs./hp. A stock Hornet GT has 268 hp and a listed curb weight of 3,715 lbs., which beats the old GLH (13.86 lbs./hp in the modern car).
Outside, the Hornet has full-width tail lamps and a set of angry headlights. The company Rhombi logo is set dead-centre in the frowny-face, mail-slot grille, a strange decision given its offset location on other Dodge rigs. Kuniskis insists only its doors are comparable to the Alfa Romeo Tonale’s, a machine with which it will share its country of assembly. The Hornet will be built at the Giambattista Vico Stellantis plant in Pomigliano d’ arco, Naples, Italy.
Inside, look for more Dodge calling cards such as centre-stack controls, display screens subtly tipped toward the driver, plus red stitching accents and available Alcantara seats. Red leather is on tap for all you extroverts.
A standard 12.3-inch digital cockpit cluster screen and standard 10.25-in. Uconnect 5 infotainment system bring the goods in terms of visual tech, packing wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto. It can also be connected to your Amazon account so Jeff Bezos can know your music preference; you can ask Alexa to start the car or close the garage door. Some trim packages will have a 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.
Typical driving aids, such as automatic emergency braking, are on tap, as is an optional system which can be classified as Level 2 autonomy, thanks to its intelligent speed assist, which supports stop-and-go driving in heavy traffic.
Pricing is critical in this cutthroat segment, and the only Canadian figure disclosed by Dodge is that the GT will be priced “under $40,000.” We do know more south of the border, where GT trims will start at US$29,995, and the R/T will cost a cool $10,000 extra. Customers in the U.S. can add a Plus suffix to those trims for an additional $5,000, bringing leather seats and other toys. Of course, prices and the feature mix may change for Canada.
The 2023 Hornet GT trim opened for orders Aug. 17 and will begin arriving in dealers later this year. The electrified R/T is scheduled to hit showrooms in spring 2023.