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2013 Dodge Dart: the hot compact car
The 2013 Dodge Dart is a compact car with two parents, Chrysler and Fiat. Dodge took the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, an upper-market hatchback; widened, lengthened, and re-skinned it, made it into a sedan, replaced the driver-facing systems with Chrysler ones, retuned the suspension, and put in their own engines.
New: a closer look at the Dodge Dart and its designers.
Turbocharged, 600 horsepower Dodge Dart rally car. Coming up soon: Dodge Dart AWD and Aero — confirmed. Dodge Dart SRT4 — expected. Chrysler also showed off two concepts, the Dodge Dart GTS Tribute and GTS Turbo, using Mopar parts. (New: also see prices and options)
The Dodge Dart is a reasonably priced, quiet, and sporty car with a good interior space, numerous features, a flashy dashboard, and a good balance of economy and acceleration (once you move up past the 2.0), though the 1.4’s acceleration won’t set new standards — 9.3 seconds with the manual. While quality and durability will not be known for years to come, both were definite priorities from the start of the program through to production. Compared with other cars in its class, the Dart has the longest wheelbase, front track, length, width, and greenhouse footprint.
The 2013 Dodge Dart will fulfill the basic mission of the original: to be a relatively upmarket compact car, selling at a small premium but delivering a better driver experience than its competitors. It would fulfill that mission even without the numerous “not normal on compact cars” features.
Dodge Dart SE will have a base price of $16,000. The SE does not include the fancy 7” configurable display, the 8.4” touch screen, or the LED taillights, all of which will be on the Limited and R/T; they may be options on the SXT and Rallye (the Rallye at the Detroit Auto Show had all these features).
The Charger-inspired, full-width tail-lamp design accentuates the Dart’s width, using 152 indirectly glowing LEDs through an internal lens that creates a fractal glass appearance; these taillamps will be available on most Darts but not SE. Both front and rear of the car are very round with virtually no corners. Up front, an active shutter system directs air around the car when extra engine cooling is not needed, increasing aerodynamic efficiency; the underbody is covered for the same reason (these are standard on all but SE, where it’s optional).
The new Dart car is, as Allpar forum member ChrycoFan predicted, around a foot longer and two inches wider than the Giulietta hatch. It is being made in the United States, with full production starting in April 2012 (delayed from January), and will finally fill in a gap left by the Neon, which was also made in the Belvedere plant. The same basic architecture will spawn at least one crossover and probably a hatchback.
Why name the car “Dodge Dart?” According to Reid Bigland, CEO of Dodge,
Anyone that we spoke to that was under the age of 35, we showed them pictures of the 2013 Dart with the aggressive aero, the look, the sportiness, and asked them which names they thought fit best. Dart was the overwhelming bulls-eye. These people weren’t very familiar with the 1960-1976 Dart. They were just looking at Dart for matching the design and the aero of the current car.
Then on a demographic of 45 and older, there was a lot of affiliation with name Dart. The affiliation with the name Dart, the original, was very positive.
The 2013 Dart uses Chrysler and Fiat engines (at 160 and 184 hp), with rumored optional all wheel drive coming; it has MacPherson struts up front, and a bilink suspension in back, both in aluminum cradles. The rumored ZF nine-speed automatic might be a late arrival; the Dart will debut with a Fiat six-speed dual-clutch automated-manual transmission, a manual version of that transmission, and a “PowerTech” six speed which is sourced from Hyundai (there were no Chrysler units that would fit).
The reliable source oh2o wrote that the new Dodge Dart will be well equipped. SE (base) will get 16 inch wheels, and SXT and Limited going to 17” wheels. There will be a Rallye option for the SXT and, in total, six different wheel options along with the three engines and three transmissions. This has been confirmed. Rain sensing wipers appear to be another option, albeit unannounced, along with remote start (which can include turning on the heated seats and heated steering wheel). The voice recognition system allows the driver to choose between brief and detailed responses, a boon to the impatient. (The fancy dash and tail-lights both start as options on SXT).
oh2o wrote, accurately, that a high priority was placed on aerodynamics, with underbody covers and active grille shutters. Dodge described the many steps taken to increase aerodynamic efficiency, including over 600 hours in the wind tunnel; cutting the drag coefficient to an impressive 0.285 helps increase gas mileage and effective highway power, and cuts wind noise.
According to PhantomSpazz, an Aero model, with 41 mpg, is slated for late arrival; he also said that base pricing would not be far above the Fiat 500, which starts at $16,000. He was right about the pricing and the fuel-efficiency model, admittedly named Aero rather than Eco.
It will reportedly be the longest, widest, and tallest car in its class, and the interior will be quieter than the very-quiet Chevrolet Cruze. The new raised chrome Dodge badge uses the red twin-stripe logo.
The R/T version, we’re told, will handle like a go-kart, despite the car’s size and weight.
The interior is snazzy and advanced — check out our Dodge Dart interior page with a spy shot.
Safety and such
The Dart’s headlamps are projector versions while tail lamps are light-emitting diodes (LED) for compressed, sleeker and wider looking graphic shapes. Glossy black paint-in-mold finishes are used on all models. Dodge’s “Hyper Black” is exclusive to the R/T and Rallye with R/T wheels.
The 2013 Dodge Dart was built with 68% high-strength steel; it has ten standard airbags, unsurpassed in the segment. The 2013 Dodge Dart is the only car in its class to offer blind spot monitoring and rear cross path detection. See Dodge Dart quality and safety.
The Dart will be built in Belvidere, Illinois; the cost for upgrading the plant, including adding new machinery and tooling, was $600 million. There will be no 2012 Dodge Dart (or Dodge Dart 2012 if you prefer) — production starts in 2012, but the car officially starts with the new Dodge Dart 2013.
Lots more 2013 Dodge Dart car information
- 2013 Models, Prices, and Options
- A closer look at the Dodge Dart and its designers
- Road Test / Review (at allpar.com)
- 600 horsepower Dodge Dart rally car
- Mopar Dart GTS tribute car with 210 hp, using available Mopar parts (updated Jan. 31)
- Building Darts in Belvidere (at allpar.com)
- Dart in Detroit: interviews, cutaways, photos
- Dodge Dart SRT4 rumors and speculation
- Comparisons, Specifications, Dimensions, and Colors
- Development/Engineering and aerodynamics
- Interior
- Engines and Transmissions
- Gizmos
- Quality and Safety
- Pre-Launch Speculative Renderings
- Discussion / Forum
Interior • Engines • Gizmos • Quality/Safety • Specs • Development/Engineering • DCT
Dart Cutaway and Interviews • Mopar Dart GTS • Rally Car • Up Close • Forums
2013 Models, Prices, and Options • SRT4? • Road Test / Review (at allpar.com)
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