How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

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potownrob
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by potownrob »

watkins wrote:Id probably only look at the Ford and Chrysler. Maybe the Kia
+1
in this case the ford looks more luxurious and refined than most other midsized cars, and the chrysler stands out to me too (decent looks, different enough). what's the kia midsized car?? i thought they had the little forte and then the large optima. either way, malibu and altima are too sold out looking to me, though they may be better than they were a few years back.
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by potownrob »

Rope-Pusher wrote:I thought Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press answered the question well

http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/m ... /85636992/

“Why’s Chrysler dropping the 200 and Dodge Dart? Are they that terrible?” a reader asked recently.

No, but they’re not great. That, along with changing buyer tastes, doomed the two cars.

The 200 and Dart have their virtues, but neither is a clear leader in any of the areas customers care about most: value, style, safety, performance, technology, fuel economy and design.

Imagine yourself in a Hertz lot. Your choices are a Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Malibu and Kia Optima. Which one do you ignore? Yeah, me too.
well, it doesn't have to be that way. surely these masters of mass production can find a larger or more powerful engine to shoehorn into their cars, and they must have designers who can make the design stand out a little with a minor refresh.
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by potownrob »

bk7794 wrote:
potownrob wrote:
tankinbeans wrote: Berlusconi is doubling down on CUVs and is axing both the Fart and the Dos Equis. Theoretically he's going to hop in bed with somebody else for vehicles to fill those niches.
I haven't taken Chrysler seriously for 20 years now. Should not be surprised.
When did you get a vw?
i think i may have been mistaking teamwork for you for the past few months. :shock: :oops: :| :lol:
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by Teamwork »

potownrob wrote:
bk7794 wrote:
potownrob wrote: I haven't taken Chrysler seriously for 20 years now. Should not be surprised.
When did you get a vw?
i think i may have been mistaking teamwork for you for the past few months. :shock: :oops: :| :lol:
I really need to get an avatar... I associate people by avatars more then names!

To weigh in on the original thread though I've been following the Dodge Dart very closely since 2012 when it was first making its inception into the US. The first time I test drove one (and mind you both instances automatic) I was in a stripper model, base engine 2.0L (POS), and stripped of many features (like Uconnect). The experience was really lack luster after this build up... and I actually kind of held off my car choice a month thinking this thing was going to be a "contender". The only thing really truly going for it was the exterior look and the overall size- I really liked that it was inbetween compact and mid size realm and you could def get away having 4 people inside one of these. I thought the cloth seats were the worst quality I've ever felt in a modern day automobile- it literally felt like sand paper in certain areas and the smell was off putting. I really couldn't get out of the car any faster... and as soon as I did I bought what would be then my 3 year lease KIA.

My 2nd visit to the Dart was just last year and this time around I really had the bar set low remembering first time around. This time though I got the tigershark 2.4L in a middling trim with Uconnect and I honestly walked away from this car impressed. A lot of expert publications really slammed this thing into the ground claiming it was a total turd but I really could see a lot of people owning this car and being fairly satisfied with it. The 2.4L was adequate for the size and weight of the vehicle and I thought the transmission was fine... I was just coming from a 2.4L boat anchor in the KIA and it felt about the same. I thought the interior and gauges were a little too boy racer for me but they weren't crappy looking by any means- just loud. It was hardly sporting though and it didn't really feel 'european' in any way. I did notice that they upgraded the cloth seating surfaces and it went from being some of the worst to some of the best. I don't know how often you guys look at new cars and such but a lot of these brands really went to trash when it comes to cloth fabric and seating surfaces... I guess most people opt for leather now so there's less of a reason to care. I went onto some car club forums though and a crap load of people have issues with the 1.4L and transmission combo. It scared me away essentially but my first hand experience with the car wasn't bad.

Chrysler throwing in the towel is pretty bone headed to me but whatever. The Dart was a niche player and the 200 is in a sea of all-stars...
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by bk7794 »

Sucks. I have a coworker that has a Jeep Renegade 2.4. Thing didn't start yesterday. Poor guy. Thing only has 17k. I think I'll probably hold off until they're dirt cheap. I know I get pissed at my Civic for having stupid things wrong with it. Like the cluster being 5 mph off. I feel I'll definitely get pissed paying over 9 or 10k for something that would be lack luster. At least that's my fear.

I probably should actually get out and look at cars rather than just sitting on the computer staring at them.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by tankinbeans »

bk7794 wrote:Sucks. I have a coworker that has a Jeep Renegade 2.4. Thing didn't start yesterday. Poor guy. Thing only has 17k. I think I'll probably hold off until they're dirt cheap. I know I get pissed at my Civic for having stupid things wrong with it. Like the cluster being 5 mph off. I feel I'll definitely get pissed paying over 9 or 10k for something that would be lack luster. At least that's my fear.

I probably should actually get out and look at cars rather than just sitting on the computer staring at them.
Renegade...a friend recently got a Trail Chicken edition, but I'm not sure if it has the 2.4 or the 1.4T. Either way she's been wanting a Jeep (made noise about a Rubicon, so I expected her to get a Wrangler at least) and traded her Liberty for it. I shall pay attention to see if the Fiat pleases her.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by Teamwork »

bk7794 wrote:Sucks. I have a coworker that has a Jeep Renegade 2.4. Thing didn't start yesterday. Poor guy. Thing only has 17k. I think I'll probably hold off until they're dirt cheap. I know I get pissed at my Civic for having stupid things wrong with it. Like the cluster being 5 mph off. I feel I'll definitely get pissed paying over 9 or 10k for something that would be lack luster. At least that's my fear.

I probably should actually get out and look at cars rather than just sitting on the computer staring at them.
They both have well documented problems essentially- literally go to any car club forum and some of them are even stickied. If I didn't read about the looming issues I might've been a little more inclined to get the car all things considered but it wasn't really ever as sporty as I was "hoping" it would be and with the shakey reliability I really wrote it off. I probably would touch a FCA product without an extended warranty and a bottle of Jack Daniels, confidently. There also seems to be a lot of internal turmoil with upper echelon management and more particularly Sergio Marchionne... I've read a few interviews with Ralph Gilles and from what he says and I've read I wish they would just turn over the company to him... he seems like he actually has a level head and rationale.

The only FCA product that has at least intrigued me is probably the Jeep Renegade though and the Fiat 500 Abarth.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by bk7794 »

Renegade is interesting. Comes with a manuel (sic) transmission.

I've also been intrigued with the Wrangler. I sat in one and holy hell are they comfortable
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by Rope-Pusher »

There was a big carrot hanging in front of FIAT if Chrysler could come out with a car that got 40 mpg highway fuel smileage. They could earn another chunk of Chrysler.

Hence the 1.4L Eco verson of the Dart.

Problem is the Dart is one of the biggest and heaviest C-Segment vehicles - it's within milimeters and kilograms of the Chrysler 200, which is a D-Segment vehicle. Even the 2.4L Tigershark engine isn't enough to make the Dart performance any more than adequate with all that mass to pull around. I pity the foo who bought a Dart with the 2.0L, but that is the least expensive engine to produce and hence is found in the price-leader model.

The Dart engine compartment is too small for the Pornstar V-6 or the 9-Speed automatic. A 2.4 Turbo would have provided more sporty acceleration, but the transmissions that fit would have required the 2.4 Turbo to be torque limited.

In the end, the same company that can't build enough Jeeps and Rams to keep up with demand was wasting their manpower, money and production capacity building small and mid-sized cars that they couldn't make money on. That being the case, stopping production of the Dart and 200 makes sense.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by watkins »

The engine bay in both Dart and 200 is really abysmally small. I don't care to work in either.

The Renegade is a whole other ball of shit.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by Teamwork »

I know this is kind of going way off topic but it still shocks me today that Chrysler was able to create an SRT4 Neon that is deemed pretty widely respectable. In a model that literally had two power front windows and rear window cranks... I'm almost glad that SRT4 Dart idea got shot down pretty quickly because it probably would've tarnished my memories of the original. The dart probably could've filled the looks card pretty decently though...

I guess I'll just go all out on my FCA bashing but it's pretty hard to take a company seriously when they are consistently in the bottom of publicated reliability reports and then chooses to totally stop selling compacts and mid size cars- utilizing resources to SUV's just because gas went below $2.50 a gallon for year... sounds pretty familiar to how these American companies collected the bail out a few years ago.

EDIT: I really do genuinely like the new Pacifica though
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by tankinbeans »

I'll withhold too much judgement on Chrysler since the last, the only, Chrysler my family has owned in my memory was a 91 Dynasty. It survived my brothers and my mom until it didn't. Maintenance deferred is a nice way to put it when it comes to that car.

Were pre-Diamler, post-AMC Chryslers somewhat decent? My memory doesn't go back that far.

Back in my mom's younger years she had the birthing class by Chrysler and loved it, but recently it's been Ford and GM.

I have driven and was terrified by a 98 Neon in whatever was its base trim. The only option was the 3 speed auto. It was grossly overtaxed with the weight of passenger and lack of power. I couldn't get back into Clifford soon enough.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by bk7794 »

What is up with the Renegade?

Funny that in the early 90s, most of Chrysler's best products were Mitsubishis.
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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by Teamwork »

I have experience also in a 97-98 Dodge Neon which was a coupe and I also think it had a 3 speed automatic and it was really memorably bad. It wasn't like I was riding high and mighty either at that point I was daily driving a 95 Toyota Corolla which felt like a luxury car compared to the Dodge Neon and really overall just felt like it was built on a different level. I've always been a fan of the Charger/300 which was brain stormed in conjunction with the Diamler guys and somehow the 2nd generation they didn't screw up either.

Tried really hard to think about the Dodge's I liked in the 90's... I guess this thing:

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Re: How is the 1.4t and 2.4 Dodge Dart?

Post by IMBoring25 »

There was the Viper...And the Stealth (a badge-engineered 3000GT).
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