Overview & Reviews

Compact Dodge cars haven't had a glowing history, with names like Aries, Caliber, Neon and Shadow best consigned to the forgotten chapters of automotive history. However, the original Dodge Dart was one notable exception. Not only did it provide reasonably dependable (for the 1970s) family transportation, it also elicited quite a following among car enthusiasts.

It's this enthusiasm that Dodge is trying to recapture with its distinctive new Dart. The days of Darts with available powerhouse V8s are long gone, but with a front-wheel-drive chassis derived from the lithe Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the four-cylinder Dart promises a different sort of fun. Instead of laying down rubber, it offers sharp steering and commendable road holding whether you're taking a spirited drive on a back road or simply running errands around town.

More importantly, the new Dodge Dart offers a degree of quality, feature content and mechanical sophistication that greatly exceeds that of previous small Dodges. When compared to other compact sedans, it's not a class leader, but it's certainly competitive.

Current Dodge Dart
The Dodge Dart is a compact sedan whose basic structure, suspension and steering are derived from the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a sporty hatchback sold in Europe. This isn't just an Italian dressed in an Uncle Sam hat, though. The Dart is not only much bigger than the Alfa, it's also larger than its myriad "compact" car competitors. Only VW's Jetta comes close. This results in more passenger space and also creates the feeling that you're driving something rather substantial. It certainly doesn't feel like a compact car.

There are five trim levels: SE, SXT, Aero, Limited and GT. All offer a choice of a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission, with the exception of the automatic-only Limited. The base SE model has a 2.0-liter, 160-horsepower four-cylinder engine.  Acceleration can be rather slow with this engine, especially with the automatic. We recommend going with the SXT, Limited or GT, as all come with a 2.4-liter 184-hp four-cylinder. The fuel-efficiency-focused Aero features a turbocharged 1.4-liter four with 160 hp that offers more punch and better gas mileage than the base SE. Note, however, that the Aero's automatic transmission is an automated manual design that is considerably less refined than the conventional automatics found in other Darts.

Although the SE comes with just a basic level of equipment, the Dodge Dart nevertheless slathers on an abundance of comfort, convenience and luxury items as you move up trim levels and start checking off options boxes. Although features like blind-sport warning systems and dual-zone climate control have become increasingly common in this class, they still give the Dart a bit of an upscale feel. Several special trim materials and a broad palette of available colors make the Dart a little more distinctive as well.

Overall, we think the Dodge Dart is a competitive small sedan that ultimately falls short of its competitors. We would steer clear of the base model and the Aero model due to their unappealing powertrains, while some drivers have found the front seats to be uncomfortable. On the other hand, the Dart deserves consideration based on its sizable cabin and trunk, user-friendly electronics, big-car driving character and ample feature content.

Used Dodge Dart Models
The Dodge Dart was reintroduced for 2013 and cars from that first model year had different engine availability. The 2.0-liter engine was standard on all trims, while the 1.4-liter turbocharged engine and its wonky automated manual transmission were more widely available. Given that only the GT trim came with the 2.4-liter engine, we'd probably steer clear of a first-year Dart.

User Reviews:

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  Nice summer car - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By Dalphne - August 23 - 7:57 pm

  This car was not made to be driven in snow.

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  Lots of problems - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By Audrey - June 20 - 3:14 am

  Bought it new in 2013. Has a brake recall and its been months, still no parts. Dash keeps flashing saying service airbag system, passenger seatbelt unbuckled(and they are!) Blower motor went out. Senors going out. Love the style but now I wish I had bought a different vehicle. Oh and when I drive on a rough driveway/road the whole car rattles

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  2016 Dart GT - 2016 Dodge Dart
  By Jon - May 13 - 9:05 pm

  LOVE MY 2016 DART GT... Ive had my Dart GT for 7 months. This is absolutely my favorite car Ive ever owned beating out great cars such as 2004 Mazda 3s 2.3, 2007 Ford Fusion SEL v6 and a 2012 Mazda 3s Touring 2.5. The reviewers of this car are harsh in my opinion. I test drove 2016 Mazda 3, 2016 Volkswagon GTi& GLi, Honda Civic and Hyundai. My decision to buy the Dart GT was pretty easy.....and I havent seen my twin on the road since. I love that. I live in an ocean of Fusions, Focus and Corollas...i love having something different , especially with its visual Alfa Romeo DNA disign ques. My TorRed GT has the fabulous 8.5 touch screen U-Connect system with Sirius, navigation, Technology group, Sunroof-Alpine sound, sport hood and Mopar exterior ground effects. This car is absolutely the best dollar value blending style, size, technology and performance. I wanted a car slightly bigger than the Mazda 3 but not quite Fusion size. Loving the USB input, it functions flawlessly with my 3000 song library thumb drive. This is my first car without a cd player. I thought that was dumb at first. Now that I have all of my music on a USB drive its simply amazing and powerfull. I love how the system displays most of the album art. The GT cabin is truly uber quiet cabin with regard to wind and road noise. Tire noise is specific to the road surface of course. How hasnt anyone mentioned this. The GT rides on wide 225/40/18s wrapped around gorgeous hyper-black alloys and I usually dont notice any sound. My 2012 Mazda 3 was so much noisier, not even close. Yes, youll feel joints in the road but not with the noise and punch some reviews state. If you want total silence simply pay twice as much or more. My manager, who owns a Mercedes, loves how quiet my Dart is. The handling is very crisp and reasonably flat. The steering is a tad less responsive than the Mazda BUT well worth the trade off. The low end from dead stop torque was stronger on the Mazda BUT...with that came premature tire wear due to the wheel spin. The GT takes off well from dead stop with out tire spin and will blow past the Mazda in the medium and top ends of the run. Technology and comfort: Okay, gorgeous power leather heated seats and HEATED steering wheel, heated exterior mirrors, blind spot monitor, U-Connect system that will let you hear incoming texts and reply when car is stopped. The phone automatically stores your contact list with every startup. The 9 speaker Alpine sound system is more pleasing across all frequencies than the 10 speaker Bose in my Mazda because its warmer, adds a subwoofer, a nice surround mode and equally detailed in all other areas. The driver information available and customizable is superb. Tire pressure reading (accurate) for each individual wheel and this is key when riding on 40 series tires, you should know this data always. This was the most technology packed car of the ones i considered. These wheels do not leak air. I was constantly putting air in my Mazda. hmmmm Style: Please... That is not even close. Again, Alfa Romeo DNA disign ques...My Dart GT has some heads snapping.. Its low and wide on a perfect 18" wheel & tire package. the low area is wrapped around in the Mopar front chin spoiler, side skirts and rear skirt that accents the big dual chrome exhaust tips. The body has a tasteful hunkered down look, without being too busy like all the Japanese models designed to attract attention in Tokyo grid-lock traffic, with widened fenders that are in correct proportion to the GT wheel package and the wheel-well opening. The sport appearance hood with scoop is the cherry on top setting it above other Darts and competition. The GT equipped as mine is was not plentiful. Although white was my first choice with TorRed 2nd, the dealer had the red from the car show right on their lot and that in itself gave them a pricing advantage. This car was born to be red in this trim level. Performance: I sit in rush hour traffic and my ego does not require me to drive overly aggressive. That said, my GT gets up to 90 mph extremely quickly and quietly without fanfare. As far as hardcore numbers, there are plenty of published reviews, for me...I drove the GT, GLi, GTi and Mazda 3 all in the same afternoon and the Dart GT simply screamed "this is the one". My only other thought is that I hope its as dependable and drama free as the Mazdas have been because id like to keep this car for 4 to 6 years. I love the exclusitivity of driving a car where I never see its twin, at least i havent in the past 7 months. Poor leadership decisions really fumbled this amazing car that FCA has since announced discontinuing. My gain...I love it. K&N Air Filter RokBlokz Mud Flaps Tint - 35% front & rear, 20% back Buy this cool sedan in GT or SXT with Ralley package.

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  Love my Dart - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By Linda 944 - May 10 - 4:26 am

  Great little car!

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  Fun Little Commuter Car - 2016 Dodge Dart
  By Matthew Brettschneider - February 19 - 9:23 pm

  We purchased this car to basically drive into the ground. Time will tell how reliable the car ends up. Equipped with the sunsound group, the large touchscreen is pretty intuitive. the 2.4 and manual six speed is a fun combination and made it pretty easy for the lady to learn how to work a clutch. we picked it up with 23 miles and within the first week had 1500 on it. It is reaching MPGs comfortably in the 30s while I drive the crap out of it. (is there any other way to drive these little cars?)

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  2016 Dart Limited - 2016 Dodge Dart
  By AWJ00 - January 1 - 9:45 am

  I just bought the 2016 Limited and it is great! We took it on a long trip of 1,800+ miles. It performed flawlessly. The seats were comfortable. The Uconnect was great. The lane assist was really helpful on the highway. Very happy with this purchase. I also got the lifetime warranty as I plan on keeping the vehicle long term. It is well worth a test drive. The auto press pans the Dart. Drive it yourself and make up your own mind.

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  Dart Aero has unfixable clutch and sounds of wires - 2015 Dodge Dart
  By TeresaTN - October 14 - 9:18 pm

  Has bad clutch that smokes and blowes thru vents everytime you drive it! Sounds of wire shorting out in dash..slips out of gear..dealership says they cannot fix it. Thats the way it is suppose to do!Told me to pull over if it smokes and let it cool off then drive. And dont use outside vent air..but use inside circulating air vent. But still smells like blown out candles, possibe harmful! Somebody please help me get rid of it. Watch my youtube Dodge dart aero 2015 for the sound. Dont buy!! Purchased at Tri City Dodge..and serviced there and Royston in Rogersville TN. PLEASE HELP ME GET RID OF IT!! I am afraid it will catch on fire!!

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  Some redeeming features but think twice - 2015 Dodge Dart
  By Dave in OH - June 7 - 2:54 pm

  Got a chance to rent one of these, and since my daughter will be looking for something used soonish for a first car, I thought why not try it? Nut shell summary -some stand out features, but would not buy or rent again. Cars should be made to be driven as job 1, not just looked at or sat in. The good? Appearance was nice in my eyes. And, the interior was not low rent by any means. Soft touch material and mostly decent switch gear feel? Check. Logical control layout? Check. Seats were okay, but not great. Still, given the price point? Color me impressed. A few quirks to note here which kept the rating being higher in these areas. 1) Front seats needs to go lower. While I can fit... I have to recline the seat and doing so blocks the speedometer. So I can either fit comfortably, or not see my speedometer between 50 and maybe around 80. Tilting/telescoping wheel hopefully is an option, so check if you are a all torso kind of guy like me. 2) Glare off gauge panel. Given the rest of the interior quality, the lack of a (more?) reduced glare gauge cluster covering seems a noticeable omission. Not cant read it bad, but still quite annoying when the light glare hits it. And, the mostly not so good. With the exception of steering, which really does hit the mark for this sort of car, driving dynamics were pretty bad. So the steering first. Somewhat lose on center but with good, but not too much road feel. Tracks well, not too much effort at any speed. Pretty much exactly what the doctor order for daily driver sort of car and maybe more. However, the engine was buzzy and lacked any ommph over 45 for the first few days Had to hammer it to even get up to passing speed in any reasonable time. After a few days the TCU and engine eventually learned that when I applied gas I truly madly deeply did want it at least _try_ to move faster than a dodering great grandma. Still even then, it remained rather poor, but at least not almost dangerously so, as was my experience the first few days with it. Engine noise and vibration were a constant unwelcome companion, especially at idle. Even the dash liner would visibly vibrate at times. If Dodge had not put so much effort into the interior it would have been buzzing like my old 78 Malibu did when it was cold. This is the lowest level of NVH refinement of any other car I have driven or ridden in in the last decade, or possibly two, which is quite a few cars from all price points. Brakes may have had a warping issue on this car so read as such, and not as directly critical of the car model. The rears gave a distinctive whrrr whhrr when backing down my driveway. I had to stop quickly once, and they actually clunked and the car lurched a bit while stopping fast. I assume this is not normal for a Dart, and did let the rental agency know. I would however worry about a car that did have brake issues as early as this, even for a rental. My adivce? Try some emergency stops and braking while backing down a hill to be sure if you are test driving one. Suspension. On smooth even pavement it was fine, and even a good ride. However, anything else gave varying degrees of jittery and busy. Absolutely no confidence in trying anything beyond 20% pushing it in this car. Given the brakes, and lack of oomph, that was probably for the better. Still a suspension should not communicate that it wants to take the car in all sorts of directions you are not steering in on anything but good pavement. If you live in an area of crappy roads like I do, make sure to try it out first and see for yourself if it suits. Fairly obviously, I have no idea if it corners fairly flat / has body roll, was not even tempted to try it. In short? VW, Mazda, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Subaru, Hyundai, GM... All seem to have better cars in this price range/category from a driving perspective.

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  as time goes on, start to dislike the car - 2015 Dodge Dart
  By Emmy - November 20 - 3:44 pm

  looks great, but not a quality car. Cheap plastic interior parts. The car had a super stiff ride. Car also developed a vibration at freeway speeds. New tires, balancing did not correct the issue. Many better choices. You can find them cheap though. I sold mine after a year of ownership. There is a reason they dont make them anymore.

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  I LOVE THIS CAR - 2015 Dodge Dart
  By cmcl3m0r3 - October 8 - 8:56 am

  I am writing this review after owning the car for over 6 months. Also just found out Dodge is discontinuing this car. Which to me, is very sad. I bought this car as a daily driver (parking my 09 Challenger RT). I was amazed by the features, feel, tech, acceleration, looks...pretty much everything about this car. I have NO idea why it is getting such a bad wrap. I get compliments on it all the time (just as much as my Challenger). I am a 6ft 1 guy, and they seats are very comfortable to me. I also have 3 children, and they fit in the car fine. Trunk space is awesome. I have the 2.4L SXT with everything minus the leather. Black 18inch alloys, and the car is Dark Grey.