Teresa’s View
At first glance, the all-new SUV from Dodge lives up to its explosive name and Dodge’s penchant for snarly vehicles. The Nitro bursts onto the scene as one heck of a good-looking sport-ute. With its exaggerated flared fenders, iron-jawed angles and rippled ab, er, slab of a hood, it looks like it was modeled after a steely eyed Marine.
If you drive one, prepare to be noticed. You would’ve thought I was driving the Batmobile the way people responded.
To create the Nitro, Dodge started out with the Jeep Liberty platform — the first non-Jeep to use a Jeep anything. After the designers “aggressified” the exterior and stretched the chassis a bit, they appeared to have taken an extended break because the cabin falls short of the exterior’s promise.
If angles and squares are the theme for the outside, the inside sports a circle motif beginning with the fake chrome circle door handle. Heavy use of molded plastic throughout gives the cabin a cold, harsh feeling and areas of lax fit-and-finish don’t help the mood.
The exterior’s straight lines afford maximum interior space — enough to keep three Big and Tall firefighters comfortable for a moderately lengthy trip. They gave the Nitro two thumbs up for ride, comfort and quiet interior, although they weren’t wild about the stylishly slim windows. Too difficult to escape through in an emergency, they said.
At a full 22 inches shorter than the Dodge Durango, the Nitro is just the right size for an urban setting, particularly crowded parking lots. There’s no third-row option to eat up valuable cargo space.
The Nitro is offered in three trims — the entry-level SXT, midlevel SLT and sporty R/T. The SXT and SLT are powered by a 3.7-liter V-6 that delivers 210 horsepower. A new 255-horsepower 4.0-liter V-6 is standard on the R/T. The SXT and SLT trims are available in either part- or full-time four-wheel drive. The R/T gets a full-time 4WD system.
What Is It?: The all-new Dodge Nitro is a five-passenger midsize SUV. The base price of our SLT tester was just over $24K with destination charges.
Gadget Rating: seven out of 10. Standard features list includes AC; power windows, door locks and mirrors; front and side curtain air bags; traction control; an electronic stability program and a sound system with CD and MP3 player. A Customer Preferred Package ($2,100) adds leather-trimmed seats and an audio upgrade that allows owners to download photos and music to a hard drive from a CD, DVD or USB memory device. A rear seat video system is a $1,250 option.
Grocery Sack Test: Get the paper sacks, the SLT and R/T trims come with a cool party trick. The cargo floor slides 18 inches rearward to extend beyond the bumper. It’s said to hold up to 400 pounds and can be used to ease loading or as a handy table.
Cheat Sheet: Dodge is a member of the DaimlerChrysler family.
So, Where Are Ya From?: The Nitro is assembled in Toledo, Ohio.