Wanna ride shotgun with the GRM crew?
Welcome to this week’s test vehicle, a 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T–yes, that's the plug-in hybrid one. (A non-hybrid "GT" trim is also offered.)
Total power output is listed at 288 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque, giving the Hornet a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds according to Dodge.
Our particular tester comes fitted …
My buddy is in hospice and asked me to get him a brochure as he's going to heal by summer and wants to buy one. I called him to read all the online specs and he wants me to find a cutaway drawing of the Hornet.
I love em, the Tonale anyway but I can't buy one due to the lack of headroom. I keep hoping they with put different seats in them at some point.
I dig the looks. Out of the rest of the (crowded) class, I think this one looks more aggressive than the rest. The nose, in particular, has a strong cut to it. I guess that’s Dodge’s bogey with this one: Sorry, no more muscle cars, but how about an SUV instead?
The driving experience, so far, has left me underwhelmed, though. The steering feels particularly vague and seems to totally disconnect when the engine stops at a red light. Like, is this thing still connected?
More to come.
It looks like someone tried to give a Gremlin angry stormtrooper face.
In reply to Jesse Ransom :
Hey, yeah, now I see the angry Stormtrooper face.
“Stop that ship! Blast ’em!”
Pew! Pew!
It's not a Charger or Challenger. *sigh*. Looking forward to when those debut.
How different are the driving dynamics of this vs. its Alfa-badged cousin?
In reply to nlevine :
It’s been a little while since I have driven the Alfa, but pretty similar.
I’ll have more to report tomorrow as I’ll be able to put some miles on the Hornet later today.
nlevine said:How different are the driving dynamics of this vs. its Alfa-badged cousin?
They are the same. I am a Alfa tech but had to learn on a hornet in phev school. They told us they they are identical so we only had hornets to mess with at the time because that's what they had on hand.
$48,000 Sticker price!!!!!
I just blew a whole beer out my nose. Thats buys a nice Mustang or many, many more intresting cars..
Our Hornet had a clunk from the rear when it arrived last Thursday. Of course, you start to wonder: Am I just hearing things? It has to be me, right?
Last night, I figured we’d drive the Hornet up to St. Augustine–an hour each way–for Willie Nelson.
Before shoving off, we’d go around the corner for dinner.
On the way to dinner, my wife goes, Um, WTF is wrong with this car and, no, I don’t want to take this to the concert–I’d rather not break down on I-95.
We returned home after dinner to swap cars. GTI for the win.
And to our Alfa tech, any ideas? It’s more of a clunk than a rattle.
And, perhaps, my biggest issue with the Hornet/Tonale chassis:
When I open the rear door, it wants to bonk me in the face!
David S. Wallens said:And, perhaps, my biggest issue with the Hornet/Tonale chassis:
When I open the rear door, it wants to bonk me in the face!
I can't reach out and grab the doors to close them without smacking my head on the roof/door jam because I'm 6' tall which is apparently too tall.
So this is the same as a Stelvio? I didn't realize that. My boss just traded his RS3 on a Stelvio. I haven't ridden in it yet.
Given the Hornet name, I kinda want to see it lowered on AMC Rallye steelies and with "Sportabout" badges.
In reply to Duke :
Not Stelvio, Dodge's version of this. Alfa Romeo Tonale
In reply to RonnieFnD :
I’m like 5-foot-7. I shouldn’t have trouble opening the rear doors of a mass-market SUV.
In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :
Ah, thanks. I assumed from David's and Ronnie's earlier comments that is was an Alfa we got Stateside.
Unless the Tonale is sold here? If so, I've never seen one.
The Tonale is supposed to be sold here, but i've never seen one in my neck of the woods. I think i've only seen a couple of Hornets in the wild since they started running those commercials with the it and Challenger and Durango doing donuts.
I want to say that I have seen a Tonale in the wild, but maybe it was a Stelvio. (The Tonale press cars that we drove don’t count, of course.)
Link to our Alfa Romeo Tonale review.
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