Dodge Nitro gets put through its paces!

Always had a very soft spot for the Dodge Nitro - along with the Chrysler 300C! - Its a good thing to see a car company that actually has the courage to do something different in terms of actual body styling instead of re-hashing out the same tired old designs all the time!

They have reduced the price from 40k down to 35k because of the strong Australian Dollar, think its a pretty good buy when you consider that a Camry is not to far away from 35k once you option it up to a similar spec!

Was a little surprised to see that it runs a 16 done the 1/4 mile, yet clearly the technology under the bonnet is not so bad either!

(Just on Chrysler, how many knew that the Jeep used the old 1970's 265 Hemi Block albeit with a new alloy resin? The Ford KA does the same thing with the original Ford Escort Kent engine also!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf0Ar__1pgc

I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee until the current Nissan Patrol came along.

The Jeep is a bit thirsty and several of the 4wd magazine reviews list both the Jeep and Nitro as being of average build quality.

To be honest I don't know what actual things come under scrutiny for such an assessment.

The Jeep was pretty capable adn comfortable, although the Nissan beats it offroad. The Nitro I think sits somewhere between a softroader and a large 4wd. Haven't read any reviews of its performance in any of the 4wd mags.

it does look pretty striking, but not quite sure which market they are aiming at.

At $35K it will probably attract the attention of those looking at cars like the Mazda CX7, Nissan Murano , Toyota Kluger or Ford Territory. Some of the upper spec models of those run into a lot higher dollars.

Would be interested in reading an off-road review of its performance.

Agreed that it would be interesting to see how it goes off road, I suspect reasonably well on moderate tracks, not sure about the more higher level off roading that is the domain of the Pajero - Landcruiser - Patrol though! I think its likely that the Nitro is aimed more as a Suburban Cruiser!