Dodge Avenger 2.0 CRD SE

Road Test

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Dodge Avenger 2.0 CRD SE

Test date 24 October 2007 Price as tested £16,500

For Distinctive looks, mid-range pull, low-speed bump absorption

AgainstNoisy engine, interior quality, hefty company car tax liability

Dodge has been building cars since 1914, although the name has been seen only intermittently in the UK, usually on trucks. Dodge cars stopped being sold here in the 1930s.

The marque almost reappeared in the early ’90s with the Viper, but here it was officially branded a Chrysler. Dodge's real return as a car brand came in 2006 with the launch of the Caliber. In the US, the Avenger replaces the attractively styled but not desperately successful Dodge Stratus.

Offering something fresh in today’s congested car market is always a challenge, but one thing you can’t accuse Dodge of is offering the bland. Both the Caliber hatchback and the Nitro four-wheel drive are bold designs, and the new Avenger is no different, sharing the same lightly macho styling that distinguishes Dodges from the softer, more elegant models of sister brand Chrysler.

Underneath, in fact, the Avenger is near-identical to the new Chrysler Sebring, both models pitched into the Ford Mondeo class. But the Avenger (and the Sebring for that matter) is not mainstream; Dodge is a niche brand and in many respects it is a significantly less sophisticated car than its mainstream European and Japanese rivals.

Why? Because in the US this car starts at $19,265 before taxes, which at today’s (admittedly strong) exchange rate amounts to well under £10,000. Such a low price limits the scope for providing the quality and sophistication of the Mondeo. But as we shall see, that’s not the whole story.