Before I found myself covering heavier matters like the meteoric rise of China in the electric space, I foolishly fantasized about being a full-time reviews guy. Teenage Kevin saw himself as a midwestern Top Gear presenter, without the British-ishms. No, my mom purged those from me and forbade me from talking about Top Gear in her presence after I called something “spot on,” and she went on a tirade about how the proper term in the United States is “right on,” and that we were not British. Tangent aside, what I later learned doing this professionally is that writing a car review is actually one of the hardest, most time-consuming parts of this job. At least for me, it’s a balance of being informative and entertaining, while balancing that against objectivity and respect for the reader’s time. Yet, it’s easy for a car to slip through the cracks, and the Dodge Hornet R/T was one of them. For weeks, I’ve pretended not to notice the “Dodge Hornet PHEV” to-do item glaring back at me on my list of tasks. I flew to China twice and Japan once before I ever finished my review on Dodge’s littlest crossover.
But rather than scrap the whole review and pretend like Stellantis never sent me a crossover, I had to think. Why did it slip through the cracks in the first place? The answer was more complicated than simple office procrastinating. I, along with the American automotive market have ignored the Dodge Hornet, it’s a solid dud. Why?
So, with weeks of clarity and new comparison points from driving other EV, plug-in hybrid, and even internal combustion crossovers on the market, I went back to my notes from when I had the Hornet. I remembered my driving impressions and instantly understood why the crossover didn’t resonate with me, and why it did not resonate with the general public.
It’s because the Dodge Hornet R/T is annoying. And it’s too expensive to be this annoying.
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T PHEV
Driving The Dodge Hornet R/T
Stellantis might be one of the best in the biz at teaching an old dog new tricks. The Dodge Charger and Challenger only recently went out of production, and both used a basic vehicle platform that was introduced when I was in fourth grade.
I am now 31.
Yet, it worked. I’d argue that the LX platform that underpinned its iconic once retro-inspired Hellcat sedan and coupe was at the top of its game. They could have eked at least another five years before people complained that the chassis was old, and even then, it still probably would’ve printed money.
Similarly, the Dodge Hornet uses a very heavily modified variant of the old FCA Small-Wide platform that we first saw on the Fiat 500L. This old-as-hell platform sees service on a lot of tiny (but disappearing) runabouts like the Jeep Compass, Jeep Renegade, and Fiat 500X. Most famously, the Hornet in Alfa Romeo Tonale with a few stylistic and mechanical tweaks, much to the chagrin of the folks at Alfa.
Yet, to Dodge’s credit, the Hornet R/T feels nothing like the kind of dopey Jeep and Fiat crossovers it shares its basic guts.
At the front of the car sits a variant of Stellantis’s 1.3-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine. It feeds its power solely through the front wheels via a six-speed torque converter automatic. To give the Hornet R/T both AWD and its PHEV capabilities, a lithium-ion battery pack feeds a rear-mounted 121 horsepower e-Axle that turns the rear wheels. So yes, when Hornet R/T is in its electric-only mode, it is a rear-wheel drive car. It’s unique, but if you’re a too-online weirdo who continued to watch British car shows, you may know this is pretty similar to the Peugeot Hybrid4 system it used on the first generation Peugeot 3008. Together, Dodge claims 288 horsepower and up to 383 ft/lbs of torque.
Anyways, the Hornet R/T also comes with a “Powershot” mode that can add a boost of about 25 horsepower for 10 seconds, allowing the crossover to rocket to 60 mph in as little as 5.5 seconds. My R/T Plus also came with the Plus Pack that added fancy Koni adjustable suspension, sporty tires and a few other appearance-related goodies.
In some contexts, the Hornet can be a stellar on-road driving experience, especially for folks like me who enjoy a sporty feel in a small package. Flip the driving mode into Sport, and the Hornet’s Italian DNA shines through. The candor of the character of the crossover in sport mode is reminiscent of the Fiat 500 Abarth I’ve got at home in my driveway. The 1.3-liter turbo is raspy and charmingly lumpen with respect to its power delivery, familiar to anyone who loved the 1.4-liter MultiAir unit in Fiat’s sporty cars from a few years ago. The Hornet’s electric rear axle interjects quickly to fill in the gaps from the gas engine, making the car feel downright quick. The suspension and steering are probably the quickest and most communicative in the compact crossover class, with fairly high levels of grip and a composed chassis for being such a tall and not-so-light thing. It’s a treat to drive.
Only in sport mode, though. The whole point of a PHEV is to use the car’s gas engine as little as possible. In theory, the car should facilitate this, with a hybrid system and drive modes that make full EV miles, easy. Yet, when the Hornet is used in its engine-off EV mode, the Hornet’s assets that make it a sporty drive could make it frustrating instead.
In EV mode, the Hornet is rear-wheel-drive. But, the Hornet has little to no traction management on its rear axle. If the car senses any sort of rear-wheel slip, the car will turn its gas engine on and power the front wheels to correct the problem. It sounds simple enough, but in practice, this meant that a snowy and rainy week with the Hornet R/T meant the car was constantly starting its engine, and placing itself into hybrid mode when I didn’t want it to. It’s not a smooth process either, a winter drive (albeit made worse by the car’s not-winter-ready tires) meant a lot of starts from a stop made for the car fishtailing to the left only to snap forward after an uncomfortable delay from the car starting it’s engine to get moving forward. The car would continue on in hybrid mode with its engine running unless I navigated through drive menus to manually put it back in electric-only mode. That’s really annoying.
In fact, even when I didn’t have traction issues the Hornet would randomly start its engine. During one PHEV range test, the Hornet’s indicated range randomly dropped from four miles left, to zero miles, prompting the car to start its engine. Another time, I entered a driveway too fast, and the Hornet’s super stiff suspension may have caused a wheel to be a little more unladen than normal. This triggered the car’s traction control, which made the car start the engine.
Add in the terribly stiff ride, and the Hornet R/T is an annoying car to live with.
Range, Battery Size, Observed Efficiency
The Dodge Hornet R/T has a 15.5 kWh battery pack (12 kWh usable), rated for 32 miles of range. On my roughly 50/50 city and highway test loop, I got 36.4 miles of range before the engine started. That’s an average of 3.03 miles per kWh, not counting charging losses. Not bad, especially since this car was driven during freezing temps, which will hurt efficiency. A warmer day would have likely produced better results.
When out of EV range, the Hornet R/T is rated for 29 MPG mixed. I beat that, averaging 31 mpg mixed. I guess that isn’t bad, but these numbers are nearly identical to the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid which is a much, much larger car. I suppose just leaving the car in “auto” mode would have increased the car’s fuel economy rating, but my goal with any PHEV would be to do as much engine-off driving as possible.
Charging Experience
Like other PHEVs, the Dodge Hornet PHEV can’t DC fast charge. However, its 7.4 kW onboard charger and small battery capacity means Level 2 charging events will likely be short. Dodge claims the Hornet will go from flat to full in as little as 2.5 hours. I’d wager that most Hornet R/T drivers will use 110-volt Level 1 charging. Go that route and Dodge says it will recharge fully in 7.5 hours.
In practice, the Hornet R/T worked well. Generally, it played nicely with public level 2 charging options. Using Level 1 at my house, the crossover recharged from flat to full in the indicated 7.5 hours.
Interior
It’s clear that the Dodge Hornet R/T has inherited most of its interior from its upscale twin, the Alfa Romeo Tonale. Of course, the Dodge Hornet doesn’t have as many soft-touch plastic pieces or the Tonale’s color-coded interior pieces. But, the rest of the design, switches, and knobs are the same as what you’d get in the Alfa Romeo.
That’s not a bad thing, though. The Hornet’s touchpoints feel surprisingly nice. The shifter moves around with a solid thunk, the window switches feel nice, and the plastics all fit together nicely even if they’re all hard, black plastic. My tester’s Alcantara seats were well-bolstered, but the addition of the track pack removed the ventilated option.
However, although Dodge bills the Hornet R/T as a compact crossover, its interior dimensions feel as if its a class behind. Families may find the Hornet’s cabin to be a bit narrow and a bit snug compared to industry stalwarts like the Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4. The rear seat feels somewhat tight, made worse by the car’s high beltline and lack of interior glass. It’s a real cave back there, folks.
Tech, Infotainment & UX
Like its hybrid minivan corporate sibling, the Chrysler Pacifica PHEV, the Hornet R/T’s tech features are somewhat limited. There are some built-in charging scheduling features, a 4G LTE hotspot and Amazon Alexa, but that’s about it.
The Hornet R/T uses the same U Connect system making its way across most of the Stellantis lineup. In a word, it’s pretty good – I personally would appreciate more style and differentiation between Stellantis’s brands that use the system, but as a whole, it is one of the best in the business. It’s reliable, snappy, and easy to navigate. It supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
However, the screen itself is dinky. I didn’t mind it too much, but the icons can be annoying to see and use since they’re a little bit small.
Safety and ADAS
The Dodge Hornet R/T is about average for the class these days. It comes with Active Driving Assist, which isn’t quite the Level 2 semi-autonomous system but it does include a few things to make driving easier. There’s a rear cross-traffic alert, a blind spot monitoring system, and lane keep assist, but it has pedestrian and traffic avoidance systems that will apply the brakes if needed. But, it’s an optional feature. Drivers who want those safety items must buy the $2,245 Tech Pack Plus kit.
Neither the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) nor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has tested the Dodge Hornet R/T.
Pricing and Trims
To get the PHEV Dodge Hornet, buyers must buy the R/T model. This starts at $42,995 including the car’s $1,595 destination fee. The R/T Plus trim is $48,340, also including the $1,595 destination fee.
But, like most Stellantis vehicles, this car’s optional features are annoyingly embedded in surprisingly pricy pay-to-play option packages. To get the swanky blacked-out badges and gloss black wheels, you’ll have to opt for the Blacktop package, which is $1,595. If you’re in search of an adjustable suspension, you’ll need the track pack which is $2,595, but Dodge does offer a discounted Blacktop and Track Pack combo for $3,590. If you want basic ADAS features, you’ll need the tech package, which costs $2,245. If you wanted the adjustable suspension and ventilated seats, well that’s too bad because the track package’s Alcantara seats aren’t ventilated. That’s annoying.
So, to get a Hornet R/T identical to mine, which has the Track Pack, Blacktop package, tech package, and the optional Hot Tamale Red color, you’ll need to give a Dodge dealer $52,920. (Our tester had a $615 sunroof delete credit bringing the price down to $52,305). Also, since the car is made in Italy, it does not qualify for any purchase-level IRA plug-in tax credits. Now, you can get a $7,500 tax credit if the Hornet R/T is leased, but I’m skeptical many buyers will go that route.
Verdict
When the Dodge Hornet R/T showed up in my driveway, I didn’t look at the sticker right away. “Oh, yeah, it’s like $35,000 I think,” I told a friend who was in the market for a new plug-in vehicle. Imagine my shock to learn the car was more than $50,000.
And that’s the big problem: the Dodge is a very, very bad deal. At $52,305, the Hornet R/T, in this specification, is competing with cars from BMW, Audi, and Mini. The new Mini Countryman, whether it be the gas-powered Countryman S, or electric Countryman SE is roughly the same price as this Hornet R/T. And unlike the Hornet, I don’t think the Mini would have a frustrating driving experience where its range calculator is wrong or it refuses to remain in engine-off EV driving. For this price, I need a better-executed product.
If Dodge were to cut the price, and they are, as evidenced by reports of staggering on-the-lot discounts, I could understand why some could be taken in by the Hornet’s stylish body and charming driving dynamics. However, at its current price with no incentives, just about any other SUV from any other brand would be a better deal.
And that’s really, really annoying.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
