2014 Dodge Dart Reviews and Ratings

47/70

A well-appointed and well-built compact sedan with fairly attractive styling, pleasant driving characteristics, and a very good infotainment system.

The engine is somewhat buzzy, the seating position is too high, head and legroom are tight, and at nearly $25,000, there may be more comfortable, sporty, and fun alternatives to consider.

For 2014, as standard equipment, the Dart Limited and SXT trim levels join the GT in having Dodge's 2.4 liter, 4-cylinder "Tigershark" engine. Other changes to the Dart lineup include redesigned front bucket seats, and the Aero and GT becoming available trim levels, rather than the optional packages that they were before.

On the exterior, the 2014 Dodge Dart Limited has the appearance of a modern, compact sedan, with its styling suggesting "sporty". Overall, the Dart is decently attractive. In terms of the Dart's build quality and workmanship, the materials used appear to be of at least average quality, and its body panels align as they should.

The 2014 Dodge Dart Limited comes standard with a 2.4 liter, 184 horsepower, 4-cylinder engine, and in the case of our test vehicle, power is directed through a 6-speed "Powertech" automatic transmission. Our test Dart rides on independent front and rear suspension, and 17" aluminum wheels that are fitted with 225/45 R17 all-season tires. Braking is handled by a 4-wheel disc setup. There are fog lights, LED taillights, and heated and powered side mirrors with integrated turn signals. The optional Technology Group package of our test vehicle, among other features, adds HID headlights with automatic on/off and high-beam control, and rain-sensing windshield wipers.

On the interior, the 2014 Dodge Dart Limited wears a mix of soft-touch materials and hard plastics, and for the most part, everything is well laid out. One nice touch is the digital speedometer, which not only looks good and blends well with the adjacent analog gauges, but also displays useful navigation information. The Dart's front seats are fairly comfortable, but they lack adequate support, and the seating position is too high; it feels as if you are sitting on, rather than in the vehicle. As a result of this high seating position, 6-plus footers will be challenged for headroom. Tight headroom is also a bit of an issue in the rear seating positions, as is the limited legroom. On a couple more positive notes, however, the cabin is very quiet at both city and highway speeds, and the infotainment system, with its relatively huge and well-positioned screen, is easy to read and operate. Voice recognition works well, and the sound quality of its audio portion is good.

Standard interior features for the 2014 Dodge Dart Limited include Nappa leather-trimmed seats, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, ambient LED lighting, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a power moonroof, a leather-wrapped shift knob, and a heated and leather-wrapped steering wheel with integrated controls for speed, phone and infotainment. The driver seat has 6-way power adjustability and 4-way powered adjustment for lumbar support, and both front seats are heated. The rear seats fold down with an available 60/40 split, and they have a built-in trunk pass-through. Also standard are keyless entry and start, and remote engine start; all of these by way of the included wireless key fob. Uconnect is our test Dart's infotainment system, and this includes SiriusXM's Satellite Radio, Travel Link, and Traffic, Garmin GPS navigation, an AM/FM receiver, CD playback, and iPod control. The 8.4" dashboard-mounted touchscreen accesses the Uconnect system, as well as various other vehicle functions, and it also serves as a display for the standard rearview backup camera. There is Bluetooth, USB, and auxiliary jack connectivity, voice command, and 6 speakers for audio.

As far as the driving experience goes, the Dart Limited is less sporty that its styling suggests. That said, our test Dart exhibited acceptably compliant handling, a very quiet ride, and good overall braking. Stopping distances are reasonable, brake pedal feel is firm and reassuring, and the vehicle is easy to control in a panic-stop situation. Acceleration is also acceptable, but when stressed, the engine is a bit buzzy, and at idle, it sounds diesel-like. One item that we found useful while driving along crowded city streets was our tester's blind-spot monitoring system, which worked very well, and is a handy safety feature.

23.6 MPG