Rants and Raves
ERIK JOHNSON
Some folks will probably complain about the Nitro's cramped, inefficient interior and crude, truckish dynamics, but I find them to be sort of charming. While every vehicle nowadays has to be everything to everybody—a leather-lined, nine-passenger palace that will lap the Nürburgring in three minutes while carrying seventeen suitcases and towing a house—the Nitro is a pleasant throwback.
So instead I'll complain about the price: THIRTY-FIVE GRAND? Are you kidding me? There are so many things wrong with that number that I don't even know where to begin. There are much, much better ways to spend $35,000 than on an optioned-out Dodge Nitro. It's a pity, because I actually sort of like the Nitro. I think with a much lower price ceiling—say, 26 grand max—and more attention paid to interior quality, Dodge could have had a cult car on its hands. The Nitro's got the first prerequisite for such vehicles—distinctive looks—in spades, after all. (This statement only applies to Nitros with the monochromatic exterior and 20-inch wheels. The tiny little wheels and yards of horrid-looking black plastic afflicting the base models are positively tragic.) Unfortunately, the Nitro's big-time price and offensively bad cabin materials add up to a big-time loser.
MIKE DUSHANE
This body-on-frame anachronism is a throwback to a time when SUVs were built like trucks. Problem is, the good compact and mid-size SUVs are now crossovers (they are built like cars), and the Nitro just doesn't handle or ride as well as others in the class. The interior doesn't instill a feeling of refinement. Shiny plastic in clumsy squared off shapes would look more at home on a Tonka toy. On the other hand, the bold exterior styling and massive, shiny wheels attract a lot of guys' attention. If that's what you're into, maybe this isn't so bad after all.
Download this car's window sticker for pricing information.
