Every since I first saw photos of the Nitro, I've understood what Dodge's new compact SUV is about: a Hummer for the masses. The starting price of just under twenty large is two-thirds that of the least expensive Hummer, the H3. So I've been predicting that the Nitro is going to sell very well. I still think this, but based almost entirely on the styling. After taking a 4WD SXT for a test drive, it's clear that the Nitro has little else going for it.

Styling

The Dodge combines the shallow greenhouse of a Hummer with the clean, boxy styling of a Land Rover LR3. You'll also find a similar look on Nissan's Pathfinder. Whether you find the Nitro attractive or hideous, you've got to agree that it looks tough and makes a strong, clear statement.

The Nitro might be based on the Jeep Liberty, but you'd never know just from looking at it; not only is the Dodge about four inches longer, but the two share no exterior bits and the Jeep's windows appear about twice the height of the Dodge's.

I drove an SXT, with gray unpainted plastic fenders and 16-inch wheels. Not bad, but the SLT or R/T with painted fenders and 20-inch wheels that much more completely fill the large wheel openings is more attractive. Especially the R/T, as it replaces the excessively chromed grille and headlight surrounds with body-color pieces. Even with the SXT 17s are available; I'd at least pony up for those.

Panel gaps are narrow and even. I like how the cutline for the front door continues clealy into the cutline for the hood. But the impression of quality is undermined by the trendy fender "vents." There are no actual holes in them--they don't even pretend to be functional.

Inside Chrysler continues its quest to discover just how cheap an interior can be made to look and feel. Everything is hard plastic that looks like hard plastic. The door panels are a single piece of the stuff, all the same color with various textures molded in. With every other vehicle manufacturer seeking to catch Audi, I cannot fathom how Chrysler thinks it can get away with going in the totally opposite direction. A Jeep Liberty's interior, developed before the recent emphasis on cheap, is considerably nicer than this one despite also being composed largely of hard plastic.

In recent years Chrysler interiors are available in light gray, dark gray, or a combination of the two. With the Nitro, you get a largely dark gray interior with the option of either light gray or dark gray seats. I'd go with the light. Combine the all-dark of my test vehicle with the Nitro's small windows and the interior is quite dreary.

One design issue either way: a quarter-inch-wide band of the exterior paint is visible around the perimeter of each door. When the exterior is white, like that of the Nitro I drove, this just doesn't look good. Many inexpensive cars somehow avoid this problem. It's not new. So why is it here?

Accommodations

Despite the claims of the salesman, ergonomics are not a Nitro strong suit. For reasons that escape me, the HVAC knobs are on a panel recessed an inch or two into the center stack, placing them just beyond reach.

But this pales in comparison to the challenge of getting into the Nitro. At 5-9 I'm not a tall guy, but getting in required that I bend my neck uncomfortably to avoid hitting my head on the appropriately named header. Credit the pillbox styling, which yields low cut door openings. Once inside there's plenty of headroom, as the ceiling is a good half-foot higher than the door opening. Anyone my height or more, which defines the majority of men and quite a few women, will come to despise the Nitro for this reason. Wake up with a sore neck, as I do from time to time, and you'll definitely want to drive something else that day.

Once into the driver's seat, which is comfortable and supportive, I found I had to move it unusually close to the shallow instrument panel in order to reach the pedals. The high-mounted seat is not adjustable for height. The small windows might make some people feel closed in, but I didn't mind it. The windshield, like that of the Liberty, is relatively upright without yielding the tunnel effect you'll experience in a Hummer or one of Chrysler's large cars. Visibility is better than the styling led me to expect.

The ergonomic issues continue. The transmission tunnel is quite wide. On the driver's side this forces the pedals to the left. If, like me, you brake with your right foot, prepare to twist that leg a bit more than is comfortable. There is no comfortable place to rest the left foot. On the passenger side, legs and feet are also displaced towards the wheel well. Especially on long trips, where it can be helpful to sit in various positions, the lack of flexibility this affords could prove tiresome.

For these reasons, I strongly recommend the optional power driver seat. With it, the driver seat can be set lower than the non-adjustable seat's height.

Partly because I had to slide the driver's seat so far forward, the Nitro has a ton of rear legroom. I had to fully stretch out my legs in order to slide my feet under the driver's seat. The seat cushion is only moderately high off the floor, but with so much room to stretch out there's still plenty of thigh support. The seatback also happens to be contoured well, providing better lower back support than many folding back seats, and reclines. All in all, on a trip I'd rather be in back than in front.

Folding the rear seat expands the cargo area from 32 to 65 cubic feet. Both numbers are on the low side for a compact SUV. Even the related Liberty, with less length to work with, offers a few more cubes. That the Nitro's spare stows underneath the vehicle rather than behind it might play a role. The underfloor cargo management system, with a few handy compartments, might also be a factor. The Dodge looks lower, but the difference is actually only a fraction of an inch. Because the spare is underneath, the tailgate opens upward rather than sideways. To make the most of the available space, the front passenger seat folds even in the SXT.

One somewhat nifty feature is a reversible cargo tray with carpet on one side and walled compartments on the other. Unfortunately, the clips that hold the tray in place do not feel as if they'll last long.

On the Road

Two V6 engines are available in the Nitro, the 210-horsepower 3.7-liter lump that can be found in many Dodge and Jeep SUVs, including the Liberty, and a new 260-horsepower 4.0-liter 24-valve unit that is also offered in the Pacifica. The latter is based on the 3.5 Chrysler has offered for years. It's the one you want; I drove the heavier Pacifica with this engine and it scooted. The 3.7, in contrast, sounds gruff and only does a passable job of motivating the Nitro. The 4.0 also has the advantage of a five-speed automatic, which in my experience shifts more smoothly than the four-speed in the Nitro I drove.

It is not clear whether the Nitro has an all-wheel-drive system or a four-wheel-drive system. What I've read on the Internet suggests the former, where the front wheels would be automatically engaged whenever the wheels slip. With four-wheel-drive, in contrast, the driver would have to manually select between rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive. The Nitro I drove had a knob with "2WD" and "4wd Lock" settings. Now, you wouldn't want to drive on pavement with the center differential locked, which is what I assume the latter does. So is "2WD" really AWD?

Either way, you cannot get a low range in this vehicle, suggesting it is not really meant for heavy off-road use. I suppose that's Jeep's territory. In the Nitro, the standard traction control system is supposed to keep the vehicle from getting stuck, a common approach in SUVs these days when a two-speed transfer case is not part of the package.

And yet, despite the lack of a low range, the Nitro does not feel like a softroader. Not one bit. Instead, it rides and handles like a hardcore SUV. Which, in my opinion, it not good, not good at all.

The Nitro feels larger and heavier than it is, almost ponderous, even though lean in turns is not bad considering the vehicle's height. The Pacifica I drove an hour earlier on the same roads felt almost agile in comparison--which isn't something I'd normally say about the portly Pacifica. The Dodge's steering is ultra-light, with scads of play on-center. I haven't experienced steering this bad since...well, I don't know when I last experienced steering this bad. (Though the Jeep Compass was close.) A Hummer H3 leans even more in hard turns, but in general steers and handles much better than the Nitro despite its much higher off-road capability.

The Hummer also rides much better. Take the Nitro across uneven pavement and it bucks and jostles. No question about it, this is a TRUCK.

This puzzles me, as the Jeep Liberty has firmer, quicker steering and a more compliant ride despite being the hardcore off-roader of the two. Did Chrysler go out of its way to make the Nitro perform worse than the Liberty? It couldn't handle or ride worse if they had.

The 20-inch wheels standard on the R/T and optional on the SLT include a sport suspension. But I'd be surprised if it made the Nitro into a fine handler--it simply has too far to go. Especially if the steering remains the same. And the ride with a firmer suspension and lower profile tires should be be even worse.

One positive note: aside from engine roar under acceleration, noise levels aren't bad.

Dodge Nitro Price Comparisons and Pricing

Base to base, with an $1,100 adjustment for its extra features, the Nitro runs a huge $3,000 less than the 2006 Jeep Liberty. I haven't entered 2007 Liberty pricing into my database yet, but it looks about $1,500 lower than 2006 pricing, halving this difference. This is before rebates; the 2006 Jeep currently has $4,000 on the hood.

Compared to a Nissan Xterra, the Dodge is about $2,600 less after a large $2,000 adjustment for its higher level of standard equipment. Going to a higher trim level on the Dodge to fit it with an engine more comparable to the Nissan's DOHC V6 cuts the gap to $2,000. The Nissan has more than enough advantages to overcome this difference.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Dodge Nitro:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Nitro.php

Last Words

I initially expected to give the Nitro a positive review. But then it disappointed me in just about every way possible. The number of major ergonomic issues is especially shocking, as these would make the Nitro a difficult vehicle for most people to live with on a daily basis. Also, despite lacking the capability of a true off-roader, the Nitro rides and handles like the worst of them. The only things keeping me from giving the Nitro a very rare one-star rating are the exterior styling, interior roominess, and low price.

A Note on Dodge Nitro Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Nitro rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Dodge Nitro reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Nitro--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

Hopefully the Nitro compiles a better record than other Chryslers have. Initial results suggest that Chrysler vehicles tend to take more trips to the shop than most others I'm collecting data on. A number of panel members have also complained to me about how Chrysler has treated them when they have had problems. As someone who recently spent $500 to replace the corroded wheels and another $1,690 to fix the failed transmission in my wife's 2002 PT Cruiser, with 52,000 miles, I know where they're coming from. (The lower control arms also have to be replaced, which will be another $700.) Chrysler did pick up half the cost of the wheels, which were losing five-to-seven pounds of air pressure daily around the valve stems, but declined to provide assistance on the transmission.

A link to my website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Honda Element review
Hummer H3 review
Jeep Liberty review
Nissan Xterra review
Toyota RAV4 review