Dodge Avenger SX 2007 review

You'd like something pretty ferocious with a nickname like Avenger, wouldn't you? Something on massive rims, preferably translucent black. Something that your Marvel comics hero could rip his rounds into making the villains tremble.

Well, the Avenger is unique enough, if not considered an insult to design decency, as some have unkindly suggested.

And it hits you right between the eyes.

This is a completely deliberate tactic, as Dodge's idea is to beat up the polite, soft-spoken denizens of the midsize sedan segment.

So beware of Honda Accord, Mazda 6 and even Camry/Aurion. Shiver, Volkswagen Jetta - not least because Dodge has the audacity to use your TDI engine in its diesel variant.

This larger and even more daring brother of Dodge's Caliber is a mini-muscle car of sorts, though the long front overhang that houses the signature crosshair grille removes any doubt that this Ram is driven by the front wheels rather than the rear wheels.

It pulls a high-set butt behind it that can be compared to the Accord Euro's sharp butt with just a bulging rear bumper, though comparison to any Japanese car seems out of place.

Even the greenhouse looks stiff, the side windows meet the C-pillar in an angled collision of glass, plastic and metal that looks unusual (and conspires to take away rear view).

The particularly unappealing optional Avenger spoiler is sure to be popular with those who are attracted to a car molded from a completely different shape into a medium-sized mass. If one word for his design is unresolved, then the other is pure.

The Avenger will captivate those who can't get up to the Chrysler 300C but crave a pulsating chunk of Americana. Or Americana, if you take a model with a VW / Audi engine.

Inside, trappings like leather trim on the top-of-the-line V6 diesel and petrol versions (unsurprisingly, those are the only models available to us on Thursday in Seville) won't hide the sub-Kia's Avenger cabin - a desert of hard gray plastic with a top. roof lining that seems unreliable.

They stand in stark contrast to fruity gadgets like temperature-controlled cup holders and a multimedia entertainment system that, apart from its various gimmicks, can play movies for rear-seat passengers and store 100 hours of music.

The best entry-level price in the segment is promised for the two-liter, four-cylinder petrol stripper model when the Avenger is launched locally in late July. It will be joined by a 2.4-litre petrol four and a 2.0 TDI.

Toward the end of the year, a 2.7-liter V6 will appear, as well as an automatic version of the six-speed manual diesel engine.

Medium-sized assassins, whatever they are, the Avengers start at 1500kg and go up to 1560kg on diesel. Falcodor heavy, really.

They don't go off the track: only the automatic V6 accelerates to 100 km / h in the claimed nine seconds - a good one and a half seconds faster than gasoline or diesel fours.

Not too long ago, large family sedans were the size of the Avenger. Just 20 mm less than five meters long and 1843 mm wide, this is a true five-seater.

The utility of the 438-litre boot is enhanced by 60/40 folding rear seats and - unusual for a sedan - the front passenger seat folds down into a flat floor. Why then spare to save space?

By the time the V6 Avenger debuts in Australia, it will hopefully get an automatic transmission with gears to match its engines.

Still, as inadequate as the four-speed version we rode on Thursday was, this Avenger was a spirited performer, pushing through the Andalusian mountains with energy and speed.

Nose-heavy understeer is as tame as it is inevitable, but there's plenty to be learned from that safe side.

With decently weighted steering coupled with a smooth, calm cornering stance, the Avenger's displacement alone would keep it from staying with the best-in-class Mazda 6.

However, the Avenger has excellent NVH and a smooth ride - at least on first world roads that have never been hit by traffic accidents. If that spec is for European rather than American taste, Dodge has done as much work on the Avenger's chassis as it did on the sheet metal.

A quick look at the diesel basically showed that the Yankees barely bothered to spin the stick.

Shifting was sloppy, the clutch was loose, and the otherwise excellent engine couldn't propel the Avenger with the same torque it pushes the Jetta.

If this sedan leads its class in several respects - least of all in terms of cabin ambience or economy - it's unmistakable for anything else on the road.

For that matter - the reason Dodge designed this thing - the Avenger is in a class of its own.

And in black, it can even scare some criminals.