Topic: 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T Plus PHEV

[Blueprint]

Stellantis needs a hit. Badly. A sales hit. Chryco dealers paid the bills for years selling simple vehicles that did not light any flames, but got families where they needed to go without taking a second mortgage. Journey, Grand Caravan - simple, plastic-clad non-turbo, non-hybrid family shleppers that got the job done for $19,999 - Canada Value Packages, we hardly knew ye.

But after Hemifying everything to the 'Yalls delight, and Land Rovering Jeep prices, foot traffic is getting scarce. Cop cars are gone, so are affordable legacy trucks. Dealers need another Journey, fast.

So going through its ample porfolio, Stellantis looks at Alfa Romeo, goes Hmmm, and adds a Dodge front clip to the Tonale and pulls a historic name out of its generous, multi-brand corporate history book.

Will this keep the lights on?

https://www.autohebdo.net/editorial/20240729/dodge-hornet-r-t-plus-phev-2024-essai-routier/

[Blueprint]

Design

The Hornet lands in the highly contested compact SUV segment, but size-wise, with its rounded body it appears to straddle the subcompacts, as evidenced by parking this blacked-out example next to my daughter's murdered-out CX-30. C/D said the thing looks like a wagon on stilts - don't know what they were smoking, but it looks slammed next to the CX-30. The front clip is cute, and in black it reminded me of Toothless, the cartoon dragon. Not in-your-face Dodge, but different enough from its fancy Italian cousin. Aft of the A-pillars, this is pure Afla, with blanks where the snaked logos used to be. Interior is way more stylish than a Dodge ever was, and car guys will be fondling the plus-sized metal paddles behind the steering wheel. It looks a bit stubby, but a good stubby. The Journey looked good in its time, and here the Hornet is a win in my book.

[Blueprint]

That narrow bit between the headlights...

[Great_Big_Abyss]

A quick look at sales figures, and this is already a failure for Dodge.  Toyota has sold 283 000 Rav4's.  Honda has sold 230 000 CR-V's.  Ford has sold 85 000 Escapes so far this year (man, the new Escape really isn't doing all that well, eh?)  GM has sold 106 000 units of its horrid Equinox (still doing better than Ford, though). 

Dodge?  11 000 Hornets sold so far this year.  It's doomed. 

[Blueprint]

Interior

Here one gets the full Alfa experience, right down to the most un-intuitive wiper/washer stalk I ever experienced. And those sexy paddles demand basketball player-grade fingers to reach around them and use the turn signals. Most people will need to take their left hand off the wheel to do so. But things looks good - materials are premium, stereo is excellent, seats are dreamy and firm while soundproofing is thorough. Rear seat is pretty thight for adults, and trunk has no under-floor cubbies thanks to the PHEV hardware. Infotainment works well, but in true Euro-fashion its ergonomics are poor, the screen too small for big fingers, with many false moves to prove it. Except for one single bass-induced buzz, it was built tight too. Hornets are built in Italy, fine for bragging, less for pricing.

[OliverD]

A quick look at sales figures, and this is already a failure for Dodge.  Toyota has sold 283 000 Rav4's.  Honda has sold 230 000 CR-V's.  Ford has sold 85 000 Escapes so far this year (man, the new Escape really isn't doing all that well, eh?)  GM has sold 106 000 units of its horrid Equinox (still doing better than Ford, though). 

Dodge?  11 000 Hornets sold so far this year.  It's doomed.

Oof, those numbers are bad.

I think many Escape buyers went to the Bronco Sport. They sold 73k so far this year.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

A quick look at sales figures, and this is already a failure for Dodge.  Toyota has sold 283 000 Rav4's.  Honda has sold 230 000 CR-V's.  Ford has sold 85 000 Escapes so far this year (man, the new Escape really isn't doing all that well, eh?)  GM has sold 106 000 units of its horrid Equinox (still doing better than Ford, though). 

Dodge?  11 000 Hornets sold so far this year.  It's doomed.

Oof, those numbers are bad.

I think many Escape buyers went to the Bronco Sport. They sold 73k so far this year.

Actually, that's a good point.  We could combine the Escape and the Bronco Sport, much as one can combine the Equinox and GMC Terrain numbers.  Neither of them are doing too badly. 

The Hornet is still abysmal.  Dodge needs cheap and cheerful.  One can get an Outlander PHEV for less than a Hornet, and it's both bigger and comes with a 10 year warranty (and right now, that's a bumper to bumper 10 year warranty).  Imagine, Zero repairs to your car for a whole decade.

[Blueprint]

Power

This unit is a plug-in hybrid, built around a 1.3 L turbo four, The ICE provides 177 hp, and it's paired with two electric motors, a 44 hp starter-generator and a 121 hp traction motor mounted at the rear and by which arrives the awd. Driven in EV mode, the Hornet has 121 hp, but the 184 lb-ft of torque gets things done. Combine everything, pull both paddles simultaneously to engage "Power Shot" and for 15 seconds you have 288 hp on tap (the Tonale does without this gimmick and always has 288 hp). Transitions are smooth and the 15.5 kWh battery gave me 55 km of EV range, impressive and repeatable. My avg for the week was 2,0 L/100 km, with 80% of my travels done on electricity. This wee thing will pull 2,000 lbs and is quite zippy when needed. So Stellantis also got the drivetrain right.

[Blueprint]

Driving

The first few meters in a press cars are always telling as your inner sensors recalibrate to the new ride. With R/T bravada and low-profile rubber, I expected this to crash hard on Montreal's hideous West Island roads, but close your eyes and you're in a '78 Parisienne Brougham, bouncing and wallowing. "WTF?" did pop in my mind. This R/T Plus has electronic shocks, and left to normal they put the Hornet in Matador mode, much to one's surprise. More rebound control would remove a bit of the nautical feel, but that extra-soft setting will be appreciated by passengers. Put the shocks in "Sport" and suddenly you're driving an Alfa, clipping appexes and blipping shifts with the paddles. Missing is a "normal" setting, which you'll probably find with the std shocks.

[Blueprint]

Value

The good news: the PHEV versions open access to a $5k federal incentive, and $5k QC incentive ... as of this writing. The bad news: this R/T Plus starts at $64k and with options and PDI my tester rang the bell at $70,725 - the bell that you ring when an iceberg looms ahead. The Hornet is a pretty good product, offering refinement, style, fun and a great PHEH drivetrain in a tidy pkg. But the pricing is just so wrong... A $70k compact Dodge? Really? Stellantis needs to find something else in its portfolio, and quick. Bring the C3, call it a Gremlin if you need to, have it made in Mexico and sell that for $20k. Do the same with an SUV that you can sell for $30k. The Hornet is a cheaper Tonale, so there's that, but otherwise this will remain a very niche product that won't ever pull the sale numbers the stores need. Still, one appeared on my street. It replaced a Yukon Denali of all things.

[Blueprint]

Final Thoughts

Technically, the Hornet fills the void left by the Journey, and for those in the know, it's a way to get an Alfa Romeo on the cheap. But that cheap is very relative, and only the incentives on the PHEV help bring the numbers close to what would make sense. Still, this is a huge gamble next to, say, an Outlander and its terrific warranty. I really liked the vehicle over my week with it, and it could draw crowds and sell on its on merits, especially with that very efficient PHEV drivetrain. But it needs at least $15k on the hood to make sense, brand reputation and all. How about a CVP with the 'ole 2.4 for $29,999 ?

[PJungnitsch]

Seems to be all falling apart now: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/commodities/2024/07/25/stellantis-earnings-plunged-in-first-half-on-weak-us-sales/

But the weird thing is Stellantis was making money hand over fist the last few years, with their CEO the highest paid in the industry

Stellantis Annual Net Income
(Millions of US $)
2023   $20,126
2022   $17,699
2021   $16,800
2020   $33
2019   $7,417
2018   $4,261
2017   $3,946
2016   $1,995
2015   $371
2014   $840
2013   $2,591

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/STLA/stellantis/net-income

Never understood how that was possible

[Blueprint]

Seems to be all falling apart now: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/commodities/2024/07/25/stellantis-earnings-plunged-in-first-half-on-weak-us-sales/

But the weird thing is Stellantis was making money hand over fist the last few years, with their CEO the highest paid in the industry

Stellantis Annual Net Income
(Millions of US $)
2023   $20,126
2022   $17,699
2021   $16,800
2020   $33
2019   $7,417
2018   $4,261
2017   $3,946
2016   $1,995
2015   $371
2014   $840
2013   $2,591

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/STLA/stellantis/net-income

Never understood how that was possible

US sales (or lack thereof) are becoming a boat anchor, fast. My last presser was a $95k Wrangler - ouch. But Stellantis is a world player and cars like the Citroën C3 are big sellers all over Europe.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

They may have some cheap and cheerful popular offerings in Europe, but their presence in NA is vastly diminished, and aside from JEEP and RAM, I could see them exiting the NA market.  Certainly Chrysler isn't long for this world here.  The only vehicle they currently offer is the Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid. 

[dkaz]

I haven't seen a single Hornet on the road yet.

[revalations]

It’s a shame they’re not selling. I think the look decent, and I haven’t read a bad review yet. Been seeing the odd one on the road lately, so maybe some heavy discounts have set in.

[rrocket]

They may have some cheap and cheerful popular offerings in Europe, but their presence in NA is vastly diminished, and aside from JEEP and RAM, I could see them exiting the NA market.  Certainly Chrysler isn't long for this world here.  The only vehicle they currently offer is the Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid.

They're building a new SUV in Windsor...unnamed as of yet as far as I know

And if IIRC, the downward spiral picked up when they announced they were going full EV on their popular selling models.

[OliverD]

They may have some cheap and cheerful popular offerings in Europe, but their presence in NA is vastly diminished, and aside from JEEP and RAM, I could see them exiting the NA market.  Certainly Chrysler isn't long for this world here.  The only vehicle they currently offer is the Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid.

Don't forget the Grand Caravan. 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

They may have some cheap and cheerful popular offerings in Europe, but their presence in NA is vastly diminished, and aside from JEEP and RAM, I could see them exiting the NA market.  Certainly Chrysler isn't long for this world here.  The only vehicle they currently offer is the Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid.

Don't forget the Grand Caravan. 

They stopped making that some years ago.  It's a pity they didn't update and continue selling it, as it had a decent drivetrain, and was affordable for families that needed practical transportation.  Instead they went 'luxury' and upmarket with the Pacifica instead, trying to compete with the Odyssey and Sienna,which is a game they won't win. They need that basic minivan back with crummy interior materials, but good, practical design.  Update it with modern tech like Android Auto/Carplay, radar cruise, etc.  Then keep the price $10-15k lower than the current Pacifica, and I'm sure they'd have a winner.  No need for fancy stuff like hybridization or AWD. 

[OliverD]

They may have some cheap and cheerful popular offerings in Europe, but their presence in NA is vastly diminished, and aside from JEEP and RAM, I could see them exiting the NA market.  Certainly Chrysler isn't long for this world here.  The only vehicle they currently offer is the Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid.

Don't forget the Grand Caravan. 

They stopped making that some years ago.  It's a pity they didn't update and continue selling it, as it had a decent drivetrain, and was affordable for families that needed practical transportation.  Instead they went 'luxury' and upmarket with the Pacifica instead, trying to compete with the Odyssey and Sienna,which is a game they won't win. They need that basic minivan back with crummy interior materials, but good, practical design.  Update it with modern tech like Android Auto/Carplay, radar cruise, etc.  Then keep the price $10-15k lower than the current Pacifica, and I'm sure they'd have a winner.  No need for fancy stuff like hybridization or AWD.

Ahem. https://www.chrysler.ca/en/grandcaravan