plastic sway bar link, plastic key structural components... A true Stellantis craftsmanship.

Could be a pleasant surprise as a rental car assignment.

Quality FIAT engineering sure to provide dozens of miles of trouble free driving. Bravo Stellantis.

This is the beginning of the end for Dodge. They had a, somewhat, solid run.

As a professional entomologist of 12 years, I only drive cars with bug-themed name schemes. When I found myself cross shopping a Hornet and the yellow Bumblebee spec Camaro from Transformers 2, I ended up choosing a Ford Lightning due to its superior visibility and customizable engine noise.

Price is the Hornet’s detriment. When similar vehicles are cheaper and more reliable, the Hornet is a sure hard sell. Even an inflated rav4 is a better deal than this.

The discussion about Dodge's future was way more interesting than the car, which is a hard pass

As a car hauler, we have a rule for the Hornet. Minimally interact with it, we've had far too many die on our trucks from electronic failures.

It amazes me that you can option this car to $54,500, what a steal!

To me the hornet is what the caliber should have been. California and CARB standards is why the hornet exist IMO

It certainly looks nice. It's unfortunate that the reliability based on history won't be there.

Reading the online horror stories of first deliveries has been fun with this thing.

Leased a Tonale for my wife about 3 months ago, which is in all ways that matter the same vehicle. So far we've had no issues at all aside from the lift gate decided not to open one day after buying groceries, but turning it off and back on solved that. The active drive & safety sensors are very sensitive to direct blinding sunlight, but we did a 2500 mi road trip in it for thanksgiving and it performed quite well overall. She commented over the weekend just how much she loves the car, she is coming from a Mini Cooper S Manual, the Tonale is sporty enough where we both enjoy being behind the wheel, though we both understand it's NOT a sports car by any stretch and don't expect it to perform like one. If I had to summarize the Hornet / Tonale, it would be a CUV for someone who requires a little more practicality than a sports car (perhaps you've got a kid), but you haven't died inside and still want a vehicle that drives decently well, and would rather kill yourself than own/drive something like a CRV, and either can't afford or don't want / can't fit something like a larger performance SUV.

That damn turn signal would drive me absolutely INSANE.

As a FCA technician, I face palm on the lift points. I don't give them a year before the covers are gone. I wish they would have just have pegs that poke out of the undershield as the lift points.

As a GT Plus owner of 6 months, I completely understand the argument of “why would one buy this?”. The way it drives and feels is a little boy racer. It’s fast, it’s fun to drive with turbo lag and AWD and launches all day, but the average buyer could not give a crap whatsoever about sport performance and the forums show. When I hear owners talk about it it’s “why is the car so loud on cold start is it broken?” “Why does it delay when I put my foot down?” “Why’s the steering so heavy” like, the CUV market is historically for the “boring” everyday driver who wants A to B with CarPlay. I feel they succeeded at making a fun-driving car, but people have no clue what the thing is. I get compliments frequently when asked about it, but it’s niche. I even tell my friends looking for a new car, if you want a new car that does it all, get a RAV4 or a CX-5. This is a compromising car that prioritizes fun more than anything else and price wise, they can get up there. I do worry for the longevity and aftermarket support because apparently they move very slowly on dealer lots, but it would be a shame to see it go so quickly when I genuinely enjoy mine. Great review as always! Been waiting to see y’all’s perspective on it.

Imagine selling only chargers and challengers for 16 years just to get this turd in the showroom

Stellar review. Not a fan of the product really, but good review and insight into where this brand is going. Looks challenging af.

I think this actually looks pretty good for a small CUV.

The lifted SRT4 neon we'v always wanted.

Dart was always a good looking car imo. Too bad they didn't improve on that model

I just traded in my 2015 dart. It was a great handling little commuter. I actually really liked driving it! But at 109k miles it was falling apart. I expect that to be the case here too.

"Took an architecture that is very old, and try to do something new with it" Visions of old E-Class Mercs being turned into 300's, Chargers, and Magnums come to mind. So... par for the course?

I brought my Scat Pack Charger over to the Dodge dealership recently to get a quick oil change done. They had one of these Hornets in the showroom, I sat in it and checked it out. Interior was pretty nice, not bad. You don't realize how small and cramped feeling these Hornets are until you sit in one though. They're small for sure. It's sad, Dodge went from building Chargers and Challengers with some of the most amazing small block V8 drive trains, ever.....to this. I'm glad I got my Scat Pack. I'll be hanging onto this car for a long while.

I remember hearing Dodge was FORCED to bring this car to market to bring down the brands MPG average. Every car Dodge has made since like 2008 has been a POS. Dart, Avenger, 200, and due to that they couldn't afford to keep the v8's around. The Federal penalties were mounting up and the parent company hated it. If Dodge had bothered to make a hybrid Challenger or Charger, and the Hornet and a smaller sedan had been offered they probably could have been able to keep the Hemi. They just shot themselves in the foot refusing to make ANY good vehicle. Its likely why the Mustang is still around while the charger/challenger had to die.

0:59 What's with the panel gaps :O Holy shit that's bad.

"This is a good interior for a Dodge." That's because it's not a Dodge...

16:17 Jack: "You and I are so broken internally." Jack speaks for the masses.We must protect this man at all costs.

You said it. Dodge is at an interesting crossroad. No more muscle cars and consumers are done buying $70-$80k trucks. At least for now in high volumes. They really don’t compete in smaller quality affordable cars.

For fun and jokes, please review the Mistubishi Mirage! I can only imagine how sketched out both of you would be to drive that tin can.

I love how the horn doesn't work on this new car. That says all you need to know about the Dodge brand.

It's not a bad looking car, looks like a typical alfa. I'm sure it'll super reliable 😅

Brutal but honest assessments, as always. Kind of like my teachers throughout school.

These will be paper weights after like 40k miles with that build quality but it’s a cute little car that my wife would probably like. There’s a market there for the Hornet if Dodge can find a way to reach it.

I like the reviews to the practical cars (appliances) We watch reviews for fun and looking as wea re looking to have two kids becoming professionals and looking at first real car purchase. The exotics and top-level cars are fun to watch, but these types of reviews are a great resource and I appreciate the mix of products. Happy New Year! As a Mopar fan it is sad to see this direction but we have lived through these times before, good luck to them.

Only Savagegeese could make me watch a review on a budget CUV

Can you imagine the depreciation?

If it's 41K, I will go with the CX-5 turbo.

Enjoyed the music and the review. Thanks guys.

Everyone take a shot every time Jack says "non-premium." Aaaaaand, GO!

Mark finally nailed his contribution especially when he takes the lead on a review. "I joke around so much that I don't really offer much". Sometimes it's hard to look in the mirror and be honest with one's self. Congratulations on the first step toward growth.

Let me put it in perspective for you guys. My wife, not a car person to put it mildly, liked a Buick Envista. We test drove it and she really liked it. However, lease payments on the Envista, a $25k car fully loaded, were simply too high. We ended up with a loaded Alfa Romeo Tonale Ti for way less, about 2/3 of the payment for the Buick. Because of the government incentives on these cars they are dirt cheap. At $52k our Alfa is a POS. At $300/month with no money down it is amazing!

Reliability and resale...that about sums it up

When my wife's Alfa Romeo Stelvio was in service for a while the dealer gave us a brand new Tonale hybrid as a loaner, she hated it! She hated the beeping an booping from the "safety systems". She hated the size, the ride, and pretty much everything about the car.

Love the new intro! Another good video as usual !

Dodge's next chapter: Rebadged Euro cars

I think its a good looking car. But dodges brand and reputation is going to make it hard to break into a competitive segment like this

If they are to be taken seriously in the performance category they'll have to now start to clone the rest of the Alpha Romeo platforms like Gulia and Stelvio and/or other models from Maserati or even Fiat. But first and foremost whatever they do they have to stop cutting corners on quality and reliability. If they begin to produce reliable cars then they have a chance to move forward.

The interior definitely not a “Dodge” thing. This is an Alfa Romeo with a Dodge badge on the steering wheel.

For the disposable lease machine it really is it’s absolutely fantastic!

With the end of the V-8s I feel it's back to the K-Car days

I'm sad they haven't built a new performance sedan based on the Giulia.

I was having trouble sleeping. Thank you for featuring the Hornet.

You couldn't give me a POS like that. I am driving Ford Panther cars (Crown Vic, Grand Marquis) for the rest of my life. No touch screens, no spy devices, no self driving trash, V8 engine, rear wheel drive, solid rear axle, body on frame construction, and they actually look like cars. Parked end to end with my 1964 Ford Fairlane, my 2006 Crown Vic has almost exactly the same shape.

Just looked at my local dealer out of curiosity. Tonale PHEV Veloce is $66,022 in Canada… there is no way I’m picking this over the competition at that price.

That’s looks like a very enjoyable interior to sit in and wait for the tow truck.

It is an Alfa Romeo Tonale actually. This is why their Dodge logo on the steering wheel is in a circle. And it is also why it consists of so many cheap Fiat components, which you can find in taxi cabs in Middle Eastern market.

Nice, little car and I wish them luck. But I'd really rather have a Mazda CX-30/CX-5!

What a disaster. In Canada, the top trim sells for just under 70K CAD. No one with half a brain is going to shop this at that price. You can get an X3 for the same price or an X1 for less.

1. i was surprised you guys consider this a CRV/rav4/cx-5 competitor. visually it looks much closer to a CX-30, though i guess numbers put it closer to the kia niro/corolla cross/HRVs of the world. 2. a quick google search says this thing is indeed faster than a CX-30, which surprised me... I wonder if the hornet will do even better with a tune for premium like mazda does.

Great review guys!

I appreciate the guys really embodying the Dodge struggle here. It was kind of depressing but that’s the reality, and why they are the best. I also would like to know why Mark leaves tags on his hats.

The last Dodge product I sat in (a fully-optioned Durango) I was blown away by how much I liked. Gotta give them some credit, they're really trying...

I agree. If you had a slow economy car your whole life the power in this will feel like a step up. I drove a mazda 3 and 2018 hrv. Bought an xc60 T6. Felt like i was in a rocket in comparison. Was going 20 over without realizing for the first couple weeks

I appreciate you guys taking the cars in the shop and giving us a perspective that not a lot of us get. Keep up the great work.

In my dream world, manufacturers have decided to pair the power band of peaky high revving N/A engines with the the low end torque of electric motors. E-AWD cross overs like this one take inspiration from kei trucks. A family of small displacement engines all running efficient Miller cycles, using a centrifugal supercharger (1.0L triple, 1.3L 4cylinder and for the top range premium vehicles a 2.0L 6 cylinder) are mounted longitudinally, nearly flat, just ahead of the rear axle. But unlike an AWD kei truck or van, which has a drive shaft up to the front, the center tunnel contains a small battery pack to power the front electric motors. One for each wheel, for true torque vectoring and one other small electric motor as an ISG on the tiny engine. Because the front is electrically driven, rather than the rear like most e-AWD vehicles, efficiency can be improved in energy recovery. Keri the battery pack small to reduce weight.

You asked if people are buying the marketing and it would seem that they are not because I read an article recently that there was a glut of Hornets sitting on dealer lots (over a 500 day supply). There apparently has also been a lot of complaints concerning quality from recent buyers.

The Dodge Omni is back!

I like to think of it as the Macan’t

Excellent straight forward video. Much respect. I do own a Hornet

Finally a true automobile, it harkens back to the glory days of the PT cruiser and the top notch quality it demonstrated

I think you're underestimating the PHEV factor. Being able to do your daily city commute with all or mostly electric, and still have gas for long trips is the sweet spot. IMHO.

fairly sure these have the highest days inventory of any car on US market RN?

Love the new drop-D, Dimebag-esque intro music🤘

First video I've watched of yours in a couple years.

Because most modern CUV owners prioritize utility and economy over performance (hence the low take rate of trim levels with engine upgrades), the Hornet is both overpowered and overpriced for this market. Stellantis should've offered a base Hornet SRT model powered by the Jeep Compass' 200HP 2.0L engine and sold it at a lower price point more competitive with other compact CUVs.

Tonale=Olive Garden Hornet=TGIFriday's?

As an italian this car makes me sad. It was born as an Alfa Romeo; they want it to be an alternative to the germans (at least here). Lancia and Alfa (both in the fiat group) were ignored and left dying, ignoring the heritage and leaving the country uncompetitive in the automotive industry. Then they tried to make the Alfa comeback with the Giulia and the Stelvio, but kept loosing money until about a year ago, delayed the launch of needed products to actually make money and wasted the great Giorgio platform. They had to make the Tonale right, but it's not really up to the price. I am so thankful to you guys, because seeing how different your market is made me realise how much our government protected FIAT and how them, in return, kept giving us shitty cars.

Impressive cinematography capturing the beauty of these machines in action. A must-watch for any car enthusiast.

I'm glad to see a serious review from you guys about the Hornet, I was concerned you'd do another joke review. I think it's actually pretty compelling, Stellantis reliability is still questionable, and the Hornet being a new vehicle (even if not "new" because of the Tonale) still has some issues. I'm glad to see Dodge at least giving the appearance of taking this segment seriously again. Though, I'd kill for a new Dart in hatchback form with the GT powertrain.

It's a good-looking, comfortable crossover with cohesive Italian aesthetics. Comfortable seats, sharp handling versus other SUVs I've driven. I think the GT in the low 30s with the Cold Weather Group and Tech Pack makes a good case for itself, especially for people in northern climates who would need the ground clearance at times. I don't understand why Subaru and Audi, both known for their winter capability and AWD, don't offer heated steering wheels in many of their models. You can get it here, plus a more comfortable seat.

Really expected a much more harsh review. Ended up getting one of the best reviews I’ve heard on this car. Well done.

5:55 am I seeing things, or is that a plastic sway bar link?

Stellantis secures the rental car market once again!

I like this review. First time watching and it's refreshing to see a straight up review without theatrics and yet it's interesting and not boring. Not everyone needs to try to be Top Gear or Doug DeMuro.

These are really a great deal, once you wait two years and pick one up that never sold.

Ideal as a lease vehicle. If you can get this leased under $300/mo and consider the low operating costs and fuel consumption, it’s a relatively strong consideration as the inevitably terrible residual value and expensive long term maintain is irrelevant.

I'd love a shorter, lower, hatchback version of this called the Omni for $20-25k. Offer a high performance, GLH trim and bam!

You guys are to cars what @FlossyCarter is to phones. I have absolutely zero interest in this product, but since you are the ones telling me all about it, I end up watching this whole video, learning something, and being entertained, whether I care about the vehicle or not. Thanks for always giving it to the people straight.

Nice report guys!

I think the V8 loving people are just going to buy trucks at this point, I'm pretty sure their whole brand was just engines with cars attached. I feel like there's a chance someone's wife would fall for this but sports car people even ones that just like V8 muscle cars aren't going to be very interested in this.

It will be interesting to see what else Dodge is allowed to bring into their portfolio. Because if they don't start making some decent sales figures I could see Stellantis shuttering Dodge all together and just keeping Jeep and RAM names. Selling less than 10k Hornets is regrettable. Granted that was less than a year, but still 3 quarters of sales. The Jeep Compass sold over 85k in 2022... even taking out a quarter of that, still nets considerably more vehicles than the Hornet which is basically the same package. As you stated, the segment they decided on is one of the most competitive segments. I mean every car company in the world sells SUVs now. I also agree they are playing catchup with every other SUV manufacturer that has had a vehicle under development for multiple generations. I would be working hard on the forums to gather as much information from the customer base as possible to bring the most dependable vehicle to market and address any other desires by the customer base because they've got a large mountain to climb if they want to wrestle sales from the other manufacturers.

Here in Brazil I have the distant twin of the RT, the Pulse Abarth, with the same engine and architectural design, so to speak. It's an excellent car. Although our version does not have the electric motor at the rear and is not 4x4.

Savage Geese: Is this going to be important to Dodge enthusiasts? Well they are going to find out. Me: Currently sitting at 600 days supply. Oh they are finding out alright. 😅

The interior looks nice. The exterior design looks like it could be a 2010 Mitsubishi.

"Brotherhood of Muscle" no more.

I have a 2014 Forester XT. Similar power and fun, but better cargo space,and a better brand for reliability, and full time AWD. It was also only 12k$ Canadian because it was used. I feel like that's a much better deal. Good thing Subaru no longer offers a turbo with their Foresters, or else the Dodge Hornet would be facing much better competition for a fast CUV.

Did I see plastic end links on the front sway bar ?

All the dodge dealers by me are becoming filled with these but yet I barely see any on the road. Maybe people are realizing Stellantis isn’t worth it.

Good review. Dodge and othe makers Missed the mark by going away from small affordable cars. The hornet is way over priced and the buyers still want affordable transportation. Our local dealer has a loaded R/T listed for 51k,insane.