Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA) unveiled its corporate five-year plan during its Investor Day this week, and amid a flurry of information, we learned that Dodge will give the Dart a mid-cycle update for 2017. The new model is scheduled to arrive in June of 2016 and will continue to be offered with front-wheel drive and a choice of naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines. Even better news is that a Dart SRT will join the lineup about six months later, with all-wheel drive and a “high-output” turbocharged engine.
Dodge hopes that the refreshed Dart will “leverage [its] positioning between compact and mid-size cars,” acknowledging its tweener status in the market. Other goals Dodge hopes to achieve with the new model are to update its styling and design, enhance its driving dynamics, and “align powertrain to brand DNA,” which we hope means “faster and more refined.” Whatever the end results are, we’re already looking forward to the refresh; we spent 40,000 miles with a Dart 1.4T (an engine almost completely excised from the lineup), and found many areas in which the car could be improved.
- Dodge Dart Research: Pricing, Specs, Photos, and Reviews
- Long-Term Test Wrap: 40,000 Miles with a Dodge Dart 1.4T Rallye
- Photos and Info: Refreshed and Overhauled 2015 Dodge Challenger
The Dart is currently the smallest product in the Dodge portfolio, and, starting now, it must pick up the slack left by the dead and not-so-dearly-departed Avenger mid-size sedan, which won’t be replaced. By 2018, the Dart will be joined by a subcompact B-segment car, and it will probably get a full redesign for 2019 or 2020.
For tons of additional product news from every Fiat-Chrysler brand, click here.
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