2024 Dodge Hornet

The saying goes that to become an excellent marathon runner, you must choose your parents wisely. Some things are as much about genes as the work you put in, and it seems as if Dodge has taken this to heart with the new Dodge Hornet under review here, which is derived from the Alfa Romeo Tonale and sits on the same FCA Small US Wide 4x4 LWB platform as its Italian donor car. That sporty Italian spirit is a natural fit for the performance-minded Dodge brand, but this is no muscle car; it's a crossover SUV between the subcompact and compact classes, tasked to spearhead Dodge's resurgence as its first all-new model in years. With a 268-horsepower gas powertrain or a 288-hp plug-in hybrid, there isn't a slow Hornet in the range, and with a perfectly judged suspension setup, it's great fun to drive. With a high-value sub-$30,000 starting price, the Dodge Hornet is looking to give rivals such as the Mazda CX-30 turbocharged models and its in-house Stellantis stablemate, the Alfa Romeo Tonale, something to think about, while undercutting both on price. So is the Hornet the fresh new start Dodge needs?

The MSRP of the Dodge Hornet GT is $29,995 and the GT Plus will cost you $34,995. For the plug-in variants, the R/T PHEV has a price of $39,995, while the R/T Plus PHEV costs $44,995. These prices don't include any extras or the destination fee of $1,595.

The FCA Small platform first saw the light of day nearly 20 years ago in the European Fiat Punto and has spawned a US Wide LWB derivative that underpins many small Stellantis cars, including the Hornet. Proving you can teach an old dog new tricks, the Hornet drives surprisingly well. It helps that AWD is standard, along with trick frequency-selective Koni dampers. The suspension feels taut in normal driving but absorbs big shocks extremely well and generally drives like a more expensive car. So good is the standard suspension, you can give the optional Dual Stage Valve adaptive dampers a skip, as it isn't much better, and can sometimes feel a bit underdamped. The body control, power, and responsive steering make it feel more like a hopped-up Golf GTI than an SUV and that's big praise for the little tike. The standard brakes are responsive too. The 268-hp and 288-hp powertrains are among the most powerful in this class. In short, the Hornet's driving manners fit the sporty Dodge image.

The Dodge Hornet lands in a competitive market segment with several USPs counting in its favor. Its powerful powertrains with standard AWD standard even in the sub-$30k base model make it very good value compared to a Mazda CX-30, which is nearly $4k more expensive in its cheapest comparable turbocharged trim. It has properly sorted ride and handling characteristics, making the Hornet a great sporty alternative that represents good value. More importantly, it stays true to the traditional sporty Dodge values, even though we think Dodge could've done more to differentiate it from the Tonale. It's a great package without any glaring faults and deserves to do well.

You don't need more than the base car, which represents very good value at this price point. With a digital gauge cluster, dual-zone climate control, a bevy of standard driver assists, a powerful engine, and AWD, the GT is the one to have. Yes, you don't get the power leather seats, premium audio system, sunroof, navigation, or power liftgate of the GT Plus, but we can live without most of those for the sizeable $5k saving and the navigation won't be missed, thanks to smartphone mirroring. If you live in a cold climate, the $495 Cold Weather Group gets you all the interior heating features you need without any of the features you don't for an all-in price of around $32k, destination included.