CD Article: 2008 Dodge Avenger SXT four-cylinder

[CD_Editor]

Today's Test Drive:

Four-cylinder: Reduced performance is the price you pay for the four-cylinder Avenger's thriftier fuel consumption, says Contributing Editor, Chris Chase.  But this roomy sedan still has "plenty of power for tooling around the city."
   
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Read the article | View the photos | All The Test Drives

[carcrazy]

"The trunk is a useful size and shape, but why the ugly, unlined trunk lid? "

Maybe it's the trend. Honda does the same in the 2008 Accord for thousands more.

[Thinking Out Loud]

If the door/dash photo colour is correct (even the overhead shot of the interior shows the same shade AND colour variance between the two):

It reminds me of vehicles that have been in an accident and, rather than get expensive bodywork done, the owner replaces the door with one from an auto-wrecker scavenged from a different model year and body/interior colour to save a couple of bucks. 

For $24,000 to start.  Eeeech.  What are my options again....oh yeah:

Competitors:

2008 Ford Fusion
2008 Chevrolet Malibu
2008 Honda Accord
2008 Hyundai Sonata
2008 Kia Magentis
2008 Nissan Altima
2008 Toyota Camry
2008 Mazda6

[audi]

why would anyone in the their right mind buy this over any of its competition?

[2hondas]

Deserves to be a rental car and no more.

There are many better vehicles to choose from at this price, even base models.

[auto_enthusiast]

The mismatched colour between the door and the dash is unforgivable - what happened there?

Even my old Dodge Neon had matching dash and door panels!

[articsteve]

Thinking that the depreciation will be wicked.  Might be a good car to flip. 

[JSCC]

Had a red one for a week-end rental.
The rental guy gave me a free upgrade for the price of a Versa (was out of stock) and said I was lucky.

I prefer the Versa and it's fuel economy over the Avenger.

[Greg B.]

Wow, this makes the Sebring look good by comparison.

[Schmengie]

No wonder Chrysler's in such big trouble.

[Benhaze]

The Avenger's four-banger comes with a four-speed automatic transmission (as does the smaller V6). That's one gear less than most of the Avenger's competition comes with in base form, but believe it or not, it's preferable to the new six-speed that comes with the 3.5-litre engine.

Shameful if it is an accurate assessment! 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Saw an orange one with Charger-like back stripes on the hood and it wasn't half bad.

Overall, not a fan. But have to say it is fairly roomy inside. Deceived me. As opposed to the Sebring and noted in the article, Avenger has the kicked-up rear windows so that must make it feel somewhat awkward not being able to see out the window without leaning forward. And guage needles don't illuminate? Strange.

At MSRP forget it, but if you catch one with Chrysler's massive discounts not so bad for what it is for someone who doesn't recognize or care about the difference in interior quality. Plenty of people like that out there, too. Or as a roomy used vehicle for peanuts.