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SE,
SXT,
or GT? What's My Dart?
Dodge
claims there are over 100,000
ways to configure the 2013 Dart. It's not really a
single car, Dart is
an entire model line. And rightly so, since it's
Dodge's only entry in
the small car field. Despite the fact that all the
advertising since
2012 has featured the GT, the GT was only added to the
line-up on the
Dodge.com site in April 2013. That makes six "trim
models" starting at
the SE and increasing, price-wise, to the GT. The
difference between
the basic versions of these low and high end models is
(only) about
$5K. Of course, a basic SE is much more stripped down
than a basic GT,
but the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price)
refers to an
unoptioned model.
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Good
things
come in small packages
The
2013 Dart SE
is
what allows Dodge to advertise such a low price for
the Dart, starting
at just under $16K MSRP. How bare bones is it? No so
much as you might
think. "Build" the Dart SE on the Dodge site, and
you can choose, for
starters, from twelve colors. When you get to
options, however, you can
only choose one package, called the Value Group,
which adds about $1K
to the price. Dodge doesn't say what's in this
package, but you want
it, because it highly lives up to its name. What's
included?
Believe
it or not, power windows
with driver one touch are already standard on the SE.
So, if you get
the Value Group option package. you've got a/c, which
you want (check);
power doors, windows, and mirrors (check); a remote
key fob that can
lock/ unlock the doors and pop the trunk, with a panic
alarm button and
a physical key in case of battery failure (check);
body-color mirrors
which match the body-colored crosshair on the front
grille (check).A beautiful, six-on-the-floor maual stick shift comes standard. The six speed powertech auto transmission with auto stick adds $1,100 to the price. But it still looks like a sporty floor shift. |
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SE
or
SXT?
How
do you tell what Dart you've
got? The first clue is the badging. SE models only say
"Dart" on the
left of the trunk.
They don't say "SE" anywhere. All Dart models have
this "Dart" badging
on the left side. SXT models also have "SXT" badging
on the right of
the trunk, and models with engines/ powertrains other
than the 2.0
Tigershark, which comes standard in the SE, also have
badging below the
"SXT" to indicate the engine. "Rallye" models also
have badging on the
right of the trunk.
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What's
My
Line?
An
SXT
costs
about $2K more than an SE (MSRP). So what, briefly, is
the difference?
First, instead of 16 inch wheels with wheel covers on
the SE, you get
17 inch aluminum wheels. Dodge says these are included
at no charge. So
what are you paying for? The first thing you're paying
for is the Value
Group package, which you would have bought for the SE
anyway. So that's
$1K. What's the other $1K buy? The outside door
handles, instead of
being black, as on the SE, are body colored. But
mostly you're getting
an interior upgrade. There are six speakers instead of
four, with a
sliding armrest in front. The back seat in the SE,
which folds down for
the trunk pass-through, is replaced by a 60/40 split
folding seat with
a fold-down armrest with two cup holders. Other
amenites include front
and rear floor mats. The 1.4L MultiAir Turbo engine is
available as an
option.
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That
leaves four "trim levels". If
we think of the Dart as a model line rather than a single
car, it's not
so confusing. A Rallye is a sort of sport package SXT. An
Aero is the
high mpg (miles per gallon) economy model, with everything
on it geared
to achieve better mileage. A Limited is the "Limited
Edition"
highly-appointed model with all the bells and whistles
(and options).
The GT is the super sport model that all the other models
are sort of
built down from, a sort of uber SXT.
Configure Your Car With
100,000 combinations
available, there's no way to consider all the
variations of Dodge Dart
models. But here's a rough guide to key features of
the various trim
levels:
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Rallye--
A
Rallye is built from an SXT, and costs about $1K
more (just under
$19K MSRP). Two main differences distinguish the
Rallye: here's where
you get the dual exhaust with bright chrome tips
standard, and here's
where the fog lamps come in. This is the time to get
the fog lamps, as
they are not an easy after-market install, as we
note on this site.
Select "fog lamps" on your wish list on the Dodge
site when building
your car, or ask the dealer if they are available as
a dealer-installed
option if your Dart doesn't have them already.
Other
features include 17 inch
aluminum painted wheels, and "unique performance
front fascia with
black chrome headlamps". Interior appointments
include "premium cloth
seats with unique accents" and "leather-wrapped
steering wheel with
audio and speed controls". Under the hood,
there's a beefed-up,
140 amp alternator (it's not clear why). The
driver's instrument
cluster is changed out for one with the Electronic
Vehicle Information
Center (EVIC) with trip computer. Believe it or not,
you still don't
get the "152 LED signature racetrack taillamp", but
you can easily add
it as a quick after-market install (see elsewhere on
this site).
Aero--
An
Aero is only about $300 more than a Rallye. It's the
model Dodge
claims will get 41 mpg highway. To make that claim,
it needs the 1.4L
MultiAir Turbo engine, and the six speed manual
shift from the SE
(manual shifts get lots better mileage. One dealer
has banners reading
"30 mpg" on the automatic transmission Darts, and
"35 mpg" on the
manual models (those are probably meant to be
ballpark highway mpg
figures). To hit the mpg target, you also get active
grille shutters
and underbody aero treatment. Here's where you
finally get the LED
racetrack tallamp array standard--but you don't get
foglamps. Other
tiny appointments include body colored door
handles.
Limited--
This
ought to be called Unlimited, as it pegs the meter
in the
direction of interior appointments. For about $1K
more than a Rallye
(around $20K starting MSRP), you get the Aero's
grille shutters and
underbody treatment, a rear back-up camera, heated
mirrors with
built-in turn signals, automatic headlamps, and
"bright accents" in the
grille, headlamp bezels, and door handles. This
model is upgraded from
an SXT, with most of the appointments inside. The
Limited has the third
of the three driver instrument clusters, with
a 7 inch, TFT
reconfigurable display; Uconnect 8.4 with 8.4 inch
touchscreen (which
replaces the radio); Uconnect System with Voice
Command and Bluetooth
connectivity (these are all available, but not
included on the Aero as
well). Other interior appointments include power
driver's seat, ambient
lighting, and front passenger in-seat storage.
GT--
At
just under $21K, this is the dream car Dodge
envisioned. It features
the 184 hp 2.4L Tigershark engine with the active
grille arrangement of
the Aero and Limited. Wheels are 18 inch, with
sport-tuned suspension.
All 2012 Dart ads show the GT in red to offset the
"hyperblack" grille.
The inside is black, as with all the Dart models,
but with red accents
and a red bezel around the "floating" instrument
cluster, which
includes the TFT dash display; Uconnect 8.4
touchscreen in the radio
area; Uconnect Voice Command; and optional Uconnect
web, which turns
the Dart into a mobile wifi hotspot.
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