Urban DINK: 2007 Dodge Nitro SLT
The Urban DINK who wants to look tough around town might seriously consider the new Nitro as his (or her) SUV of choice. It’s certainly one of the most menacing looking SUVs we’ve seen in a long time. There’s just one thing: Don’t get it in electric blue, like my test vehicle. If it had been red or, even better, black, I would’ve been pumping some loud music with the windows down. Alas, I was cowering behind rolled-up windows in what, to me, looked like a clown car.
Of course, while color is an easy fix, a rough ride and ergonomically challenged interior aren’t. Since I’ve been so negative lately, though, I’ll start with the good. Chrysler has been getting hammered for its interior quality, and with good reason; most vehicles in the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge lines have felt especially cheap, even compared to other domestic brands. The Nitro, however, has the best mix of material quality, fit and finish, and comfort of any Chrysler in a long time. It’s still not up to par with the best from Honda or Nissan, but we won’t hold that against the Nitro. Plus, it’s a tough-guy truck. Who cares if the plastic only has a millimeter or two of gap space?
What can’t be excused, though, are the poor ergonomics. Beth Palmer already wrote about how hard it was for a petite woman to reach the controls on the center stack, but let me tell you, as a 5-foot-10 man it was an extreme reach for the environmental controls and — get this — the shifter! When in park, you have to actually lean over to put the shifter into drive. Yes, I had adjusted my seat perfectly for a suitable driving position and visibility, and still no luck on a reach for the shifter without leaning. It was really annoying during parking maneuvers, getting it into Reverse and back into Drive. To me this was inexcusable, especially since there’s room in the center console for the shifter to be closer to the driver, perhaps by a few inches. It just isn’t.
Otherwise, the interior is quite nice. The leather seats were comfortable and the backseat had plenty of space. The rear seats also fold perfectly flat with ease and expose a really sizable cargo area. The Nitro comes with a feature called Load ‘N Go, which is a sliding cargo floor. Well, I loaded it a number of times and went, but never used the feature. With groceries, I didn’t want them spilling everywhere when I slid it. With my boxes from Costco and the wine depot, it was just one lift of a box. Sliding out the cargo floor, as easy as it is to do, seemed unnecessary.
On the road, the Nitro drove like a truck, which some people like. Not me; I prefer a more carlike experience. I won’t hold that against the Nitro since I had a blast taking the offroad course behind my house in it. (Well, it’s not really an offroad course, but the pavement is so pot-holed, bump-filled and just plain awful, it’s better than anything a car company can simulate.)
On the road, the Nitro was adequately quiet, with both road and wind noise minimal.
One DINK nitpick, though; if you’re going to offer an upgraded stereo, make sure it doesn’t distort. During one of my first commutes to work in the Nitro, I plugged in my MP3 player and was greeted by a really good mix of randomly shuffling songs. On comes Dangerdoom (a hipster rapper), and out came distortion from the sub in the rear of the Nitro. Maybe it was just that track and the AUX input levels, though. I hit the skip button to the next song. Something by Pearl Jam came on, no distortion. OK, next: Clutch (a hard rock band), no distortion from the sub — now it was coming from the passenger-side door speaker. Ugh. It must be the MP3 player, right? Well, I went to CDs and a number were much better, including two different rap CDs that didn’t distort. But one CD I didn’t think would distort at all was a disc by alt-country pioneers Wilco. Out came the distortion, this time from the front driver-side speaker during a very low bass note from, you know, a bass guitar. It was aggravating, and I’d be even more peeved if I’d paid the $595 for the optional stereo with distortion coming from three different places.
The Nitro was never in consideration to replace our Jeep Grand Cherokee, as mentioned in past posts, mainly because of its style, but my wife did like the passenger room, comfy, heated seats and useful cupholders. It’s just not her look.
If the Nitro does do it for you on looks, check out the reach to the shifter and controls. If that doesn’t bother you and you like the color, ride and somewhat limited visibility, it’ll pass. You can skip running boards ($395), though. Not only didn’t they look good, they were totally unnecessary — perhaps even obstructive for an average-height person. Too bad you can’t also go without that Load ’N Go; it’s standard in the SLT and R/T models. I’d rather have the extra inch or two of cargo room. You can take the money you save on the other options and buy some really nice aftermarket speakers.
