Nothing to Get Excited About

Sent out of town on a major fire loss and the boss rented me a 2008 Dodge Avenger. I asked for a rag top Jag, but what can I say. Actually, I've been wanting to drive one of these low slung Dodge cars for some time and I was hyped about getting the chance.

I like the style. It's unique and just has a cool look to it. However, as we shall see, that cool style came back in a bad way. As a long time claims adjuster I know that when one drives by mirrors alone it causes bad things to happen. The many times I tried to clear traffic over a shoulder, it was LITERALLY impossible to catch any kind of glimpse at all. The pillars are very wide (widest I've ever seen) and the low slung glass cuts off vision as well. A driver of one of these is forced to live by mirrors alone- and that's just not going to make it. I consider this vehicle to be unacceptable to drive for this reason alone. But, let's continue...

The controls were just as I like them- easy and common sense. Within 30 seconds I knew where everything was at and except for a flimsy windshield wiper control arm, the controls were solid. The rest of the interior was adequate and the seats average for comfort. No complaints there.

Acceleration and braking were also adequate. The vehicle was responsive and didn't complain as much as I thought it would when "stepping on it".

The ride was odd. The vehicle slowly rolled with every contour of the freeway. It was like riding in a fishing boat on the ocean. It pitched back & forth, over & under... all the way. I've never been in a vehicle that did so and I nearly got sea sick. When I got out it was like, "land ho..." That said, despite all the pitching & rolling, I never felt out of control at any speed and it handled curves capably. It was just...... wierd. Anyway, the ride was average as to road noise and the engine noise shouldn’t be quite so much for a mid sized vehicle. But overall, the cabin noise was average.

One good note. This is the first new Dodge I've been in over the last 12-15 years (and I've been in many) that didn't have an optically distorted windshield. It was straight & true. The other ones made me a bit dizzy and sometimes gave me headaches.

In my final assessment, take away the inability for the driver to see outside the vehicle aside from mirrors and it's a capable vehicle. I'd give it a C. But taking into the fact the low glass and wide pillars take away any ability to see outside the vehicle to clear traffic and I think this is a very dangerous concept in auto making. Perhaps if I were younger (I'm 51) and had those young eagle eyes it might make a difference, but that's no excuse.