From inside Line
There are at least a couple of reasons why the 2008 Dodge Avenger might look familiar.
First, the midsize Avenger — or D-class in Euro parlance — bears a striking resemblance to the full-size Dodge Charger. The smaller Dodge, which the company unveiled at the Detroit auto show, has the same basic shape. It has the same rear haunch. It has similar squinting quad headlamps. It's more than just the family resemblance or brand DNA that marketers and designers are forever talking about. The Avenger looks simply like a shrunken Charger.
The other reason that you might feel a sense of déjà vu is that the production Avenger, which will go on sale in the first quarter of this year, looks damn near identical to the "concept" Avenger that Dodge unveiled at September's Paris auto show.
We haven't driven the Avenger yet but we imagine that the experience will be pretty familiar to us. That's because the Chrysler Sebring, which we have driven, is almost identical mechanically. We were not terribly impressed with it.
We'll hold out hope for the Avenger, though. It comes standard with the
2.4-liter inline-4 that makes 173 horsepower. There will be two optional V6s. The 2.7-liter DOHC V6 makes 189 hp and is the engine that did not move us greatly in our Sebring test car. We're more excited about the 3.5-liter V6 that comes standard on the R/T version of the car. At 235 hp, this engine is nearly powerful enough to compete with the leaders in the midsize class. The 3.5-liter also comes mated to a six-speed automatic instead of the four-speed box that comes with the lesser engines.
A first for the Avenger is an optional all-wheel-drive system. It's offered only on the R/T model and is a front-biased system. Dodge also offers most of the new comfort and convenience items that Chrysler has been promoting recently. You get the Chill Zone thing standard. That's an air-conditioned box in the instrument panel that can hold and keep cool four soda cans. You can also get heated and cooled cupholders (minimum temperature: 35 degrees; maximum: 140 degrees). Apparently Dodge plans for Avenger owners to do quite a lot of drinking.
You can also opt for the MyGIG system that has a 20-gig hard drive for storing music and pictures, although we're not quite sure why you'd really want to store photographs in your car.
If you choose to get no options on your Avenger, you can get one as cheaply as $18,895.