2011 Dodge Avenger: First Drive

With a blitz of sedans, crossovers and SUVs, Dodge is set to have a busy, busy 2011. The Durango is new from tires to tail; the Journey's been worked over substantially; and the 2011 Avenger sedan bolts on a new drivetrain, new suspension pieces and new front and rear clips as Chrysler tries to rehab the fleet-queen image of its mainstream, mid-size sedan.

We're covering the more intensive care applied to the 2011 Chrysler 200 elsewhere today, but most of those updates apply to the Avenger, too. But while the 200 sedan has new stampings that clean up its fenders front and rear, the Avenger's metal remains unchanged. Change is good, but the Avenger already had a lock on brand unity with its mini-Charger stance and upkicked rear quarters. The headlamps and taillamps are simplified, but the crosshairs on the Avenger's grille trade metallic ribs for meatier bright-and-black pieces. The 2010 Avenger photos below let you decide whether the change brings enough to the party.

The Avenger's interior wears a little less expensive trim than the Chrysler 200 in places, too. The new dash looks great, with convincing quantum leaps in style and materials. The Avenger's dash cap is sculpted a bit more over its gauges; the climate controls are streamlined, and rings of bright and matte metallic plastic are fine contrasts to most of the soft-touch plastic. The lower half of the Avenger's dash seems to wear lower-grade plastic than the 200, and some of the same carryover gauges and buttons are more noticeable, surrounded by better-quality bits. Our test Avenger had cloth upholstery, which doesn't look or feel as rich as some textures we're seeing in other mid-sizers like the Subaru Legacy, or even the Hyundai Sonata.

2010 Dodge Avenger

2010 Dodge Avenger

2011 Dodge Avenger

Grab the reins

A 2.4-liter, 173-horsepower four-cylinder carries over from last year's Avenger, but the V-6 is new across the board to the Chrysler lineup. Firing up a V-6 Avenger for a short first drive around wine country in Napa, we found few differences from the 200 with the same drivetrain--the same bucketloads of horsepower and worthwhile distinctions in ride quality.

The new Chrysler V-6 drops 283 horsepower in the front-drive Avenger's engine bay, with 260 pound-feet of torque twisting through a six-speed automatic transmission. On the spec sheet, that's higher output than the new Sonata 2.0T turbo, the Fusion V-6 and the Regal GS. In practice, the smooth windup of the six just can't be controlled with the Avenger's small-car strut-and-multilink suspension. Mash the gas hard and the Avenger weaves on takeoff with corresponding bucketloads of torque steer before it takes a straight-ahead set.

Chrysler's new six-speed automatic isn't the best companion for the power. Especially in manual-shift mode, the Avenger lags out some downshifts with slow torque-converter lockup that feels like a drivetrain burp. A dual-clutch transmission is coming, but even with the stock six-speed automatic, a pair of paddles on the steering wheel would be safer and less distracting than the lever-controlled sport-shift mode.

The old Avenger had a reputation for a thocking, thrumming ride. New tires, relocated suspension pieces, and better shocks shear off the sharp edges. The Avenger still has hydraulic power steering, augmented by a lower ride height in front than in back, which leaves it with more natural feedback and bite in its steering than most other mid-size sedans--with the exception of the 2011 VW Jetta, which reverts to old-school hydraulic power steering. What the Jetta has, and what the Avenger still lacks, is a cohesive driving feel--and an eagerness to use all its talents.