The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T is a small, plug-in hybrid SUV with a mission that has little to do with working on grid electrical energy, reducing emissions, or saving gas. As an alternative, this inexpensive mannequin from Stellantis’ bad-boy model has a transparent precedence: efficiency. Even when it is nothing near the noise-making electrical muscle automotive Dodge is to launch subsequent yr.
Suppose PHEV, and it’s possible you’ll think about driving 25 to 50 miles a day on a battery charged from the grid, with a gasoline engine as a backup generator for lengthy journeys. It’s a sensible answer to going electrical a lot of the time—if it’s plugged in—with out the vary anxiousness of a full EV.
Now, throw away that picture totally, says Dodge. The projected EPA-rated electrical vary of about 30 miles—and any concept of miles per gallon with no cost—obtained brief shrift throughout a latest media drive in and round Asheville, North Carolina.
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
Hornet R/T efficiency: PowerShots
As an alternative, Dodge execs targeted on the Hornet’s “PowerShot” functionality: in Sport mode, pull each steering-wheel paddles, mash the accelerator, and the battery delivers an additional 30 horsepower (22 kilowatts) for as much as 15 seconds if its cost degree is 80% or larger. A 15-second cooldown interval follows earlier than one other PowerShot will be delivered.
The result’s acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, in keeping with Dodge (with the battery above that 80% threshold). We discovered ourselves utilizing the PowerShot not only for standing-start acceleration—that will get boring quick—but additionally passing sluggish vans on rural two-lane roads. However the three-step process (verify Sport mode, pull again paddles, mash pedal by means of detent) was cumbersome sufficient we wished for the seamless battery energy of a full EV.
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
The Hornet R/T’s battery is prone to get numerous train. Two of the 4 drive modes—Sport and e-Save—use the engine not simply with the battery however really to recharge it. Solely Hybrid and Electrical modes supply any sustained electrical working. It’s a special tackle a PHEV, about as removed from emission-free and carbon discount as you will get. Just a few drivers might select to make use of the R/T as gently as potential on electrical energy solely, however that’s clearly not what Dodge intends to advertise.
All-wheel-drive hybrid propulsion
The Hornet R/T’s 1.3-liter turbo-4 engine has an built-in 44-horsepower (33-kilowatt) belt starter-generator; Dodge doesn’t cite energy for the engine alone. That powerplant drives solely the entrance wheels by way of a 6-speed computerized transmission. A 90-kw (121-hp) e-motor powers the rears, making it what’s often called a through-the-road hybrid, with entrance and rear axles pushed by completely different energy sources.
The R/T’s all-wheel drive is supplied by software program, reasonably than a driveshaft stretching from a transmission in entrance to a rear axle. The area freed up within the tunnel homes the lengthy arm of the L-shaped lithium-ion battery pack, with a rated capability of 15.5 kwh.
This mixture of energy sources, pushed wheels, and drive modes requires loads of software program to handle. From power-up, the Hornet R/T begins in Hybrid mode, step by step utilizing battery cost to run on electrical energy alone, at mild hundreds or low speeds, then including engine energy for heavier hundreds. In hilly suburban driving, a Hornet with 40 % or extra battery cost spent a stunning period of time with its engine off, making it peaceable and clean.
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
Hornet R/T drive modes: Sport, Electrical, or e-Save?
To transcend Hybrid mode, the motive force should choose a special mode, which needs to be reset with every ignition cycle. Electrical and e-Save are toggled on the steering wheel, whereas Sport mode is activated by way of a separate button on the console. Sport is quickest: it retains the engine on on a regular basis, holds decrease gears longer for larger engine output, and steadily attracts on battery vitality to complement engine output.
Sport mode additionally recharges the pack extra aggressively than Hybrid or Electrical mode, whose regeneration feels minimal until the brakes are utilized. Relying on the way it’s pushed, Sport mode can slowly enhance battery cost—at the price of extra gasoline burned, utilizing the engine as an inefficient generator.
In Electrical mode, a Hornet with ample battery cost makes a nice EV below most driving circumstances—although when you mash the pedal to speed up uphill, the engine will probably kick in to offer extra energy than the rear-mounted motor can supply.
Lastly, there’s e-Save mode, which lets the motive force both maintain present battery vitality or once more use the automotive to recharge the pack—as much as 40, 60, or 80 %—all chosen by means of the touchscreen.
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
Making sense of Hornet R/T vs different SUVs
On the highway, the result’s a small efficiency SUV that may really feel fairly completely different relying on the mode and the second. Throughout these conditions, the Hornet R/T’s dealing with and roadholding, with its 52:48 entrance:rear weight distribution, are surefooted, well-balanced, and gratifying behind the wheel.
The problem got here within the energy supply below heavy driving. On first encounter, it proved unpredictable and sometimes disconcerting. In a single case, at regular velocity, heading up a grade drew extra battery energy at first, then a downshift, then one other in fast succession—sending the engine hovering from 2,000 to three,500 after which 5,000 rpm. Noise rose accordingly. Even after a couple of hours of driving, we couldn’t predict the Sport-mode habits of the powertrain below most circumstances. With familiarity, maybe drivers will come to know when engine revs will soar, when the rear motor will add a surge of torque, and when the 6-speed transmission will downshift.
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
Contemplating its edgy driving impressions and general packaging, there aren’t any apparent, direct rivals for the Hornet R/T until you shift to non-hybrid fashions just like the Mazda CX-30 Turbo or Kia Seltos SX Turbo.
The inside suits 4 adults comfortably, with sufficient head- and legroom for a 6-foot passenger to sit down behind a 6-foot driver on the marginally elevated rear seat over the battery pack. Outward imaginative and prescient is simply common, however tossing the little crossover round curvy again roads was a enjoyable approach to spend the afternoon.
Hornet R/T pricing and incentives
The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T carries a advisable beginning value of $41,590, which features a necessary $1,595 vacation spot payment. The R/T Plus provides $5,000 to that complete. Then there are choice packs: Blacktop, Monitor Pack, and Tech Pack. A completely loaded R/T can hit $50,000.
Dodge did counsel that Hornet R/Ts which might be leased reasonably than bought will qualify for the total $7,500 federal incentive, per the most recent modifications in IRS interpretations of the Inflation Discount Act signed final August.
These interpretations should be a piece in progress, so verify rigorously when you intend to lease in order to benefit from that provision. Varied state and native incentives for plug-in hybrids can also apply. forward of the R/T plug-in hybrid’s late spring arrival. And be mindful, there’s a 2023 Hornet GT arriving in late April that isn’t a plug-in or a hybrid.
(Additionally see this full first drive masking the non-hybrid Hornet GT.)
2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
The R/T has a normal 7.4-kw onboard charger, so it would recharge to 100% in roughly 2.5 hours utilizing a 240-volt Degree 2 station. It takes as much as 8 hours on a normal 120-volt family plug. Dodge features a 120-volt transportable charging cable as commonplace.
This begs a query: Will Dodge Hornets really get plugged in? Or will the battery and rear motor find yourself as costly efficiency boosters backed by buy and lease incentives? Dodge says it would monitor the charging habits of R/T patrons, suitably anonymized. We hope the model plans to share what it learns within the close to future.
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Dodge supplied airfare, lodging, and meals to allow Inexperienced Automotive Experiences to deliver you this first-person drive report.
