You might recall that the dreaded Dodge Journey died last year, leaving a mid-size SUV/crossover-shaped hole in Dodge’s lineup, which currently consists of three cars — the Charger, the Challenger, and the Durango — along with about ten million different trim options. Enter, possibly, the Dodge Hornet.
Or definitely, if you believe Mopar Insiders’ sources:
During the EV Day 2021 presentation, Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis talked about the brand embracing electrification for its performance line of muscle cars starting in 2024. However, this particular vehicle will be one of 9 new plug-in electric (PHEV) vehicles for the company and set to launch in 2022, making it Dodge’s first production PHEV vehicle.
According to our sources, the vehicle in question is the upcoming 2023 Dodge Hornet SUV. You might remember, we briefly touched on the new Hornet in a previous post. The new compact SUV will be a similar size to the current Jeep Compass and will be based on the upcoming Alfa Romeo Tonale. In fact, it will be manufactured alongside the Tonale in Italy. That’s right, an Italian-built Dodge SUV.
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One of our sources has indicated that the Hornet will be equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four-cylinder found under the hood of a lot of popular Chrysler Group vehicles. The powerplant delivers 270 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque in vehicles like the Wrangler, proving that it will be no slouch.
That engine is also the one in the Jeep Wrangler 4xe and the Hornet does sound similar, in that it sounds like a plug-in hybrid that it feels like Dodge is almost preemptively trying to hide from. This is not too surprising, as Dodge is pretty cringe-y when it comes to anything electric, but also a sign of the times that even Dodge is giving in.
And I do like the name Hornet quite a bit, which Dodge applied to trademark last March, following various aborted attempts to revive a name whose trademark, of course, used to be owned by AMC, and Hudson before that. The more Hornets, the merrier.
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