I could not find any reviews in ireland but that may be due to the fact that it has not had its Press launch in ireland yet .
But i did find these reviews in the uk and though you guy would like to read them .
From the Autotrader in the uk
Auto Driven: Dodge Nitro
06 July 2007
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Model tested: Dodge Nitro 2.8 CRD SXT-Auto
Price as tested: £23,590
Range price: £18,995 - £23,590
Insurance group as tested: TBA
Insurance group range: TBA
Date tested: June 2007
Road tester: Adrian Hearn It’s big, brutish and looks like nothing else on the road. Dodge has gone out with all guns blazing with the provocative Nitro SUV.
But what’s this American motor like? Adrian Hearn went to the UK launch to find out.
There’s a new boy in town and he’s looking for a fight. The Dodge Nitro is bigger, cheaper and more powerful than its SUV rivals: the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevrolet Captiva. But can it compete with these more conservative cars?
Using a 2.8-litre diesel engine the Nitro produces 175bhp and a massive 302lb/ft of pulling power. This muscle accelerates the Nitro from 0-62mph (100kph) in 11.5 seconds and on to a top speed 113mph. This puts it on a par with its Asian rivals, but it’s still fairly slow.
And with this weight you get poor fuel economy. On a combined cycle it returns just 30.1mpg and with carbon dioxide emissions of 250g/km it also means an annual tax bill of £300. So even though it’s initially cheaper than its rivals, running costs are pretty high.
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On the road, the ride is soft and bouncy and on corners there is a lot of body roll. We didn’t take it off-road, but without a low-ratio gearbox or a hill-descent system the Nitro is designed only for part time, moderate 4x4 use like crossing fields or shallow mud tracks.
On the outside, the Nitro is an imposing car. The top-of-the-range model we tested is the only one in its class to have 20-inch wheels as standard. And the boxy shape adds to its aggressive looks. This is clearly a car to invoke a reaction and it’s likely to be love or hate.
The Dodge is massive and its practicality is one of its trump cards. There’s acres of leg room and the leather seats are very comfortable. The dials are easy to understand and – with the car’s height – the driver has a good view of the road.
Inside the cavernous boot is Dodge’s ‘Load ‘N Go’ slide out floor, which pulls out and makes filling the boot with shopping, camping equipment or any heavy items a more practical, safer task. With the seats up the boot holds 389 litres, but folded flat, its capacity increases to a mammoth 1,994 litres.
There’s a high emphasis on safety, with the Nitro boasting anti-lock brakes, electronic stability programme, brake assist and traction control. It also benefits from front and full-length curtain airbags. To guard against thieves, it’s fitted with an alarm and immobiliser.
While we drove the 2.8-litre diesel, there is also a 3.7-litre petrol available. But with a similar performance to the diesel and significantly poorer fuel economy, the diesel is likely to make up the bulk of sales.
The diesel is also available with a manual gearbox for those looking for a bit more control, but the 3.7-litre model is only sold as an auto.
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Looking like a Land Rover Discovery on steroids, the Dodge Nitro is as striking a car as there is on Britain’s roads. But underneath that anabolic body is an underperforming engine.
I’m sure the Nitro will sell, and for the money it’s really well specced. But it will find favour with those after something different rather than other – and more talented – models.
Available from September, prices for the Dodge Nitro start at £18,995 for the entry level 2.8CRD, rising to £23,590 for the CRD SXT auto and 3.7 petrol auto.
From the Sunday Times
Dodge Nitro
******* looks for a place in the sun
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Take a long look at this, the new Dodge Nitro. Whatever you may think of its looks — and I find it rather fetching — it is a car that people will at least notice. Except they won’t yet, as the Nitro doesn’t go on sale here until next summer and hasn’t yet made its debut even in its native America.
How is it, then, that I’ve just driven one through southern California from San Diego to Palm Springs and didn’t get so much as a second glance? That’s because in America the bestselling “car” is a vast pick-up truck, so if your set of wheels isn’t the size of a mobile home, you’re always going to struggle with road presence. SUVs are to the American car-buying public what the Toyota Corolla is to the rest of the world: so common and unremarkable that none of us can remember when we last saw one.
But in Britain, or so its importers are hoping, things will be different. Here the Nitro will sell against cars like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento. In a market where one Ford hatchback or another has been the staple seller for at least two decades, I suspect the Nitro is going to be as conspicuous here as it is ignored at home.
Just don’t go thinking that those looks and the promising name mean there’s huge power at your disposal. The car I drove was fitted with a 3.7 litre V6 engine, and while that might sound impressive on paper, in reality it doesn’t live up to expectations. Dodge Nitro? Flaccid more like. It comes with an old and horrid four-speed automatic gearbox and is the first six-cylinder motor I can recall since the last Ford Cortina’s that sounds as if it’s in pain when you rev it.
The good news is that the majority of Nitros sold in the UK will be powered by a common-rail 2.8 litre diesel working in greater harmony with a five-speed auto. The bad news is that because Americans only understand the word “Diesel” when it is preceded by the name “Vin” they didn’t have one for me to try.
Of even greater concern to me than the asthmatic engine was the Nitro’s ride and handling which, frankly, made me feel ill. The suspension was so soft and incapable of controlling the car’s natural desire to heave, pitch and roll that it provided one more reason to add to the regrets I had about watching the movie Poseidon on the flight over. But worry not, says Daimler-Chrysler, the suspension settings had been configured to reflect the fact that there are no corners in America. Cars destined for Europe will apparently have settings similar to the “Performance” suspension that I also tried. With these the car is transformed: the stiffer springs and dampers not only made it handle properly, the ride was also improved almost beyond recognition.
Not that I enjoyed driving the Nitro even with proper suspension, but then I never enjoyed driving the Hyundai Santa Fe with which the Nitro will go head to head. I expect customers will feel the same way about the Nitro in nine months or so. It lacks the Hyundai’s third row of seats and its second row won’t slide, recline or remove, but there is excellent headroom and legroom all round, and a vast boot.
The car’s interior reveals smart, simple instruments, sensibly arranged controls and some sense of design cohesion. I just hope the awful fit and finish of much of the trim reflect the fact that I was driving pre-production prototypes.
Driving it so long before it goes on sale means there is much about the Nitro we still don’t know — most notably the extent to which the diesel engine will improve it. Nor do we know what equipment it will carry or even how much it will cost. All I can tell you is that Dodge plans to put the car on sale “with a decent level of standard equipment for less than £20,000”.
At that level, which is less than the cheapest of the forthcoming Land Rover Freelanders, it should find a space. It certainly offers a lot of metal for your money and an all-American authenticity with which to combat the imageless Korean brands at which it’s aimed.
THE OPPOSITION
Model Hyundai Santa Fe £20,995
For Three rows of seats, refined, good performance
Against Ride quality, interior appearance, lack of image
Model Kia Sorento £19,995
For Spacious, recently updated, good value
Against No third row seating, not a coveted marque
there is another one but i could only put up the link
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002410000-2007130584,00.html
But i did find these reviews in the uk and though you guy would like to read them .
From the Autotrader in the uk
Auto Driven: Dodge Nitro
06 July 2007
Price as tested: £23,590
Range price: £18,995 - £23,590
Insurance group as tested: TBA
Insurance group range: TBA
Date tested: June 2007
Road tester: Adrian Hearn It’s big, brutish and looks like nothing else on the road. Dodge has gone out with all guns blazing with the provocative Nitro SUV.
But what’s this American motor like? Adrian Hearn went to the UK launch to find out.
There’s a new boy in town and he’s looking for a fight. The Dodge Nitro is bigger, cheaper and more powerful than its SUV rivals: the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevrolet Captiva. But can it compete with these more conservative cars?
Using a 2.8-litre diesel engine the Nitro produces 175bhp and a massive 302lb/ft of pulling power. This muscle accelerates the Nitro from 0-62mph (100kph) in 11.5 seconds and on to a top speed 113mph. This puts it on a par with its Asian rivals, but it’s still fairly slow.
And with this weight you get poor fuel economy. On a combined cycle it returns just 30.1mpg and with carbon dioxide emissions of 250g/km it also means an annual tax bill of £300. So even though it’s initially cheaper than its rivals, running costs are pretty high.
On the outside, the Nitro is an imposing car. The top-of-the-range model we tested is the only one in its class to have 20-inch wheels as standard. And the boxy shape adds to its aggressive looks. This is clearly a car to invoke a reaction and it’s likely to be love or hate.
The Dodge is massive and its practicality is one of its trump cards. There’s acres of leg room and the leather seats are very comfortable. The dials are easy to understand and – with the car’s height – the driver has a good view of the road.
Inside the cavernous boot is Dodge’s ‘Load ‘N Go’ slide out floor, which pulls out and makes filling the boot with shopping, camping equipment or any heavy items a more practical, safer task. With the seats up the boot holds 389 litres, but folded flat, its capacity increases to a mammoth 1,994 litres.
There’s a high emphasis on safety, with the Nitro boasting anti-lock brakes, electronic stability programme, brake assist and traction control. It also benefits from front and full-length curtain airbags. To guard against thieves, it’s fitted with an alarm and immobiliser.
While we drove the 2.8-litre diesel, there is also a 3.7-litre petrol available. But with a similar performance to the diesel and significantly poorer fuel economy, the diesel is likely to make up the bulk of sales.
The diesel is also available with a manual gearbox for those looking for a bit more control, but the 3.7-litre model is only sold as an auto.
I’m sure the Nitro will sell, and for the money it’s really well specced. But it will find favour with those after something different rather than other – and more talented – models.
Available from September, prices for the Dodge Nitro start at £18,995 for the entry level 2.8CRD, rising to £23,590 for the CRD SXT auto and 3.7 petrol auto.
From the Sunday Times
Dodge Nitro
******* looks for a place in the sun
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Take a long look at this, the new Dodge Nitro. Whatever you may think of its looks — and I find it rather fetching — it is a car that people will at least notice. Except they won’t yet, as the Nitro doesn’t go on sale here until next summer and hasn’t yet made its debut even in its native America.
How is it, then, that I’ve just driven one through southern California from San Diego to Palm Springs and didn’t get so much as a second glance? That’s because in America the bestselling “car” is a vast pick-up truck, so if your set of wheels isn’t the size of a mobile home, you’re always going to struggle with road presence. SUVs are to the American car-buying public what the Toyota Corolla is to the rest of the world: so common and unremarkable that none of us can remember when we last saw one.
But in Britain, or so its importers are hoping, things will be different. Here the Nitro will sell against cars like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento. In a market where one Ford hatchback or another has been the staple seller for at least two decades, I suspect the Nitro is going to be as conspicuous here as it is ignored at home.
Just don’t go thinking that those looks and the promising name mean there’s huge power at your disposal. The car I drove was fitted with a 3.7 litre V6 engine, and while that might sound impressive on paper, in reality it doesn’t live up to expectations. Dodge Nitro? Flaccid more like. It comes with an old and horrid four-speed automatic gearbox and is the first six-cylinder motor I can recall since the last Ford Cortina’s that sounds as if it’s in pain when you rev it.
The good news is that the majority of Nitros sold in the UK will be powered by a common-rail 2.8 litre diesel working in greater harmony with a five-speed auto. The bad news is that because Americans only understand the word “Diesel” when it is preceded by the name “Vin” they didn’t have one for me to try.
Of even greater concern to me than the asthmatic engine was the Nitro’s ride and handling which, frankly, made me feel ill. The suspension was so soft and incapable of controlling the car’s natural desire to heave, pitch and roll that it provided one more reason to add to the regrets I had about watching the movie Poseidon on the flight over. But worry not, says Daimler-Chrysler, the suspension settings had been configured to reflect the fact that there are no corners in America. Cars destined for Europe will apparently have settings similar to the “Performance” suspension that I also tried. With these the car is transformed: the stiffer springs and dampers not only made it handle properly, the ride was also improved almost beyond recognition.
Not that I enjoyed driving the Nitro even with proper suspension, but then I never enjoyed driving the Hyundai Santa Fe with which the Nitro will go head to head. I expect customers will feel the same way about the Nitro in nine months or so. It lacks the Hyundai’s third row of seats and its second row won’t slide, recline or remove, but there is excellent headroom and legroom all round, and a vast boot.
The car’s interior reveals smart, simple instruments, sensibly arranged controls and some sense of design cohesion. I just hope the awful fit and finish of much of the trim reflect the fact that I was driving pre-production prototypes.
Driving it so long before it goes on sale means there is much about the Nitro we still don’t know — most notably the extent to which the diesel engine will improve it. Nor do we know what equipment it will carry or even how much it will cost. All I can tell you is that Dodge plans to put the car on sale “with a decent level of standard equipment for less than £20,000”.
At that level, which is less than the cheapest of the forthcoming Land Rover Freelanders, it should find a space. It certainly offers a lot of metal for your money and an all-American authenticity with which to combat the imageless Korean brands at which it’s aimed.
THE OPPOSITION
Model Hyundai Santa Fe £20,995
For Three rows of seats, refined, good performance
Against Ride quality, interior appearance, lack of image
Model Kia Sorento £19,995
For Spacious, recently updated, good value
Against No third row seating, not a coveted marque
there is another one but i could only put up the link
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002410000-2007130584,00.html
