2016 Dodge Dart

Until recently, Dodge was known for building outrageous high-performance muscle cars, including the Challenger and Charger, with brashly named trims—Hellcat, anyone? Dodge is still finding its footing during the transition to electrification and stricter emissions laws, with plans for electrified and turbocharged muscle yet to materialize in dealerships. The Hornet compact SUV is based on the Alfa Romeo Tonale, and is available as a plug-in hybrid. The Durango SUV soldiers on, largely unchanged from 2011 and still based on the same design as the 2011-2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Most alarmingly, it lags behind more modern vehicles in crash tests. Dodge sits near Chrysler at the bottom of our used car reliability rankings.

Dodge's first decent small car in decades debuted for 2013, but still fell short in the execution. The 1.4-liter turbo has enough power but sounds thrashy, and the optional automated manual transmission is unrefined and stumbles at low speeds. The base 2.0-liter has a better six-speed automatic transmission, but it still feels underpowered. A 2.4-liter four-cylinder became the primary engine choice starting in 2014. It has more power, but falls short in fuel economy. Handling is taut and agile, and the ride is composed. Inside, the cabin is roomy up front but the rear seat is tight, and the front seats aren't very comfortable. The Uconnect touchscreen infotainment system is one of the best on the market.