VENGENCE IS YOURS (some text hidden) --NONE--

BY Steve Walker

Introductionword count: 124

* Introduction There are lots of medium range family cars to choose from on the used car market but they are quite similar in many respects. As a prospective buyer, you could easily test drive a Mondeo, a Laguna, an Accord, an Avensis, a C5, a Passat and others only for the various attributes of each to swirl together in your head leaving you none the wiser as to which one you liked best or even how to find your way home. Confusing isn't the word but there is at least one family saloon sure to make a memorable and distinctive impression. Whether that impression is a positive one or not will be key in determining whether you end up owning a Dodge Avenger.

Modelsword count: 11

Models Covered: (4dr Saloon 2.0, 2.4 petrol, 2.0 diesel [SE, SXT])

Historyword count: 158

The Dodge Avenger sounds like an all American muscle car but before your juices start flowing too vigorously, we'd better point out that it isn't. The name originally surfaced in the 1970s where the old Hillman Avenger was rebranded as a Dodge for sale in some markets. Then things fell silent on the Avenger front for a couple of decades until the name was revived in 1995 and applied to an American market coupe. Production of that car ended in 2000 and very little Avenging of any kind took place until the Dodge Avenger saloon surfaced in 2007. It's this car we look at here. The absence of rear-wheel-drive and an apocalyptic V8 engine will disappoint some but it's the sensible range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines that made it palatable for European customers. The same chassis and engine line up also appear on the Chrysler Sebring with the 2.0-litre diesel unit having been sourced from Volkswagen.

What You Getword count: 229

Walk around the Avenger and it looks anything but a medium range family car. Those trademark swimmer's shoulders give it an athletic, toned appearance while the bold crosshairs of the front grille and the aggressive jut of the front bumper definitely give it some real rear view mirror presence. Its designer claims the front end was inspired by a pair of Oakley sunglasses he once owned. The rear haunches and the rib of black plastic on the leading edge of the rear pillars are certainly distinctive. We still can't quite decide whether it looks purposeful or cheesy but it is a car that will divide opinion. The interior is a little less happy. While there's nothing too wrong with the ergonomics of the car, the materials quality shows why the Avenger came to market with such a low asking price. Scratchy, hard touch plastics and insubstantial feeling switches aren't great. Sit in the back and the high beltline feels claustrophobic. Despite these complaints, the Avenger is easy to warm to. It's a little showy but it feels honest and seems practical enough. The 438-litre boot can be expanded by dropping the rear seats down but you only get the 60:40 split seats with the SXT version. Even the front passenger seat folds flat, useful if you're carrying longer items. Your excuse for not finishing that decking has just disappeared.

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