Alternative review of Dodge Avenger

A few weeks ago I took a short cut through a car park belonging to the head office of a big insurance company. It went something like this; Mondeo, Laguna, Mondeo, Mondeo Estate, Insignia, Mondeo, C5, Passat, Mondeo. It was a big car park so I'll spare you the full details but it was full of employees' company cars and aside from the odd compact executive model and a few more leftfield choices, it was crammed with vehicles from the medium range sector. It was all more than a little bit dull. Don't get me wrong, the leading contenders in the medium range family car market so beloved of fleet customers are extremely competent vehicles but even with the recent moves away from these products into MPVs, 4x4s and compact executive offerings, it still seems like everyone's got one. There must be room for an alternative, something with a little more attitude and individuality. Dodge thinks it can provide exactly that with its Avenger.

Walk around the Avenger and it looks anything but a medium range family saloon. Those trademark swimmer's shoulders give it an athletic, toned appearance and the bold crosshairs front grille and the aggressive jut of the front bumper definitely give it some real rear view mirror presence. Its designer claimed 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. The interior ergonomics of the Avenger are good and there's plenty of passenger space. The quality of the interior materials isn't great but the car feels honest and seems well screwed together. The 438-litre boot can be expanded by dropping the rear seats down. Even the front passenger seat folds flat, useful if you're carrying longer items. Your excuse for not finishing that decking has just disappeared.

Dodge Avenger; you can imagine the sort of engine that a car called the Dodge Avenger is going to be have, it'll be big and noisy won't it? No it won't. Despite the all-American muscle car image of the Dodge brand, the Avenger engine line-up is thankfully more in tune with European tastes and fuel prices. There's a 2.0-litre diesel engine sourced from Volkswagen that's the pick of the range and an entry-level 2.0-litre petrol unit. The 2.0-litre petrol offers a decent 154bhp but buyers wanting a little more muscle can upgrade to the 167bhp 2.4-litre petrol that comes with a CVT automatic gearbox. Performance figures are punchy, the 2.0-litre Avenger hitting 60mph in 10.2 seconds before running on to a top speed of 125mph. The 2.0-litre diesel is the most appealing engine for the Avenger, the 138bhp engine driving the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearshift. Here, the 0-60mph sprint takes 12s but there's more mid range grunt with 229lb/ft available. Refinement isn't spectacular by modern diesel engine standards but you don't have to work the engine very hard to maintain progress. The petrol units are more hushed and all the Avengers handle reasonably tidily despite being a little behind the class leaders on this score. It's tough to fault the ride comfort on the straight and flat so buyers who prefer to cruise around rather than go hell for leather are more likely to appreciate the way the car behaves on the road.

You'd have to say that the Dodge Avenger is behind the curve in some areas but it's firmly ahead in terms of its pricing, equipment levels and its ability to inject some individuality into your life. Familiarity breeds contempt, they say, and I for one would think twice before putting another one of those identikit medium range offerings on the road. The Avenger on the other hand, is something I could consider, if only for the baffled looks that would result when people asked what I drive.