2008 DODGE Nitro reviews

Dodge Nitro SXT 3.7 V6 2008

I have been drooling over these for years and I have now taken the plunge in buying a second one to replace my Daihatsu Terios which has now reached the goodbye mileage. I went for the petrol version not because of the engine capcaity, but as it was the ONLY petrol version available and I intend to convert to LPG, as I did with my Terios. I got a stonking deal from a Citroen Dealer who took it on a part ex, one owner and very low miles. After being initially worried about the gas guzzling potential, after a drive from Bristol to Birmingham and back 192 miles I was quite surprised. The trip computer gave me an average mpg of 20.6 outbound (grrr). On return I decided to calm down and pooter back at an average 55-60 mph, the trip computer returned 33.8 mpg for the return. This shows the dramatic difference in mpg for the type of driving. The Daihatsu by comparison was very heavy on fuel for only a little 1500cc returning only around 32 mpg. Mentally I find the vehicle weird, driving it it gives a mindset of ’big truck’, yet it physically isn’t that big to look at. It sits pretty high off the ground, which may also add to this feeling. The snow plough front end also gives an appearance of bigger than it actually is. As for the ride the heated leather seats are really comfy, but over pothole smitten country lanes the suspension is pretty hard so you tend to get thrown about a bit, mind you the Daihatsu was just the same. For an auto the gear changing is like silk, no lurching or jerking at all. Road noise and wind noise are pretty much non instrusive up to about 55 mph, increasing more over this speed but definitely well below most cars I’ve driven. The steering wheel is larger than the 15" I’m used to so one handed driving doesn’t really work on roads with lots of roundabouts as the rack is not as quick ratio’d as others. On balance an effortless drive and pleasant experience...Now off to get the LPG work done before my local petrol station thinks I’ve moved in.