2007 Dodge Avenger (Very Impressive!)

[YSSMAN]

I wasn't expected to see the car turn out this well, I'm really quite surprised...

A series of images have surfaced online purportedly of the 2007 Dodge Avenger R/T sedan. The car is based on the 2007 Chrysler Sebring, and is expected to make its official debut at the Paris Motor Show later this month. Several readers contacted Leftlane News with the images, but the original source of the photos is unknown. We suspect they come from within Chrysler and have been leaked via internet chat forums. (Thanks to Charlie, brightswift, and Nathan for the tip!) The Leftlane Perspective: The muscular design cues look considerably more handsome on the Avenger than the Sebring. What's more, the car also doesn't look like a carbon copy of its Chrysler sibling — at least at first glance. As always, reducing the obviousness of badge engineering is a good thing.

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The Good:

- Son of Charger design looks good, making the car distinctive, and making it stand out against the "norm" like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I think the keyword here is "American" in design.
- Pricing should be fairly low for a sedan such as this, below something like an Aura, but probably above that of a Malibu.
- Options are good, and there should be plenty. Although details aren't up, I'd expect the car to take the best from the Caliber and Charger and roll it all into one model.

The Bad:

- Given that it is a DCX product, build quality MUST come into question on this model. The Caliber was a HUGE dissapointment there, and the Charger still isn't that good overall.
- Also, given that it is a DCX product, powertrain options aren't that great either... But Dodge could "surprise" us by the end of the day.
- There isn't any word on the return of the "true" Avenger: Coupe with a V6 and a stick...

 

[TS]

Did they just join the front of the Caliber with the rear of the Charger and put it on a Neon frame with Magnum wheels?!?

 

[High-Test]

I really like that one! It's a mini charger, with better mileage. THanks for the pics! Do you think they'll do the same as the sebring with the two sixes, or will they do a four as in the caliber and the 250 horse 3.5?

And.. Why isn't this rear wheel drive!? What is DCX thinking?

The back doors look like they took a Charger door and hacked six inches off the front.

 

[Eric.]

Did they just join the front of the Caliber with the rear of the Charger and put it on a Neon frame with Magnum wheels?!?

Looks that way.

I'm seeing Caliber (nose), Charger (most of the thing), and Galant (taillights, but that also fits with Charger). Its sort of like the new Sentra in copying the larger members of the Dodge family and failing. The last Avenger was a coupe...Now its a sedan. Does Dodge have a two-door anymore!?

 

[TS]

Does Dodge have a two-door anymore!?

Yeah, the Viper, but I would'nt be surprised if Dodge slapped an extra pair of doors on it.

 

[inferno]

ahh so this is what they had up their slieves when they launched the caliber. this is the true replacement for the neon. hopefully it will be offered in coupe form as well. unfortunately, the front end is still fugly. the rest of the car looks "ok", better than the caliber but thats not saying much. lets hope the SRT-whatever model will help the front end. that big chrome grill is it's biggest problem. really it's only problem.

 

[McLaren]

Did they just join the front of the Caliber with the rear of the Charger and put it on a Neon frame with Magnum wheels?!?

That was my exact thought! I'm on the wall with this one.

 

[Sage]

Pulled off better than I thought they’d do. 👍 However, that’s an absolutely ginormous butt!

 

[Matt R]

In my personal opinion I don't think they should have staryed so far away from that original look of the Avenger. I liked the older style much more than I like this one. I'm growing tired of all these Dodges starting to all look alike like their from the same mold. I feel they need to step out of the box a little bit and suprise consumers.

 

[harrytuttle]

- Son of Charger design looks good, making the car distinctive, and making it stand out against the "norm" like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I think the keyword here is "American" in design.

I think the keyword is "carbon-copy". It's nice, in the same way the Charger and Magnum are nice, but there's a difference between family resemblance and making a front-drive Charger. Didn't we have this discussion about Aston Martin?

- Given that it is a DCX product, build quality MUST come into question on this model. The Caliber was a HUGE dissapointment there, and the Charger still isn't that good overall.

I wasn't aware the DCX was having problems. I was under the impression that although Mercedes was dipping in quality, Dodge/Chrysler was on the rise. I guess that merger is still causing problems. And even though the Caliber is as useful & attractive as roadkill, I thought it was reasonably trouble-free... I suppose I was wrong.

 

[YSSMAN]

Build quality and percieved quality aren't very high on DCX models as far as my knowlege reaches... The Caliber has failed to impress me on the "value" scale with the Tupperware interior, one of the worst I have seen in a production car. The pannels feel like they are made out of the same material that my youngest brother's toy cars are made out of, it is just that bad.

BTW: This is the "old" Avenger:

 

[JCE]

Looks like ass...I hate it. They completely ruined it. I knew DCX would ruin it. I hope that's a concept and not the real thing. It's obvious they used the Charger+Calibur influences...and it's complete yuck.

 

[L8 Apex]

Agree 100% that the Caliber interior quality is dismal. As for the Avenger, I think it looks alright. A bit akward, sure, but light years ahead of the "Oh God! My eyes! They're burning!" Sebring.

 

[a6m5]

I agree with JCE and Jjacks. I really liked the original Avenger. Also, I'm not a fan of the new Charger, so for me, the new look is a big no-no.

 

[samj_13]

Did they just join the front of the Caliber with the rear of the Charger and put it on a Neon frame with Magnum wheels?!?

And.. Why isn't this rear wheel drive!? What is DCX thinking?

Frankensteining at it's best

And it's like the '06 Impala SS not being Rear wheel What was GM thinking??

 

[YSSMAN]

Frankensteining at it's best

And it's like the '06 Impala SS not being Rear wheel What was GM thinking??

...Well, GM wanted to stretch out that nearly 20 year old W-Body platform just a bit longer before it is replaced by the RWD Zeta models very soon. The '06 W-Body SS isn't that bad, it is actually quite nice. It performs quite well, even as a FWD model, and it will run upwards of 150 MPH, which is quite impressive.

Granted, I still prefer the late-model B-Body Impalas from 1991-1996, but the new model is actually faster, and that is a bonus, IMO.

 

[Sakiale]

Oh my God. Come here, you Avenger, what have they done to you? The Avenger is supposed to be some cool entry-level coupe, not some Stratus/Caliber/Lincoln LS/Charger/Jeep hybrid thing. Ugly. 👎. My friend had one of the first gen Avengers, and when I was little I used to mistake it for the Charger R/T (didnt know it was a concept). It looks mean, and pretty nice. This? Looks like it was thrown together with spare parts.

 

[Sniffs]

looks like Yss got told (see the edit note at the bottom of the first post). yay for someone realizing there's such a thing as dialup yet.

dodge's current look given the "blah" treatment.

 

[fangorn_forest]

I like the front end, but nothing else. The side windows look absolutely HUGE in comparison to the rest of the body. And the way the window/window line relates to the rear quarter panel makes me think cheap Korean car. And I don't mean Korean car since Korean cars became nice cars, I mean previous or previous-previous gen poo styling Korean cars. The horrible and tacked-on-looking fender flares don't do it any favors either.

Overall, a D- for design. BARELY passable, with some good elements and a nice effort, but in the end it's very amateurish and just not something to be proud of.

 

[Pebb]

It looks like an over weight RX8 lol.

 

[JNasty4G63]

...Son of Charger design looks good, making the car distinctive, and making it stand out

I'm sorry??? Since when does making an 80% scale version of an already ruined shape come across as distinctive??? Thats just lazy, is what that is. Give a picture of the Charger to an intern, have them fire up the Xerox, and get to work. They just couldn't be bothered it appears.

I wasn't aware the DCX was having problems. I was under the impression that although Mercedes was dipping in quality, Dodge/Chrysler was on the rise.

Well, you are talking about polar opposites there. Mercedes HAS been on quite a down turn. But then, when you used to be basically tops in the biz, you have nowhere to go but down. The inverse was, and is, true for DC. I don't think anyone will argue much that their cars in the past were far from quality. So, where to go from there??? Up, of course. Are they good yet, rivaling the Japanese??? Not even close, but they are progressing. Slowly.

Hilg

 

[niky]

While the design may look derivative in parts, it looks pretty good, overall.

 

[Jim Prower]

I'm hoping MIVEC V6. After all, this is gonna be built out at Mitsubishi (formerly Diamond Star) in Normal, right?

of course, while blocky works for Charger, this one can't pull it off.

 

[samj_13]

...Well, GM wanted to stretch out that nearly 20 year old W-Body platform just a bit longer before it is replaced by the RWD Zeta models very soon. The '06 W-Body SS isn't that bad, it is actually quite nice. It performs quite well, even as a FWD model, and it will run upwards of 150 MPH, which is quite impressive.

Granted, I still prefer the late-model B-Body Impalas from 1991-1996, but the new model is actually faster, and that is a bonus, IMO.

I knew GM was replacing the old platform, and making a new Rear wheel platform sometime in the near future, but I was saying that it was really odd that the Impala was Front wheel drive. I wasn't saying it was bad or anything, just wondering what they were thinking when they decided to make it a Front wheel drive car.

But I didn't know it could do more than a buck fifty, that's pretty awesome for the Impala! 👍 to GM

And it would be sweet if DCX went overboard and gave the Avenger a Hemi V6 or even better, a V8
But I suspect a straight 4 as the base though, more economical.

 

[Swift]

Did they just join the front of the Caliber with the rear of the Charger and put it on a Neon frame with Magnum wheels?!?

yep, man. Why can't they be even slightly original?

 

[samj_13]

yep, man. Why can't they be even slightly original?

Seems like most American maufacturers are just remaking the cars from the 70's-early 90's again. Must be a designer's block or something, I want some new stuff to look at. And some of the remakes are kinda puzzling but still look good. Plasticy, but good.

 

[Danny]

Ironic, how retro has gone out of fashion again.

I like this car, it looks like a squashed Dodge Caliber.

 

[ND4SPD]

Looks cool, like a baby charger, sadly it isn't rwd.

 

[JCE]

The problem is they could of bought the rights to the Eclipse chassis and use the V6 and make something really good...instead they decided to just reuse elements from current models. The Avenger is supposed to be a coupe...making it a saloon car is just flat out lazy.

 

[TopHat]

Why does everyone hate a corporate style?

Blocky and with overhangs is dodges thing now!

This is the replacement for the Stratus, not the Neon.

How could you mix that up, if it is "based" (nose job) on the Sebring?