2024 Dodge Hornet Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Stellantis, the parent company of brands such as Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, and Fiat, is revamping the Dodge brand. Sure, the Hornet might not be a big, V8 muscle car like the Dodge Charger or Dodge Challenger, but the 2024 Dodge Hornet still has the brand’s distinctive styling. From the big, muscley front end to the integrated heat extractors on the hood, the Hornet looks tough. The grille (or grilles, more accurately) features a large opening at the bottom, a smaller "mail slot" opening in the middle, and a new logo lives front-and-centre on the upper-most portion. The new emblem, called the Rhombi, has been seen plenty of times before, but never on its own, stamped front and centre as the primary identifier for a Dodge model.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet’s tail lamp extends across the width of the crossover, and it features an illuminated Rhombi at its centre. At the bottom rear corners, oversized tailpipes reveal that the Hornet isn’t your regular crossover. It’s still a Dodge, and performance is a standard feature.

Dodge sells the Hornet in Canada, as in the U.S., in four trim levels: GT and GT Plus, which feature a regular gas engine and cost less, and the R/T and R/T Plus, which are more expensive but employ a more advanced plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. Our test vehicle for this review was an R/T Plus trim level equipped with Dodge’s Blacktop Package. At a cost of roughly $2,000, the Blacktop Package includes black wheels, black mirror caps, and darker badging and window trim.

Built alongside the Alfa Romeo Tonale, the Hornet shares a lot of visual similarities with its Italian sibling. Although much of the family resemblance is obvious, the Hornet’s blunt nose showcases classic Dodge design while the Tonale’s more streamlined front end helps it look a little less stubby.

Thanks in part to the Italian side of its family tree, the Hornet’s interior benefits from a much more modern feel than you can expect in other Dodge models. With our test vehicle’s Track Pack—which comes bundled with the Blacktop Package at a cost of $4,190—the seats feature Alcantara upholstery and a Dodge Rhombi logo. To maintain its sporty intentions, the Hornet’s centre stack is ever-so-slightly tilted toward the driver. We also appreciated the row of physical switches for climate control settings and the impressive widescreen infotainment display.

In terms of items you’ll spend the most time touching, the steering wheel in the 2024 Hornet is a good size, although some of its buttons feel a bit outdated, as if they were pulled from Dodge’s existing parts bin rather than made special for this new model. The seats, similarly, look cool but feel like they're likely too heavily bolstered for typical shoppers.

Dodge sells the 2024 Hornet with different powertrains, designated by the GT and R/T trim levels. Each of those trim levels will have a “plus” iteration, too. So, essentially you can choose from the GT, GT Plus, R/T, and R/T Plus.

The GT is a full-gas model, employing a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine to deliver power specs of 268 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Those are impressive figures in a compact crossover, and the fact that they’re available courtesy of the standard powertrain is all the more impressive. For auto enthusiasts shopping for a small family vehicle, the Hornet has an immediate leg up on its competition. The GT also uses a nine-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive (AWD) is standard fare. However, it’s worth noting that the GT’s 2.0-litre turbo engine requires premium fuel, making daily running costs higher.

Our R/T test vehicle is a different animal than the Hornet GT. For one, it’s a PHEV. That means there’s an engine, a 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, but there’s also a 15.5-kWh battery and two electric motors. All told, the power output in the Hornet R/T measures 288 horsepower (20 more than the GT) and 383 pound-feet of torque (88 more than the GT).

Like the GT, the R/T comes standard with AWD. However, while the GT uses a mechanical linkage for AWD, the R/T supplies an electric AWD system, thanks to its two electric motors. Also, while the GT has a nine-speed, the R/T uses a six-speed automatic transmission, instead. The R/T also comes standard with Brembo fixed front brake calipers. Largely because of its battery, the R/T weighs about 193 kilograms (425 pounds) more, overall, too.

Despite its extra weight (and because of its extra power), the Hornet R/T is quick, no doubt about it. It has a pretty heavy pedal, and it feels like you have to get into it a bit to access all that power. But once you get into the meat of the powerband, it can seriously move. The R/T might be a plug-in hybrid, but it’s still a Dodge, so you get Sport mode courtesy of a big button on the centre console. And if you pull on both of the oversized paddle shifters, you activate “Powershot,” which gives you an extra 30 horsepower for 15 seconds.

The suspension feels soft enough to soak up all but the worst road imperfections, but it’s stiff enough that it doesn’t create too much body roll when cornering, which is impressive considering the Hornet R/T’s 1,860-kilogram (4,100-pound) curb weight. A heavy steering feel can distract from its precision, but it certainly is accurate and demonstrates almost no play or vagueness off-centre. We’d like a tighter turning radius, but at the end of the day, this is a crossover, not a sports car.

Shoppers with relatively short commutes are going to be enticed by the Hornet R/T’s all-electric driving range. On a full charge, our test car could travel roughly 53 kilometres without needing to drink a sip of gasoline. With a 15.5-kWh lithium-ion battery, that means the Hornet R/T can manage roughly 3.4 kilometres per kilowatt hour–not a terrifically efficient statistic, but if you can charge for free at work, it can still save you plenty of money on fuel.

In the R/T, you can specify whether you want it to drive in all-electric mode, save the battery for later use, or operate as a typical hybrid. Natural Resources Canada fuel economy figures for the R/T PHEV trim levels put it at 3.1 litres-equivalent per 100 kilometres in hybrid mode. The Hornet will prioritize the battery and then fuel use will rise rapidly once the battery has been largely depleted. The 2024 Dodge Hornet GT should return 11.2 litres per 100 kilometres in the city, 8.2 on the highway, and 9.9 combined. That’s not as impressive as what you can expect from, say, a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek with its upgraded 2.5-litre engine (8.8/7.0/8.0), but the Subaru doesn’t deliver nearly 300 lb-ft of torque, either.

From a space and comfort perspective, the 2024 Dodge Hornet was designed with front passengers in mind first, and rear passengers second. In the front seats, headroom is good and visibility is surprisingly good, given how beefy the hood looks from the outside. Leather seats are an available upgrade with each powertrain. In the back seat, unfortunately, it’s a bit of a different story.

Due to the Hornet’s high beltline and our test vehicle’s all-black interior, the back seat feels a bit cramped. On paper, the figures aren’t too bad: roughly 965 millimetres of legroom and headroom should provide plenty of space. Unfortunately, the back seat doesn’t feel spacious. It feels claustrophobic. We suspect a lighter interior colour would help deter this feeling immensely.

The R/T’s PHEV battery results in less cargo capacity, as it eliminates the underfloor storage available in GT trims. Ultimately, it’s not a huge sacrifice. Behind the rear seat, the R/T offers 648 litres of cargo space instead of the 764 litres available in the GT trims. Fold down the rear seat and maximum cargo figures reach 1,430 litres in the R/T and 1,549 litres in the GT. Ultimately, both iterations fall short of the Hyundai Tucson PHEV, which supplies more than 900 litres behind the second row and 1,876 litres with it folded.

A best-in-class 12.3-inch digital driver information display can be customized across three separate “zones,” and it looks crisp and clear. However, we’re even more impressed with the Hornet’s standard widescreen infotainment display.

At 10.25 inches, the Hornet’s touchscreen looks like it should be in a luxury car, not a mass-market crossover. It operates on Dodge’s Android-based system, UConnect 5. Overall, UConnect5 is incredibly user-friendly and delightfully customizable. Our test car’s system did seem a bit slow to respond at times, but it appeared to be a RAM issue; subsequent visits to the slow-reacting features resulted in much faster load times. This may be due to our Hornet being a pre-production model.

Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity come standard with UConnect 5, and our test vehicle also had a premium Harman Kardon audio system and a wireless phone charger. If you do plug in, there’s not a good place to put your phone, so we hope you’ve got wireless charging. Ultimately, our favourite thing about this Hornet’s tech system is how easy it is to personalize. You can set up a dedicated user profile and then add the widgets you want to see on various screens.

Neither the 2023 nor the 2024 model year Dodge Hornet have yet been evaluated or crash-tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). As such, we can’t comment on how the Hornet would fare in a crash. However, Dodge does include an impressive selection of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as standard equipment, all designed to lower the chances of a crash happening in the first place.

Standard safety features include automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. You also get adaptive cruise control as standard, but a more advanced version with traffic-sign recognition is available for an extra cost.

You can also equip the Hornet with some level 2 autonomous driving functions, which we had thanks to our test car’s $2,345 Tech Pack. Built upon the adaptive cruise control system with intelligent speed assist and a lane-tracing assist function, the Tech Pack’s level 2 capabilities did a fine job keeping our test car between the lines and traveling at a safe rate of speed.

Overall, the 2024 Dodge Hornet is a pretty compelling little crossover. In Canada, the base new car price is on the higher side being north of $40,000 once destination and fees are factored in. But factor in its strong list of standard features, plenty of power, and standard AWD, and many vehicles in its segment would be priced similarly with equivalent equipment.

For the R/T Plus trim we tested, you’re looking at a new vehicle price of $59,060, fees in. That’s a lot of cash for a small crossover from a mass-market automaker, even if it does include the destination and other fees. The Dodge Hornet’s PHEV trims qualify for the full $5,000 amount of the federal government’s iZEV rebate program as well as provincial programs where they exist, so depending on where you live in Canada, the discount may or may not bring the plug-in hybrid in line with the Hornet’s gas-powered competition. Even if it doesn’t, that 53 kilometres of range might be worth the premium for some shoppers.

Note: Images show a US model.