We’ve rarely had a chance to talk about the Dodge Hornet since the compact crossover debuted back in August 2022. Thankfully, Alfa Romeo Tonale’s North American cousin has now been spotted out in the open, showing off its striking Acapulco Gold paint job at a recent test. The production-ready prototype was captured in Turin, Italy riding black wheels presumably wrapped in winter tires.
The 2023 Hornet is the new Dodge model in a long time and will be a commercial success even though it is another compact crossover. Just 24 hours after being revealed, the Stellantis brand already has 14,000 preorders. The GT model has been heading to dealers across the United States since last month while R/T is slated for next spring. It’s unclear at this point whether the sporty GT GLH Concept will follow as a production model.
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Meanwhile, the base model GT costs $30,000 and gives you a small crossover with a powerful 2.0-liter turbo engine that puts out 268 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) onto the highway via a nine-speed automatic gearbox. It goes from 0 to 60 mph in six and a half seconds on the way to 140 mph (225 km/h). Get the R/T version and the sprint time drops to 6.1 seconds thanks to the 288 hp and 383 lb-ft (519 Nm) from the 1.3-liter turbo engine teaming up with the electric motor. It gets standard AWD and uses a six-speed automatic while the top speed drops to 128 mph (206 km/h).
While the Dodge Hornet is a fairly small vehicle, this plug-in hybrid model packs a hefty weight at 4,140 pounds (1,875 kilograms). Stick with the pure ICE model and the weight drops to 3,715 lbs (1,600 kg) and you also get slightly better payload capacity (1,245 lbs or 565 kg). The electric version carries around a 276-lb (125-kg) battery for an electric range of about 30 miles (nearly 50 kilometers) in an EPA cycle.
