Not wanting to push our luck with the reliability of our 2001 Range Rover (COAL), my partner James started looking at possible replacement vehicle. As I had done with the 2007 Ford Fusion (COAL), there was a bit more rational thought that went into this purchase. But, we still ended up getting something with some flair and curb appeal. It wasn’t long until our driveway was brightened by the addition of a 2008 Dodge Nitro R/T in Sunburst Orange.
[Ralph after 6 years, 115K miles, and 3 accidents.]
Several factors led us to Carl Burger Dodge in El Cajon to pick out our new vehicle. First , we had a familiarity with Mopar through several former cars (Apsen station wagon, my parents ’98 Ram, his former Neon and Lebaron GTS). Second, this was the time that Dodge was offering their limited lifetime powertrain warranty on all new cars. Next, the double whammy of Chrysler under new ownership of Cerebus and the economy starting to tank, sales of Chrysler and Dodge cars were in the toilet. Finally, with gas prices through the roof we knew that everyone was flocking to small cars and trucks and SUVs were just sitting. We figured with all of that in our favor, a Dodge dealership would be hungry to move an anything, especially an SUV.
[Comical commercial when the Nitro came out.]
We did a lot of online research prior to walking into the dealership. The Nitro had been out for about a year, and James really liked the look of it. A bonus was that you could also get it in his favorite color, orange. The initial plan was to go for the top spec R/T, but a mid-level SLT wasn’t out of the question. An exhaustive online dealer search found that the closest Sunburst Orange R/T was in Pasadena, CA. The next closest one was in Phoenix, AZ. It was turning out that this was a pretty rare combination. Armed with this information, we headed off to the dealership for a test drive.
First up was an orange SLT that was on the lot. The SLT was equipped with the 3.7L V6, 4-speed automatic, and a tan cloth interior. It was clear within a couple of blocks that we were not getting this Nitro. It felt underpowered, the engine roared without much forward momentum, it lumbered around corners, and the interior was a big let down. The plastic were a mish-mash of shades of tan, and the cloth material on the seats just felt cheap. After being in that truck, I understood why Chrysler was taking a beating for their low-rent interiors. The interiors in my Tempo and Topaz were a better place to be.
Since we were there, we decided to take a look at a black R/T that was on the lot. Woah, what a difference! It was amazing change in character between the two trim levels. The 4.0L V6/5-speed auto combination was a little rocket. It launched with authority, and got up to speed nicely. It handled much better with the upgraded suspension and 20” rolling stock. The interior was a much nicer place to be. It was a bit somber being almost all black, but the aluminum trim and light colored headliner helped to brighten things up a bit. The black leather seats were much more comfortable, and the interior was a much nicer place to be. Knowing what we knew about where the orange R/Ts were and all of the factors listed above, James was able to negotiate a great deal on it. A dealer trade was arranged, and two days later we were the new owners of the Sunburst Orange R/T that was located in Pasadena. Even though the voice guided navigation had a female voice, the Nitro got the name Ralph.
The Nitro wasn’t like the previous SUVs that we had owned. The 4.0L V6 was rated at 260 HP, and definitely moved it along quickly. Car & Driver had a stated 0-60 time of 6.9 seconds, and it definitely felt that quick. Putting the pedal to the metal, and the exhaust note that came out had a very nice sound to it. Contemporary reviewers found that the R/Ts firmer suspension tuning was borderline harsh. We disagreed and loved how well the R/T handled. Definitely not like an SUV, it was really tuned for on-road behavior. It was surprising how well it handled curvy roads or rounding the corners at intersections. The power and handling really meshed well with how it looked overall. The bulging fender flares front and rear were practically stretched over the big chrome wheels. The greenhouse also had a little bit of a chopped-top look to it. Finally, covering it all in orange metallic paint made it stand out here in San Diego. It was bold, it was in your face, it really was a little hot-rod SUV.
[Ralph after 6 years, 115K miles, and 3 accidents.]
From the inside, it was just as nice as on the outside. The black leather interior was comfortable, even on long road trips. A nice touch were the red R/T logos embroidered into the seat backs. The ride was supple enough on highway stretches, and not what I would consider punishing. It had all the power conveniences (windows, locks, etc) including a remote start feature. The stereo was the top of the line Chrysler MyGIG system, featuring Bluetooth connection, XM Satellite radio, Navigation, and hard drive storage for music. This system was very user friendly, and didn’t take long at all to figure out. There was also a factory installed rear seat DVD system. In our entire time owning it, I think it was used once just to test to see if it actually worked. The wireless headphones that came with it were still in the plastic wrap when we sold it. Another unique feature to the Nitro was the Load ‘n Go floor in the back. The floor of the cargo area slid out about a foot and a half to help facilitate loading cargo. It was an interesting idea, but we never really found much use for it.
[Loaded up and heading to Burning Man 2013.]
The Nitro was the go-to vehicle for any long trips that we took, and we sure took a lot of them. Countless trips to Phoenix to visit friends, a few trips to Albuquerque to visit family, Sedona, Mt. Whitney, Death Valley, Burning Man… the miles piled on quickly. Gas mileage wasn’t anything spectacular, on these long trips 20 mpg was achievable. We weren’t expecting stellar gas mileage, the performance trade off was worth it. The Nitro was rated to tow up to 5,000 lbs. We only used it to tow once, and that was on one of our trips to Burning Man. The Nitro had 4 people in it, cargo area full, and was towing a 6’x12’ U-Haul trailer behind it weighing about 4,000 lbs. Over 95% of the trip, it performed flawlessly. It was able to keep up with traffic on the freeway and didn’t really feel stressed at all. However, on the 395 highway in eastern California there is a very long slow uphill grade of about 8 miles. About ¾ of the way up the grade, the transmission overheating light came on. We pulled off and let it sit for a little while to cool down. After a little bit of a cool down, we continued on up the grade and finished out the trip with no further issues.
[Loaded up for a trip to Sedona, AZ.]
The Nitro did experience a string of bad luck when it comes to accidents. At this point you’ve read through 12 COAL entries from me. The total number of accidents in those cars: 0. The number of accidents in the Nitro: 6! The first occurred during rush hour traffic. James rear ended a Mazda 3 at about 20 mph. The Mazda was totaled. It crumpled like a beer can, but that’s what those crumple zones are designed to do. The Nitro had to have the front fenders, bumper cover, hood, headlights, and radiator replaced. Thankfully it was at a low enough speed that there was no frame damage or airbag deployment. The second occurred on a cycling trip to Phoenix. We had 4 bikes on a hitch mounted bike rack. We were rear ended by a PT Cruiser, thankfully at low speed. The bike rack punched a hole in the PTs bumper, and the bikes dug some deep gouges into the hood. Thanks to the rack, there was no damage to the Nitro. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the bikes. 3 of the 4 were totaled. The third accident of real significance happened when a delivery truck pulled out from a stop sign right in front of James. He swerved to miss it, but the back of the truck caught the left front fender flare and ripped it off. That was easily replaced. The final three “accidents” consisted of a slight tap to the rear bumper of a Camry at a stop sign (broken license plate frame on Nitro, puncture in the Camry bumper) and twice the rear bumper was scraped by some careless parker.
After all of these accidents (and all of the miles we put on it), you would think that it would rattle down the road. On the contrary, this was a very well built and solid SUV. After all those accidents, it was still very solid and almost squeak free. The dashboard did develop an annoying squeak around the passenger side airbag. The squeak was ultimately cured by wedging 35 cents in the gap between the airbag and the dash.
[6 hours prior to being rear ended. The bike rack and bikes took the brunt of the impact.]
When it comes to maintenance and reliability, the Nitro was a lot of firsts for us. This was our first vehicle with an oil life monitor on it. The Nitro would tell us when it was time to change the oil, no more every ‘x’ miles or ‘x’ months. Most oil changes occurred between 5K and 7K miles. Around 25K miles, it started to experience the tell-tale sign of worn brake pads. Our xTerra (COAL) ate through brake pads every 10K miles, so it was something that didn’t surprise us. James ordered a set of front brake pads and prepared to swap them out one weekend. What did surprise us was when the front wheels came off, the front pads looked practically brand new and still thick with lining material. It was the rear pads that had worn through. The first set of rears were replaced at 25K miles, and the second set were replaced at 60K miles. The fronts were finally replaced at 80K miles. I’ve never had a set of pads last so long, and especially on a front-heavy SUV. Also lasting that long, at 80K miles, were the original set of Goodyear Eagle RSA tires. These tires were rated for 60K miles, and lasted a good 20K more. Probably the best set of tires I’ve ever encountered on a vehicle. The only hiccup the Nitro had was a leak in the A/C system. It was repaired twice under warranty. No other problems, at all, in the entire time of ownership.
After a bit over 5 years of ownership, James was really hearing the call of the clatter. While we knew what we were getting into with gas mileage on the Nitro, the benefits of better mileage and longevity of a diesel engine were always in the back of his mind. Periodically he would look around for diesel SUVs, even once test driving a certified Audi Q7 TDI. He finally found the car that made him bite the bullet and purchase, and it was quite a departure from the Nitro. We held onto the Nitro for about 6 more months. There wasn’t much swapping around between the two, and so it just sat. Another car purchase netted us cargo capacity for Home Depot runs, and that sealed the fate for the Nitro. We took it into Carmax and got an offer on it. It was easier than going through the hassle of selling it ourselves, so we took the offer and said a final farewell to Ralph.
Your present a good read. Thank you.I always thought these looked really cool when they came out. Curious,..”After a bit over 5 years of ownership, James was really hearing the call of the clatter”….Car Of A Lifetime?…
Yup… that article comes up in a couple of weeks.
I don’t know why, but I keep thinking “Touareg TDI” as the next COAL…
Just have to wait a couple of weeks when that article comes out….
Looking forward…
I always thought Nitros were nice looking but in this area the 2nd generation Liberty was always more popular. The few Nitros that were around seemed to disappear very quickly.
What I found was an interesting little piece of trivia was that you could get a six speed manual and 4×4 on a limited number of trim levels.
The Nitro spearheaded Dodge’s return to Australia, along with the Caliber and Avenger. Eventually, the line was whittled down to just the Journey and now the marque is on hiatus here.
In base trim with the black plastic wheel arches and bumpers, these aren’t very attractive. But in R/T, they look COOL and they seemed to be relatively popular here. Reviews often criticized the Nitro though for reducing the Liberty’s off-road ability while still being inferior to crossovers on the road, but it’s nice to hear the truck was a good drive. And it looked nicer than the Liberty, although the later Liberty Jet limited edition was quite a looker. The Liberty’s door handles were awful though. I am also curious if the two shared sheetmetal as the rear looked very similar yet quite different.
They were sold here with a choice of the 3.7 or a 2.8 VM Motori diesel; no 4.0 was available. Unsurprisingly, the diesel was a much, much bigger seller. I’ve always thought these kind of look like tractors when viewed head-on but they do have this kind of mini-Hummer cred, except while Hummer drivers were mocked here, Nitro drivers weren’t.
Nice to hear yours was reliable and well-built, too. I really loathe Chrysler interiors of this time period though. They often looked nice but the material quality was awful. I recall sitting in a Sebring and an Avenger. The Sebring had a really very attractive dash design, nice details like the gauges and tortoiseshell trim, but it all felt like my sister’s old first-gen Kia Rio. The nastiest plastic I’ve seen in a car since that Rio. The Avenger had the same bad plastic but an uglier design. I recall sitting in a 300 too which was a bit nicer but had this HORRID mousefur on the doors for some reason? I wonder if the Nitro was better inside, I never sat in one.
I remember when the Liberty Jet came out. It was very similar in equipment levels to the Nitro R/T and Heat models. 20″ wheels, tuned more for on road than off. It was also a looker as well.
If Dodge had sold the Nitro over here with the 2.8 diesel engine, I can guarantee that we would have purchased that and would probably still have the car to this day.
Great account of Nitro ownership! I’ve actually never known anyone personally who owned one, only Libertys and they were all owned by friends and acquaintances who were not into cars by any means and bought them because “it’s a Jeep”.
I’ll be honest that I never really had a high opinion of the Nitro, and mainly saw it as one of those simple badge engineering jobs in hopes of squeaking out a few more sales. However, after reading this, your positive experience and trusted judgement makes me see it in a bit more positive light, and I must really thank you for that Brian. Great pictures too btw!
I’m with you Brendan, had almost forgotten these cars existed. Just did a quick Bay Area Craigslist search – looks like they’ve held their value pretty well. ~$10k seems to be the asking rate for a Nitro with 100k miles. Frankly, I expected their values to have tanked.
You’ve summed up my own thoughts exactly! This seems to be the nicest Nitro I’ve ever seen and I don’t mean that in a backhanded way.
Even though they were both based on the same platform, the Nitro had a wheelbase and length a couple of inches longer than the Liberty. I’ve driven this generation of Liberty as well, and the Nitro did drive a little better and the back seat wasn’t cramped like the Liberty.
Thanks for the compliment on the photos.
A really sharp looking SUV. I think the only disdain I have for the Nitro.is.spillover from it’s platform mate replacing the Cherokee.
“Even though the voice guided navigation had a female voice, the Nitro got the name Ralph.”
I had to laugh at this because the first thing I thought of was “Green Acres” with the Monroe Brothers, Alf and Ralph, Ralph being a girl. Funny stuff.
I cringed reading your fix for the dash squeak. Putting coins in the gap around the air bag is a do-it-yourself Takata if the bag deploys.
Agreed.
You have reaffirmed my belief that Chrysler vehicles of the 2007-10 era can be good if you choose carefully. And like yours, trim level can make the difference between a nice ride and an embarrassing penalty chamber. This one looks really good in orange.
How did it come to be named “Ralph”?
One of our favorite movies is “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. One of the main characters is a trans woman (played by Terrance Stamp) named Bernadette, who was born Ralph. I think we had just recently watched the movie and a lot of the funny scenes with Bernadette/Ralph were still in our heads.
Most of them had the 177 hp 4-cylinder 2.8 liter VM Motori diesel here, as pictured below, the engine William also mentions above. The Chrysler Voyager, Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Cherokee were also available with that engine.
They were often converted into a panel van, for a registration as a commercial vehicle. In that case its biggest drawback was its towing capacity of only 2,000 kg, while contemporary Land Cruisers and Patrols (same size and diesel power) were rated at a towing capacity of 3,500 kg.
Like I mentioned in another comment, had that engine been available here in the States I’m pretty confident that is what we would have bought and we would still own it today.
The current version of that VM Motori engine is also used by GM. In the Chevrolet Colorado, for example.
El Cajon. Went to a friend’s house for Sunday dinner there over twenty years ago. I was stationed in the Navy at the time. We ran into some skinheads at the nearby convenience store to get smokes…unsettling feeling.
After my experience with my Neon (my last car and my last Chrysler), I’ll never, ever believe that Mopar can put out a decent car.
RMAHGRD?
Sounds like “Oh my god” in Swedish Chef-ese. If the next one was *VRTDFRK* (“Vert Da Ferk”) it would be funny
It’s from a very popular internet meme from several years ago, that was very popular with our circle of friends.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ermahgerd
Yup, some pretty funny ones came from there. It spreaded to the Swedish Chef, one of my favorite humor characters, and gave way to this…
You are the only person I know of, so far, that’s actually owned a Dodge Nitro. But, the fact that you had a good experience, is actually rather assuring. Nice to know that someone can get good experiences out of a car, no matter how much others may slack it.
Ah yes El Cajon, the only part of SD besides downtown I won’t bother driving to. Driving 30 minutes to a place that makes me feel like I need a shower afterwards, no thanks. (I apologize if you live there or are near it, I just never got a good feeling whenever I traveled through there.)
We live closer to SDSU than to El Cajon. El Cajon’s not a place that we frequent very often, but that dealership is the closest Dodge dealership to where we live. It’s actually near the area where El Cajon, San Diego, and La Mesa all converge together, at the intersection of the 125 and the 8.
“Finally, covering it all in orange metallic paint made it stand out here in San Diego.”
I can believe that. On Friday I was waiting to see a movie in a large cineplex/shopping mall in West LA and, from a second floor view through a towering wall of glass, watching busy afternoon traffic at a major intersection. Every single car within sight was black, white, or shades of silver. Is it the SUV/Crossover culture that’s killed bold color choices, even in sunny SoCal? The leasing industry? I’d welcome a return to some colorful traffic as I remember it when moving here in the early 70’s.
I suspect part of it is the fact that it used to be a lot more common for people to custom-order cars, but nowdays most cars are bought off the dealer lots. Dealers don’t want to stock odd-colored cars because they know it’s harder for them to find a buyer for them, and that it’s easier to get someone who wants a bright car to settle for a dull one than the other way around.
I used to have a bright yellow Ford Ranger. It was bought at a pretty good price, and based on the date on the build sticker it had been sitting on the dealer’s lot for over a year.
Was it a Ranger Edge or Splash? I cannot recall ever seeing a non Edge or Splash Ranger in yellow.
Nope, it was a 2006 XLT. It was a “limited edition” color – I think they only made a couple thousand.
I sort of regret trading it in.
Neat. I always thought later-model Rangers only came in yellow if you got the FX4 trim/package.
Mad Anthony is right, it is much harder to move bright colorful cars (both new and second hand). I read an article not too long ago that when the dealerships order cars, because so many of them are leased they are ordered in colors that will move on auction blocks quicker once they are traded back in. That’s why almost all cars are either black,white, silver, or gray.
I also wish that more colorful cars were available. But since we have moved away from ordering cars and just buying what’s available, we are at the mercy of the dealerships. Which is what we had to do when we bought ours.
My in laws has a 02 liberty, the thing that bothered me about it was the front wasn’t very roomy and that felt downright cramped.
The 09 xb that replaced it had more room all the way around, held more cargo and got better fuel mileage.
More plastic than a Hollywood star.
Man, you really chose well on this one. The R/T is THE Nitro to have, by way of that 4.0. That’s a punched out version of the old 3.5L V6 which is a really solid plant. The 3.7 is ok, if a bit pedestrian. I think the metallic oranges are what really make this bodystyle pop, especially since the R/Ts don’t have much chrome. Ma Mopar was a bit stingy with those colors though…Ive seen contemporary Caravans in Toxic orange, but the Magnum is one car that sorely needed that color as an option.
Sounds like you got a really good rig. People trash the Nitro and that’s stupefying to me. One of the best styling jobs on any modern SUV and theyre well made. Only thing that put me off about them is they lack the Liberty’s low range 4wd…but the Dodge was pushed more as a practical choice for those of us who are smitten with the LX cars but need a truck. FAR superior to any fwd based CUV any day of the week IMHO.
Yup, the R/T was THE Nitro to have. Loved it. I don’t think I knew that it was a bigger version of the 3.5L… learned something new. The orange was the best color, followed by the bight maroon metallic color. Although that maroon color was pretty similar to the orange… in certain light from a distance I’ve mistaken the maroon for an orange one. There were a couple of years where it was offered in yellow too! While it was a nice bright color, I’m not sure that the yellow worked as well as the metallic orange.
You are right, the Magnum definitely would have been an amazing looking car in that color. Especially the SRT8. I toy with the idea of repainting mine in that color if and when I need to do a repaint on mine.
Sounds like you have (or want) an LX… which?
I really like the orange color. I’ve never seen an orange Nitro, but it really works, along with the lower roofline. I had both a Liberty and a Nitro as rentals about five years ago, and it was hard to believe they were built on the same platform. I much preferred the Nitro. It’s also good to see that your long term reliability matched up well with the looks – there’s nothing worse than a car that looks great but never leaves the shop.
I found the same thing with the brakes on my Town & Country, I thought something had to be wrong for the rears to wear out so much quicker. But it turns out the electronic stability control system uses a rear bias in light braking to keep it going straight better. At least, that’s what the forums told me.
One of the best things about this website is seeing people enjoy vehicles that have a poor reputation. Most everything has redeeming qualities that make it worthwhile to somebody. Not exactly my style but I still always kind of liked the looks of these. I thought they were just a toy, I never realized they could tow 5,000 pounds. Can’t do that in a CR-V.
Hmmm.. interesting. If that were the case, that would probably explain it.
One story that I forgot to mention, that involves the Nitro. The lead photo was taken with Mt. Whitney in the background. Mt. Whitney being the highest point in the contiguous US at 14,505 feet above sea level. James was part of a hiking group that hiked Mt. Whitney in a single day. I dropped him and a couple of the group off at the trail head at 4am, to give them plenty of time to make it up and back down within the day.
After dropping them off, I headed east. My destination was Badwater basin in Death Valley, which is the lowest point in North America. It is 282 feet below sea level.
Within about several hours, he was at the highest point and I was at the lowest point. Fun little tidbit to share.
Nice Orange. I see a Grand Caravan in a similar (or same) color once in a while and tell my family that’s what I want for our next people mover. They always say no way..
You seem to have owned many, many vehicles and I’m wondering don’t you get utterly hosed on the transfer tax? In my jurisdiction you pay 13% on the book value, after 8 cars you’ve basically given one to the government. That’s one of my rationales for keeping cars forever, less tax!
Wow, that’s unfortunate on the tax. Here in Michigan, it’s 6% of the sales price (except for transfers between family members which are exempt), same as sales tax. The state claims that they can use book value if in doubt of the sales price, but I’ve never seen it happen. With private party sales, it’s common courtesy to leave both the sale price and date on the title blank, so that the buyer can claim the purchase price was less than what it actually was, and to avoid the late fees if they can’t get to the Secretary of State within 15 days to transfer the registration. If you buy a car through a dealer though, they are required to file the paperwork and there are no such “discretions”.
In CA, where almost all of our cars were bought and sold, the sales tax is 7.5% of the purchase price. When factoring in the budget for our cars, that’s always included. Just the nature of doing business. I don’t look at it as a separate cost associated with the car, but the whole thing. The amount of sales tax that I’ve paid (or will continue to pay) will not temper any desire to purchase other vehicles.
Wow! You really know how to take care of a car.
The part about the 35 cents worries me, isn’t that akin to loading a gun?
For those comments on the 35 cent rattle repair it was in the upper right hand corner where the air bag housing cover met the dash board. The airbag cover had a “invisible seem in the middle that would spilt during deployment. If the air bags had deployed the top half of the air bag housing would have blown upward and the bottom half half downward. The coins would not have become projectiles.
Btw. I’m James. The proud owner of this rig. One of the best cars I have ever owned. I am very disappointed I sold it.
Sounds reasonable, and thanks for stopping in! Really enjoying Brian’s COAL series; it sounds like the two of you have owned quite a few interesting and enjoyable rides.
Got a ride in one of these via Uber last month. Awful, cheap POS…but, it is Chrysler at their worst, so.