With a Cheerleader in the Trunk and Some Change in My Pocket

If at first you can't make a decision, ask your kid.

"Alexis, should we test drive a Dodge Durango, a Caravan, or a Dart?" I asked.

She picked the Dart. She's a smart, smart girl.

But here's the problem -- after going to the Dodge dealership to test drive a car, so I could write this post for BlogHer and Dodge, now I want the car. Seriously. I WANT A DART IN OUR DRIVEWAY.

There are lots of reasons. Let's start with this one:

While the Dodge Dart is considered a compact car, it's the biggest compact car I've ever seen. The trunk alone has enough space for AT LEAST eight little cheerleaders. Possibly nine. You can try and tell me that there's no reason to stuff that many cheerleaders in a trunk, but have you seen how much stuff those cheerleaders carry around? There's plenty of space for pom-poms and posters and megaphones and all of the stuff Alexis tries to drag everywhere.

And then there's this:

That's the passenger side front seat. REALLY. It flips up for storage, and there's enough space there for my camera bag in there. Partner that with the glove box that was seriously big enough to hold my laptop, and suddenly the Dodge Dart is a compact car that is big enough to hide all of my favorite things.

As a matter of fact, yes, I am impressed by storage space. Always. I'm not used to seeing it in a car, so it's extra impressive in my head.

So. The test drive. I should probably tell you about that.

Both the husband and I took a turn driving the Dodge Dart. We didn't drive a special model or anything -- we actually drove one that we would consider buying because it gets 39 mpg but costs under $20,000.  Yet, even with that gas mileage and price, we found it to be a very suitable car. It's certainly not the zippiest thing ever, but HELLO, GOOD GAS MILEAGE MATTERS MORE.

The dash and controls made sense and were legitimately nice, the cup holders were in the exact right place, and I was able to figure out the radio in no time at all thanks to the large (8.4") touchscreen right in the middle of the dash.

That touchscreen switches to a video display when the car is in reverse, by the way.

I have the same sort of thing in my current SUV, but this one was better. It's bigger and easier to see, with a guide overlay that makes it very easy to figure out if you are OK to back up another four inches or not. If you've never had a backup camera, let me just tell you that they are FANTASTIC in parking garages and when parallel parking.

I will never have a car that doesn't have one again. Ever.

I'm also one of those people who insists on a solid safety rating for a car. The Dodge Dart passes my test. It has ten airbags, blind spot monitoring, and all sorts of other things that helped it to earn a 5-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

And it's available in orange. Have I ever mentioned how much I love orange cars? Because I really, really do.

Alexis wants gray. She's boring.

The long and the short of it is that we will be looking for a compact car that gets crazy good gas mileage next year. We always have one of those around. We have kicked the Dodge Dart to the top of our list because it has the nicest interior I've ever seen in a car at this price range, because it has storage that goes on for days, and because I'm pretty sure Alexis will never forgive us if we don't buy one.

She was sold at the trunk, for what it's worth. She has talked about how cool that trunk is for days.

To celebrate the release of the Dodge Dart (it was new for 2013!), Dodge and BlogHer have teamed up to give you a chance to win a $100 Shell gas gift card. To win, all you have to do is tell me which car you would have picked if asked to test drive something -- a Caravan, a Dart, or a Durango.

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 12/10/13 - 12/31/13.

Be sure to visit the Dodge Brand Page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Comments

[denise]

I would choose a dart.

[denise]

https://twitter.com/Deniseyweesy/status/416989091381538816

[tracy davis]

I would choose the Durango.

[JIM LYNAM]

I want to test drive a DURANGO.

[Mishia]

I would test the Durango!

[Patrice]

I would choose the Dodge Dart, because of the size and the great gas mileage.

[Lisa V.]

I would try the Durango

[Jacob]

The Dart - it looks like a sporty, fun little car that I would love to test out

[Jacob]

I tweeted at https://twitter.com/JCHARRIES/status/417032195526909953

[paige chandler]

I choose the Durango

[paige chandler]

I choose the Durango

[Helen Stockwell]

Dodge Dart

[Suzanne K]

From these 3, I'd pick the Durango. From Dodge's total line, I'd drive the Charger just for the thrill!

[erica best]

I love the dart

[erica best]

https://twitter.com/purplelover04/status/417047190033268736

[Carolyn]

definitely the Durango

[Diane Baum]

The dodge durango, I drove it for over 10 years

[Lisa Garner]

I want to test drive the Durango most of the 3 choices.
lisalmg25 at gmail dot com

[Tracie Trump]

I would choose the Dart!

[Lisa Garner]

I Tweeted: https://twitter.com/lisalmg/status/417113701812957185

[Heather Dawn]

Definetly the Dart!

[Heather Dawn]

Tweet - https://twitter.com/mypadawans/status/417115287331540992

[Tamar]

We'd pick the Caravan :)

[Rosanne]

I'd pick the Durango

[Rosanne]

Tweeted: https://twitter.com/rosannepm/status/417135520913702912

[Laura @ Frugal Follies]

https://twitter.com/frugalfollies/status/417136553861734400 - -- Laura @ <a href="http://www.frugalfollies.com/">Frugal Follies</a>

[casey everidge]

i would pick a durango!

[Sylvie W]

I'd test drive the Dart.

[Daniel M]

the durango, i like suvs

[Rebecca Graham]

I would have picked the Durango.

[christopher h]

I probably would have picked the dart as well

[Tram Le]

I would choose the Dart.

[Karen Gonyea]

I would go with the Dodge Durango :)

[tina reynolds]

I would have picked the durango

[tina reynolds]

https://twitter.com/eaglesforjack/status/417332215685865472

[al]

The Dart would be fun.

[Lauren Becker]

I think the Durango would be cool to try out!

[Nicole Larsen]

I'd love to test drive the Dodge Durango!

[Nicole Larsen]

tweeted https://twitter.com/pittsy82/status/417358699275890693

[LaCinda Brooks]

The Dodge Dart! My Mom had one when we were growing up, so cool!

[Sarah Hirsch]

i would test drive the Durango.

[Brian Kautz]

https://twitter.com/brian_kautz/status/417389692359688192

[Sky Sparkle]

I'd get a durango! (:

[Sky Sparkle]

https://twitter.com/SkyShyskyk/status/417389860668702720

[Janice Cooper]

I would like to test the Dodge Durango

[Janice Cooper]

https://twitter.com/disneyfan40/status/417402050574446592

[mickeyfan]

Ok, if it was my decision, it'd be the Dart. However, hubby seems to think that we must have an SUV type vehicle. So, Durango.

[Allie]

I would of picked the Dart

[Amy Self]

I would love to try the Durango.

[Natalie yeoman]

I would of picked a caravan