Avenger Finishes Dead Last in Motor Trend Comparison Test

Man, everyone is hating on the Avenger. After I rented one last week, I started reading around a bit. It hasn’t been pretty. Just check out this recent Motor Trend test–The Familial and Frugal: Four-cylinder Midsize Sedan Comparison Test. With ten cars tested, the Avenger finished dead last. Motor Trend summed it up as follows: "Drum brakes, four-speed transmission, cheap plastics, and sailboat steering make this a frightful drive. Gaps between last and first don’t get any wider than this." Yeah, ok, drum brakes in back are kinda weak, but is it really that bad? Let’s take a closer look.   

First of all, the winner of the test (the VW Passat) was the most expensive car ($29,333 as tested, vs. $21,500 for the Avenger). It also got the worst mileage and only takes premium fuel. Hmmm… What was the name of the test again? I thought it had the word "frugal" in the title. Let’s see, if you’re looking for a family hauler, I’m thinking you’d look at price (the Avenger was the cheapest in the test), safety (the Avenger is second only to the Accord acording to the IIHS), warranty (the Avenger is the only one to come with the lifetime powertrain warranty), gas mileage (the Avenger had the 4th best observed gas mileage in the test) and resale value (which is probably gonna suck thanks to articles like this one in Motor Trend). The Avenger wasn’t the only car to get stomped in this test, though. The much-hyped Chevy Malibu only managed eighth place. What’s up with that?

In other news, Chrysler is going to "fight back" against all this criticism by upping the trim level on the Avenger and Sebring. Hey, that’ll show them!