2025 Dodge Hornet

The Hornet is Dodge’s take on what a compact SUV should be. Where its many rivals focus on practicality, the Hornet touts its performance. What else would you expect from Dodge, the red-blooded American brand that brags about its drivers being part of the “Brotherhood of Muscle.” That attitude extends to the Hornet, even if it’s actually made in Italy as a blue-collar cousin of the Alfa Romeo Tonale.

The 2025 Dodge Hornet is available in two main forms. Hornet GT models are powered by a turbo engine that makes a potent 268 hp, while R/T versions use a plug-in hybrid powertrain that is even more powerful yet also allows the Hornet to travel up to 32 miles on battery power alone.

We’ve logged hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of compact SUVs, including the Dodge Hornet.

Steering wheel paddle shifters become available for Hornet GT and GT Plus models as part of Track Pack option. The Hornet compact SUV becomes a qualifying vehicle for an optional one-day session at Radford Racing School, Dodge’s high-performance driving school.

The Dodge Hornet is something of a tweener size wise, fitting somewhere in or in between the compact SUV and subcompact SUV class. Those are among the most crowded and most popular vehicle segments and thus pits this Dodge against bestsellers such as the Honda CR-V and HR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Corolla Cross, Mazda CX-5 and CX-30, Kia Sportage and Seltos, and Hyundai Tucson and Kona. And that’s just getting started. Yet price wise, the Dodge Hornet starts a bit higher than the competition. The Hornet R/T is in line with the Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid and higher than plug-in hybrid versions of the Sportage and Tucson.

The Dodge Hornet’s resale value is on the lower end of the spectrum, lagging rivals from Honda, Toyota, Subaru, and Hyundai. Remember: Recouping more money when it’s time to sell or trade in your vehicle can mean a bigger down payment on the next one.

Whichever Dodge Hornet you choose – the strictly gas-powered GT or the plug-in hybrid R/T – you’ll get a notably zippy and athletic SUV. Here’s where we can rightfully trot out the “it puts the sport in sport utility vehicle trope.” Hey, if the shoe fits…

In our time behind the wheel testing the Dodge Hornet, we found it accelerates quickly and is quite fun to fling around corners thanks to a suspension set on the firmer side. While we won’t call the overall experience as refined as what you would get in the other athletes in this segment – the Mazda CX-5 and CX-30, especially the turbo models – the Hornet is making the effort. It also benefits from that Italian sportiness and flair of its luxury cousin the Alfa Romeo Tonale.

GT models pack 268 hp from a 4-cylinder engine and grant a zero to 60 mph time of an impressive 6.5 seconds. Hornet R/T models use a smaller turbo engine but are blessed with the help of electrons from a battery-fed motor to make a combined 288 hp that can decrease the 60 mph dash to just 5.6 seconds. Moreover, as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the R/T can travel on electric power alone. In this case, it’s up to a convenient 32 miles. When the battery juice runs out, the gasoline engine switches on, making the Hornet R/T ideal for electric-only quick trips to the market or long road trips alike.

While the little Hornet SUV might not appeal to the kind of Dodge faithful who regularly do burnouts in their Hemi-V8-equipped Challengers and Chargers, the Hornet R/T does have the nifty PowerShot feature. When engaged, it adds an extra 30 hp of output for 15 seconds.

All Dodge Hornet models include all-wheel drive, a benefit for enhancing traction on slick and dry roads alike. Several competitors charge extra for this.

Fuel Economy

The Dodge Hornet GT gets a combined fuel economy rating of 24 mpg. Several subcompact SUVs are more efficient, but the Hornet does come with all-wheel drive and best-in-class horsepower for a gas engine. The plug-in hybrid R/T models have a 32-mile all-electric range, and it has an estimated charge time of 2.5 hours with Level 2 charging or 7.5 hours with a regular household outlet. When the hybrid battery runs out, it gets a respectable 29 mpg fuel economy rating.

Dodge bills the Hornet as a sporty vehicle, and the cabin feels that way — for better or worse. We found it more snug than competitors, a la a sports car. Coziness aside, There are some welcome touches, including a standard 12.3-inch digital driver display and 10.25-inch central touchscreen that integrates with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

The R/T model comes with almost comically oversized paddle shifters on the steering wheel, and they are optional this year for GT models. These aluminum oars are so big we actually found them intrusive rather than useful.

Upholstery ranges from cloth leatherette to genuine leather – available in red! – and the front seats vary from basic with 6-way manual adjustment in base GT models to power-adjustable with heating and ventilation. Better-than-average side bolsters helped keep us in place as we zipped through the twisties, and we found we had plenty of room in the front seats. Rear-seat accommodations are on the tighter side. If you need to regularly carry lanky passengers in your rear seat, the Hyundai Tucson, Honda CR-V, and Kia Sportage are better bets.

The Dodge Hornet’s rear cargo space is on the lower side but should be adequate. GT models have 27 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 54.7 with them folded. R/T models give up some space to accommodate their PHEV battery. They have 22.9/50.5 cubic feet. Compare these numbers to the Kia Seltos subcompact SUV (26.6/62.8) and Hyundai Kona (25.5/63.70. Both of those SUVs are about half a foot shorter than the Hornet but have more room in back.

One aspect we need to note on the Hornet, just as we do with the Tonale: Watch your head when opening the rear doors. They have a sizable design element that curves out at the top. More than one of our editors nearly slammed this bulbous outcropping in their head when opening the doors.

That questionable and potentially head-injuring rear door aside, we generally like the look of the Dodge Hornet. Again, no surprise that it looks like a down-market version of the Italian Alfa Romeo Tonale because, well, it is. And you can tell all your friends you drive an SUV made in Italy!

At 178 inches, the Dodge Hornet straddles the line between subcompact and compact SUVs. Note that GT models have 8 inches of ground clearance, enough to confidently deal with snow and light trails. The R/T sits notably lower at 6.1 inches.

Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
Although the infotainment setup has an Android-based operating system, it still comes standard with cable-free phone integration for both kinds and for two devices at a time. Plus, Amazon Alexa compatibility. Because we usually test vehicles back-to-back, we especially appreciated not needing to deal with cables when interfacing our phones.

Digital driver information display
Every Hornet has a configurable 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster as standard.

10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen
We like that this larger-than-average touchscreen, angled toward the driver, is also standard across the Hornet range. It allowed us easy access and command of all infotainment systems.

Harman Kardon audio
The standard audio system in the Hornet GT Plus and R/T Plus is a 14-speaker/465-watt setup from the good folks at Harman Kardon. It includes a subwoofer, as well, for that boom boom boom.

Tech Pack
This appealing, optional bundle gains you traffic sign recognition, a surround-view camera, front/side park assist, ParkSense Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist, and the semi-autonomous Active Driving Assist.

Track Pack
Turning up the performance heat, this option package adds an active suspension, red Brembo brake calipers, 20-inch wheels, bright pedals, Alcantara-trimmed seats, and more. For 2025, this package is now available on GT models.

Power for the Dodge Hornet GT comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, perhaps the most common configuration at this point in automotive history. It’s rated at 268 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. Dodge funnels engine power through a 9-speed automatic transmission to a standard all-wheel-drive system. As we’ve already noted, the GT delivers more performance than its in-segment peers. The acceleration won’t pin you to your seat, but we found it satisfyingly robust.

The Hornet R/T uses a plug-in hybrid powertrain. It combines a turbocharged 1.3-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor to produce a stout 288 hp and a whopping 383 lb-ft of torque. Because the electric motor is affixed to the rear axle, the R/T becomes a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) vehicle when operating in electric-only mode. Unlike the GT, which gets a 9-speed automatic transmission, the R/T uses a 6-speed automatic transmission. It has an all-electric range of 32 miles.

3-Year/36,000-Mile Warranty

Dodge’s new vehicle warranty is typical among mainstream manufacturers, but also the minimum available. It lasts for three years or 36,000 miles, whichever happens first. Powertrains are covered for five years or 60,000 miles — again, typical yet minimal. The R/T’s hybrid battery has a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty.

Safety

The Dodge Hornet has yet to be crash-tested by either the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). But it does come well equipped with standard safety features like automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control. Additional optional safety tech includes the Active Driving Assist system, parking sensors, and a surround-view camera.