The 2023 Dodge Hornet is the brand?s first-ever electrified vehicle with an available plug-in-hybrid powertrain. Dodge also calls it the ?gateway to enter the Brotherhood of Muscle? as the segment?s most potent and quickest compact crossover. The Hornet nameplate harks back to 1951 with the Hudson Hornet, a full-size car by the Detroit-based Hudson Motor Car Company. It also brings to mind the ill-timed Dodge Hornet concept MPV that first appeared in 2006.

The 2023 Dodge Hornet is the smallest vehicle in the American automaker?s updated portfolio that will see the Charger and Challenger bowing out in 2023 and the debut of an all-electric Dodge muscle car in early 2024.

?The Dodge brand?s electrified transformation has left the starting line, with the all-new Dodge Hornet R/T representing the first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge,? said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand CEO ? Stellantis. ?The Dodge Hornet is poised to jolt the mainstream compact utility vehicle segment with looks, feel, and performance that are unmistakably Dodge.?
Setting The Stage

The 2023 Dodge Hornet is riding on a derivative of Fiat?s 199 SCCS platform that first debuted in 2005 with the Fiat Grande Punto supermini. It shares its small-Wide 4×4 underpinnings with the Jeep Commander and the Alfa Romeo Tonale. The latter is especially worth mentioning since the Hornet shares most of its exterior and interior bits with Alfa?s compact SUV, something the Italian automaker is not happy about,...