I have to admit that, a few years ago, I wrote the article “We Need To Have A Talk About The Dodge Nitro,” and it wasn’t exactly positive, per se. Now, eight years later, I’m seeing a 4×4 six-speed manual version for sale, and I think I have to revise my stance.
I’m going to quote my dumber, 26 year-old self, who wrote this for Jalopnik in 2017:
The Nitro had the same problem lots of Chrysler products had in 2007: terrible interior quality, an underwhelming powertrain, and styling that makes that “look back” owners do when walking away from their new cars a painful event every damn time.
Under the hood was a 3.7-liter V6 that made 210 horsepower, which, especially when mated to a “What Is This, 1970?” four-speed auto isn’t enough to get this two-ton monster out of its own way.
To be fair, that 3.7-liter could be mated to the same excellent six-speed manual that’s found in the Jeep Wrangler. Plus, if you were feeling like a big baller, you could get the R/T model, which made 260 horsepower and could get the 4,100 pound box to 60 in about seven seconds. But not too many people bought those…
But about six years later — last year — I had a chance to actually drive the Nitro to see the error in my youthful ways:
Oh wait, turns out I was right the whole time! The Nitro really is a steaming heap — unless you buy it in the versions I mentioned in my 2017 article: with the 4.0 V6 or with the stick.
I have always been intrigued by the stickshift Nitro, especially in 4×4 guise. At least on paper, it seems like a decent overlanding machine (even without the low-range transfer case that its sibling Jeep Liberty offered), and more importantly, there’s something about the Nitro that my younger self didn’t properly acknowledge: It’s interesting.
Seriously, the fact that I’m even writing about the Nitro — and that there are so many other “think pieces” (that’s really stretching the term “think”) about it — tells you that at the very least, the Nitro isn’t boring. And as I recently mentioned on a popular YouTube Channel reporting on the Tesla Cybertruck: Boring is the ultimate sin of car-dom. (That comment got ripped in the comments by Cybertruck-haters — check it out).
Look at the Nitro’s weirdly coordinate-grid-like grille, the split headlights, those giant fenders, the fake fender vents, that ridiculously boxy profile — the Nitro is just a Tonka toy but in full-size form, and it draws you in. It is both hideous and fun at the same time, and after almost 20 years, I’m now thoroughly a fan of its weirdness.
I’m particularly a fan of this one for sale near me, shown above. It’s got the Jeep Wrangler JK’s NSG370 six-speed manual transmission, and though those require a special fluid and are known for popping out of first gear, there are shift-kits that can fix that, and overall they’re fairly stout. What’s more, this Nitro is a four-wheel drive model! Again, it doesn’t have low-range gearing, but I’m curious if the transfer case could be swapped from a KK Jeep Liberty…
Either way, I like the idea of this as a cheap overlanding machine. It’s got short overhangs, it just needs a bit of a lift and some tires that are tall enough to give some good clearance but not so tall that the lack of low-range gearing would make low-speed rock crawling a stall-fest. Rocky Road actually makes a lift for this thing:
It’s possible I might be losing my marbles, but $4,500 for what looks like a clean, relatively low-mileage four-wheel drive manual SUV — especially one that isn’t that old — seems like a bargain.
The interior, while made predominantly of Playmobil-quality plastics — actually looks decent, and that stickshift is probably fun to row through, even if the 210 horsepower V6 that’s it’s hooked to is known for being largely forgettable.
Look at the clip above. Play it on a loop. Stare deeply at the Nitro’s boxy shape. Watch as it blasts through mudpits, slinging the stuff way up into the sky and onto the rugged roof rack holding its spare tire. Keep watching. Again and again. Listen to that modest V6. You want this Nitro. You want this Nitro. You want to call the seller and buy the Nitro right now before I lose control and end up with yet another car I do not need. Gaze into the big crosshair grille. Let it take over your motor functions. Allow it to type the seller’s number into your phone.
Please hurry.
Images: Craigslist
I, I always liked the looks of these things. Now everything else…..
For anyone worried that DT went too Hollywood, takes like this should allay that concern. These things barely clears “winter beater” territory.
My recently departed Cherokee had one buzzer for doors, headlights, and keys. Because it was a mechanical buzzer, it served as a good proxy for battery level, even more than the never very bright cabin light. Sticking the key in and hearing the faintest buzz was a great indication that I was about to be late to work.
Parents leased one of these during the recession….they didn’t like it that much but it was the first RWD I got to drive briefly before the lease expired. Small on the inside, dull recession era interior, 4 speed auto, and idk if it was just our dumb luck but we’ve had to replace the windshield due to rock chips cracking it in short order multiple times.
Since I have been shaped and molded by shitboxes with garbage interiors and…a manual sounds interesting as long as you’re religiously checking the windshield.
I’ve never been fan of the 3.7. And if I wanted one with a 6 spd I think I’d rather opt for a late Dakota or a Liberty. The Dakota is particularly useful due to it’s longer than average bed and interior, while adding 4L
We test drove its brother Cherokee (liberty) back in 2011. I have never gotten in a car and made a “I do not want this pile of bolts in my life” decision so fast in my life. I had a colleague with an ‘09 Nitro with the diesel, he hated it. It was more expensive to service than my BMW, he said it was uncomfortable and slow. He traded it in on a trax. How bad must it have been to buy a trax instead?!
“Off-roading Dodge Nitro Owner Slits Wrist on Exposed Plastic Trim”
Unfortunately, the vehicle broke down on the way to the closest hospital.
Honestly, this era of Chrysler product makes me a little sad we’re not crushing cars at Cash For Clunkers rates.
Nostalgia is no excuse for being a recession-era Chrysler apologist.
As someone who has this drivetrain in his JK, I can openly say that it isn’t exactly….fun. It’s less worse than the automatic, sure, but it is definitely not a reason to buy this thing.
The JK was more enjoyable. The 3.8 minivan engine that was bolted to it in the early years was stouter and had more low revving torque than the 3.7 ever wished for.
Who cares? Just because something has a manual does not make it cool. The 25-year-old GMC Topkick box truck we have at work is a manual, and it is neither cool nor fun to drive.
Lack of low range makes it a non-starter for offroad, especially with the manual, at least with an auto you get some help from the torque converter. And for 4500 bucks, one can still get a halfway decent XJ which has real offroad chops.
OR, if you don’t need low range, get a crossover which will be more comfortable and economical.
Hey now, Playmobil is actually a quality product. I still have my Playmobils from early 90’s; still rock solid.
Nitro on the other hand is a piece of shit. It could be had with 2.8 diesel and manual here in the EU. Unsurprisingly everyone hated it.
A Solid Nope for me.
I had them as rentals back in the day and could not believe how terrible the vehicle was. Cramped , underpowered and completely half baked.
The Nitros, along with many other contemporary products, were often worse than the sum of their parts. The Nitro was no exception. It looks terrible on paper, but then when you drive it, you realize it’s even worse than expected. The seats and overall ergonomics are especially tortuous.
Throwing a manual in there won’t fix the all of the basics that Chrysler got wrong.
NITRO! Somehow a worse Liberty!
As bad as all the Chrysler early-aughts products look in pictures, that doesn’t capture the full awful experience of actually experiencing one in person. It’s not just that the designs were “polarizing”, it’s that every single part of the cars was the cheapest, shittiest possible version of whatever it is. The engines sucked, the transmissions sucked, the ergonomics sucked, the interiors were the cheapest plastic they could get away with, and they were all born with one foot in the mechanical grave. There’s a reason why old Chryslers are thin on the ground (well, save the minivans, those were unkillable). Just say no.
A Dodge should-have-been-doused-in Nitro-glycerin? Yeah no thanks.
It does look a bit better than the Liberty but no 4LO is a deal breaker.
Without that, it’s just a slow and tall AWD station wagon with really bad MPG.
Just get a 2nd gen Liberty instead, those look a tiny bit better and still have 4LO.
No.
Also: stop looking at vehicles for sale that you might actually talk yourself into buying. You’re thinning the
hoardherd, not adding to it.