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 enjoyed SWG’s impassioned defense of this vehicle in the comments almost as much as the glimpse of classic DT shenanigans. Buy it DT!
I will walk with my people.
Uhm, from my encounters with Nitros—steaming beside the road, backwards in a ditch, many rotting in driveways—you likely would be walking. But, I respect your skills, and would never nay-say someone’s love for a shitbox given my history of passionate poor choices 😉
A shit car with a stick is just a less shitty shit car
A turd with a stick in it doesn’t become a popsicle.
COTD
My only memory of a nitro is one cutting me off to steal my parking space after almost hitting my mom. I’ll pass
I remember my dad wanting a Dodge Nitro quite badly. This is the same man who meant to buy a Toyota Matrix XRS 6MT and somehow ended up with a 2007 Dodge Caliber SXT (in refrigerator-white), so perhaps his taste is questionable.
Kyree’s dad FTW!
I’d have a beer (from the fridge in his Caliber) with that kind of guy, any day.
It did have the glovebox cooler, yes. It also had the requisite Mopar rechargeable cargo-mounted flashlight. That one was strangely missing from my ’15 Grand Cherokee Overland, and I never did get around to finding or buying one for it.
My love for DT and SWG knows no bounds, but… nope. I’m pretty sure I remember having a couple of these as rentals back in the day and the horrible interior and boring driving experience are just too much to overcome, even with a manual and having all four wheels driven.
Yes, the interior is lame.
Yes, the base model is boring.
Big deal.
I mean, you’re the OrigamiSensei, one of the most OG commenters on the site! Your Chi is always balanced and your Center is always focused; you can see the righteous light in this world that is the Dodge Nitro. I believe in you.
The love goes both ways, my dude!
A high school classmate had a red Nitro. I always thought it looked cool, but knew nothing else about it.
Good Lord…I haven’t read the article yet but you don’t want that. You can’t. As someone who owns its Jeep-alike (Liberty), you don’t want one. Manual or not.
How did the manage to get so little horsepower out of so many liters this far in the aughts??
Reads article about how DT wants a Dodge Nitro.
Sees that it was posted at 4:20.
Now it all makes sense.
Too long after tooth hurty
Between this article and yesterday’s “Holy Grails aren’t worth it, man,” I think he’s finally found the good stuff.
I daily drove an Jeep Wrangler with the NSG370 6-speed for many years and I would hardly call it “excellent”. I’d call it “agrarian”, in fitting with the rough-and-tumble Jeep lifestyle, as it was notchy, hated being rushed, and doesn’t have great feel – and before anyone says I had a worn-out example, I bought that Jeep brand new with six miles on it.
Also, manual garbage is still garbage, and the Nitro absolutely fits that definition.
Next: I am considering buying a Jeep Commander
There’s a forlorn Commander a couple blocks from here that’s been sitting for a few years. When I walk the dog past it, I wonder about it.
Commander is fine. You’d get to tell people you drive an XK.
Not sure if anyone else has noticed the time of post but uh….
Maybe David went looking for that secret garden in San Rafael a little bit early (so as not to be late), perhaps after a meeting at the Pasteur statue
A shitty car with a stickshift is still a shitty car.
You are disgracing Playmobil with this comparison. Dad bought me an ambulance/medic set from a specialty toy shop (SW Randall, Pgh) when I was in kindergarten or so. My younger brother got an Arctic explorer set at about the same age. These were both cherished and played with hard. They were definitely a cut above the usual US crap and on par with Danish LEGO.
Turn of the century Chrysler/Cerberus was PlaySkool
https://www.ebay.com/itm/394514350287
It was similar to this set but had a different car.
As someone who worked at DaimlerChrysler dealers during the raping and pillaging,ahem,I mean the “merger of equals” I’d have to concur.
There’s a reason why the Nitro didn’t last long in production!
I never thought I’d say this but I’d rather take my chances with a ZJ or WJ Grand Cherokee with a busted automatic transmission than get caught dead in this thing.
Oh boy.
No, no. Your wife and life are more important. Seriously.
Do it! We could even go halfsies- My wife has said she would be okay with a 2 seat convertible. I dont think this is what she meant though. Get a running start with that news though.
MINE!!! I called them!! You all saw it!
Only if it’s for your wife!
But it’s TWO! His and hers!
Then it works.
Buying his and hers convertible Dakos is the best idea I’ve seen all week.
This is a MUCH MUCH BETTER option than a manual Nitro.
I think it’s time Mark lets you guest host Shitbox Showdown, except we choose what vehicle you have to buy. You can put the manual Nitro up against the 2 Dakotas (North and South.)
You could raffle one here and then have a free one!
4k for BOTH?! That’s problematic. I’d see it as a manual and a parts truck. Such a beach day vehicle. Or keep both running because so cool to take them out together. Thankfully I know I don’t have that much room.
If you’re considering a second ‘fun/winter’ (in LA?) car: Do it. Reasonable price for a vehicle that can be both a fun overlander and a useful ‘plow thru the snowdrifts and haul shiznit’ truckster (again, in LA?).
If you’re considering an addition to your (admittedly diminished) fleet: Forget about it. This needs a boatload of work to do what you want, and you have way too many other projects that could benefit from the time/money this would require.
Interesting but not $4500 worth of interesting
Did the second gen Liberty get a 6 speed manual as an option? That seems like a better choice, styling-wise, IMO, in addition to the low range.
Yup, for the first year or two of production at least. The Canadian government must’ve bought quite a few (had to be an error by 2008), because they were popping up for sale frequently on the surplus website several years back.
This is priced less than the sales tax (most states anyway) on the Lexus 700h in the accompanying article. I’m totally seeing the value proposition here.
And while the 3.7 is no tech wonder, there’s also no failing plastic oil filter/oil cooler housing to change out in middle age.
Sammy gets it. My man!
I’ll be honest, these have an appealing Tonka-truckish quality to them, but…
One of my favorite British English understatements is “not very nice”. This is a wonderful term that can be applied to raw meat pies or a hovel built over a leaky cess pit and is roughly equivalent to the American “Are you fucking KIDDING me?”. The interior on that Nitro may be as fresh as the day it left the factory… but it’s not very nice.
Another Britishism is “Not the worst thing in the world.” Meaning “It’s shit but it could be worse.” This saying could very much be applied to the Nitro/Liberty. They only sold two hundred thousand of these things across five years for a reason.
Huge Nitro fan here – I bought a black-on-black leather R/T with a bad motor 2 years ago for $600 and have it currently sitting in my garage awaiting the install of the replacement 260hp 4.0 motor.
I’ve never figured out why I’m usually the only person in the room that thinks this aesthetic is wicked ’82 GI Joe/Cobra Command-design-style cool.
I also like the design. I get that the interior materials are very cheap. It was 2007 DCX – Mercedes stole all the cash and had also forced cost reductions on programs that were quite progressed. When you need to take money out, and the car is almost done, there’s only so many levers to pull, and the interior is a big one.
Anyway – I think it’s a good looking vehicle.
Read the comment and thought this guy was crazy, saw it was SWG and now I think I’m the crazy one for not liking them.
Quite the compliment – thanks my dude!
I will carry the torch for a well-made, reliable truck regardless of styling choices and interior plastics. It’s still a well-engineered 4×4.
All those engineers that designed it went through comprehensive Engineering programs at accredited schools and knew what they were doing. To say otherwise is an affront to those fine folks and their educational accomplishments.
Come on over to Team Nitro anytime. The grass is green, the styling is unique, the interior is what it is, and the rest of it is super affordable and fun. Cheers!
First, having met you & your $200 red pizza buffet beater, I absolutely respect your opinion.
When the Liberty came out, I was quite interested in one as my daughter’s college car a few years down the line. Then the reports of bearing failure started. I personally knew one case. Is the 3.7 in the Nitro the same motor?
btw, we ended up with an 05 Stratus 4-cylinder for her—which served gallantly both through college & post-graduate degrees with only one week per year of basic look-over-and -maintenance.
…and what a fine day for eatin’ pizza on a Stratus that was! I’m not aware of 3.7 bearing failure being an issue with that engine. It’s shocking if so, since you routinely see them with high mileage (150K+) in junkyards next to junked 90K mile Land Rovers and other low-mileage, expensive-to-fix Euro trucks.
Hope all is rad, my man!
Been about a year since I spun the oil pump nut off the Roadster doing circle-work. Replaced it with one 1/2 the mileage, new clutch, yada, yada.
Shopping for new tires as the way old performance ones are just a >bit< skittish at low temps—but still enjoying the views from the BRParkway.
Life is good. Hoping you are the same.
Bad motor. In garage for 2 years. I love what you do with cars and for people, but I’m not sure that you’re conveying the message you mean to.
…and you also don’t know the idiot that I bought it from and how badly he abused it. There’s more to the story.
Many other cars were rescued in those 2 years; the Nitro patiently waited for its place in line. My XK8 has been waiting for 5 years now.
Those that have been following those rescue stories can see the method in the madness. Thanks regardless for the kind words, by dude!
I’ll read and enjoy when you tell that story.
Now that DT is officially onboard with the Nitro, it should be easy to get it approved! Cheers, my dude.
This is a fine vehicle. Not everything has to be a luxury car or have a 40-something:1 crawl ratio.
Not everything needs to be quick.
It’s more than FINE, it’s badass! Manual 4×4 boxy suv = win!
True – and AMBER turn signals!? I don’t think I’ve ever seen those on a Nitro.
ANNNNNNND: The 3.7 is based on the Powertech V8 which has its design roots in AMC. So, you’ve got one of the last AMC-related engines in there.
OH. The amber turn signal is….a leaky taillight. That’s the reverse light that’s discolored by rust.
I think there’s some Beelzebub-level demon that tests David’s resolve with steaming piles of car and it’s getting ready for Spring season to begin
Want to really blow peoples minds? A Rubicon NP241J should bolt right to that NSG370, giving you the lowest of low ranges…
Stop trying to sabotage DT’s life.
I’m not forcing him to do anything…
I don’t need one, I don’t need one, I don’t need one… well, maybe I can go check autotrader.
Rubicon used a 241OR, not the 241J. 241j just has the standard 2.7:1 low range, not the 4:1 that the rubi had.
No low range no dice. Sorry It doesn’t have a low-range transfer case so that is a deal breaker in my mind.
If you ever intend to use 4×4 I agree. Hill starts on STEEP rocks in 4H would be impossible.
375 bucks on eBay for a 241J seems like a reasonable answer.
My neighborhood drug dealing house recently acquired a Dodge Nitro and a Dodge Caliber. It’s a house filled with poor decisions.
That’s what happens when you get high on your own supply.
You need a new neighborhood
I need a new county lol. I am paid an insane amount to live here thankfully.
Dodge Nitro, Dodge Caliber, and Dodge Durango – the three horsemen of the repocalypse.
These things are rolling credit score indicators. They rolled straight off the assembly line with a Buy Here Pay Here dealership license plate frame and a Hi-Point Yeet Cannon in the glove box.