The Dodge Hornet has seen a rough existence so far. Owners have reported a multitude of issues, the public hasn’t exactly been receptive to the rebadged Alfa Romeo Tonale crossover, and supply has just piled on up. As a result, some dealers have been slashing prices, to the point where you can get into a 268-horsepower Hornet for the price of a compact sedan like a Hyundai Elantra or Toyota Corolla.
While we’ve previously reported about some big Dodge Hornet price cuts, the big news now is that these things can now consistently be picked up for less than $25,000 brand new, and that’s gonna make things interesting.
Mind you, there is a bit of a catch to some of these dirt-cheap Dodge Hornets. Because these crossovers have been so oversupplied, some of the cheapest delivery mileage examples sitting on dealership lots across America are still 2023 model year cars. Yes, we’re nearly in October of 2024.
Take this brand new 2023 Hornet GT Plus. It’s got ventilated seats, it’s got navigation, it’s got a power liftgate, and it’s listed for sale at a Dodge dealer in Oklahoma for $23,725 despite carrying a manufacturer suggested retail price of $37,825. That’s a $14,100 discount.
The crazy part? We wrote about this exact same Hornet back in May, when it was listed for $26,225. It’s still on the same lot four months later. Wild. Oh, and it was originally listed 314 days ago, which means if it sticks around until Nov. 11, it’ll have been on the same lot for an entire year.
Want something that hasn’t been sitting on the lot so long? No worries. Here’s a 2024 Hornet GT up for sale in Virginia for $23,777, despite carrying an MSRP of $33,490. That’s $9,713 off MSRP on a brand new compact crossover. Hot damn.
Alright, so maybe you aren’t near Virginia or Oklahoma. Maybe you’re on the west coast, for example. Well, here’s a brand new 2023 Hornet GT Plus up for sale in California for $24,495. That’s $19,070 off MSRP, an absolutely insane discount for a compact crossover with delivery mileage.
Oh, and let’s say you want something flashier than what you’ve seen so far. Well, a dealer in Indiana is selling a brand new gold Hornet GT optioned to $40,320 for $24,996. It’s safe to say that color makes one hell of a statement, and the optional wheels aren’t bad either.
On the face of things, even a heavily marked-down Dodge Hornet seems like it might be a questionable buy for most people. Given that owners have reported grievances like alarms going off for seemingly no reason, odd electrical issues, and adaptive cruise control problems, this probably isn’t a vehicle you can just hop into and drive with minimal maintenance like a RAV4.
However, if you think about a discounted Hornet as a $25,000 Alfa Romeo with a factory warranty, it might make some sense from an enthusiast perspective. Sure, it probably won’t be faultless, but service loaners might be available and hey, at least the warranty should cover any issues that arise. At MSRP, the Hornet is likely a tough pill to swallow for many people, but for a brave few, it could be the slightly sporty, heavily discounted compact crossover they’re looking for.
So, at what point does an oft-maligned vehicle become tempting due to sheer discounting alone? Keep in mind that discounts when new will likely lead to a knock-on effect when it comes to resale value, so it might all just depend on how long you plan on keeping a vehicle. More importantly, what’s the over/under on a brand new 2023 Dodge Hornet still sitting somewhere on a dealer lot in 2025? Let’s make some educated guesses.
(Photo credits: Dodge, Cars.com sellers)
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The Alfa Romeo Tonale, on which Dodge’s Hornet is based of course, has a prettier snout and nicer wheels. But I’d even decline one of those if offered to me at $25K: spec-wise it all looks very nice on paper, but I’ve yet to read/watch a single review of the Tonale or Hornet that doesn’t express concern about what long-term ownership would be like given all the many issues the cars have. If you’re just leasing the car and don’t have to live with it after three years: fine, but I generally try to buy cars that at least have some chance of still running 10 or 20 years down the road.
Better to take that $25K and put it towards a Kia EV3 when it’s available: the EV3 is about the same size and price of the Tonale/Hornet twins (before they’ve been ‘discounted’ due to the bad rep and low take rate) and though the Kia isn’t sporty, it is a full EV, has lots of physical controls, is very efficient (miles per KWH), and will probably still be drivable ten years after purchase (something I’d guess’d be a 50/50 chance with the Tonale/Hornet).
I’ll take a base EV3 with the smaller battery in some non-metallic actual color please. I’m hoping that it’ll come in closer to $30K than $40K, but I expect to be disappointed about that.
Marshal Lucky: $37,000? That’s too fucking high!
“Dodge dealer in Oklahoma for $23,725 despite carrying a manufacturer suggested retail price of $37,825. That’s a $14,100 discount.”
That’s not a ‘discount’.
That is depreciation combined with a BS ADVERTISED price that has stacked-after-tax discounts where nobody could qualify for all of them.
If it was truly a proper discount, then it would be a 2024 model selling for $23.7K… the price BEFORE taxes and special discounts most don’t qualify for. .
But the fact is, this is a car that is over a year old. So take that ‘wishful thinking’ $37K MSRP, chop 30% off for a year of depreciation and now you’re at just under $26K
So at $23.7K, I calculate this to be a $2200 “true discount” IF by chance you actual qualify as described in the fine print, with the remainder of the discount mainly being depreciation.
Because you know what? If you bought one of these new at the full MSRP, parked it for a year and then tried trading it in, I’m 100% sure the dealer would very likely give you 30% less.
Might be a diffent story if it was a Honda or Toyota. But it’s a Dodge. So yeah…
Also another reason these need to be so heavily discounted now is they all came standard with a bunch of shit people don’t need (and many likely didn’t ask for) to justify that sky-high MSRP.
Stuff like AWD, ventilated seats and power liftgate are unnecessary fluff for a vehicle that supposed to be the entry level for the Dodge brand.
And a 268hp turbo engine as standard? That ‘s overkill. Take the FCA/Stellantis GME 4cyl, bump the displacement to 2.4 or 2.5L, get rid of the turbo and all the stuff related to the turbo and put it into a new base “value package” trim that only has what you need and none of the unnessary shit you don’t.
And if Stellantis wants a Hornet that justifies that high MSRP, then they should make it a plug-in hybrid.
I very much agree re: it’s misleading when dealers advertise cars with the maximum theoretical rebate/incentive/tax credit applied: not all buyers will get that. It irks me to no end… just show the REAL MSRP (or whatever the dealer will accept for the car, be it higher or lower than MSRP) and leave the possible tax implications, utility rebates, etc… out of it please.