2009 Dodge Nitro R/T

There's an undeniable appealing quality about driving an SUV. The commanding seating position combined with genuine off-road capability that's there even if you don't ever use it, is a combination that was and still is a popular hit with a lot of drivers. By definition there simply can't be anything subtle or understated about any SUV. Take away the sport or utility, and all you have left is an ordinary but tallish vehicle that drifts headlong into the hazy and undefined realm of a crossover, or worse—the almost inevitable certainty of the family minivan.


The sport-utility vehicle is great for hauling a bunch of people and their associated gear across marginal Nevada mining roads to visit old ghost towns, or up slick Vermont highways to freshly snow covered slopes. While a 1952 Dodge Power Wagon could be used to navigate either trip, modern motorists expect a few more conveniences than did those of the past. They also expect their SUV to behave more or less like a car while doing less adventurous things, like driving to get a bag of groceries or down to the 7-11 for nachos. Wrap up an SUV package in something that falls somewhere in between giant work truck and mid-size station wagon and you get the Dodge Nitro.


The Nitro was introduced in 2007 as a mid-size yet fully capable player in the SUV market, and rolls into 2009 with some added refinement to its swagger while still holding its ground as a mid-size SUV that can toss it up with fuller-sized brethren. Add the Sunburst Orange paint and the R/T package of our 2009 Dodge Nitro R/T 4x4 test vehicle, and this mid-size SUV thinks and acts like a much bigger vehicle than it really is.

Road. Track. R/T

The R/T in Dodge Nitro R/T stands for Road/Track. This naming convention has been used by Dodge since the Sixties to designate a performance package with good road touring manners on cars as legendary as the 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T to the slightly less than legendary 1989 Dodge Spirit R/T. The 2009 Dodge Nitro R/T carries on the tradition with a sporting nod to touring comforts packed into a mid-size SUV. While taking the Dodge Nitro out on a racetrack may not be high on the to-do list, the R/T suspension has been engineered toward the sporting end of utility.


Anti-sway bars, springs, dampers, and bushings have all been revised for better cornering manners. To keep the suspension working its engineering onto the ground and looking stylish at the same time Dodge added 20-inch, chrome-clad cast aluminum wheels shod with lower profile 245/50R20 all-season performance tires into the mix. Over the road this setup relays the performance side of stiff into the ride, but also does its best to supply some stab to gas and steer the Nitro entertainment when required.

Bold Design, Tough Interior

Stare into the signature crosshair design of the Dodge brand grille on the Nitro R/T and it stares right back with a snarl and flared nostrils along with flared fenders. The blocky and even slightly cartoonish design follows back from the blunt nose over the hood, fenders, and roof. If Foghorn Leghorn could drive he would probably roll up in a Nitro to tell you, as only a cartoon rooster could, that you were doing it all wrong. To say the Nitro has a high beltline would be an understatement. While it's not quite at the old guy wearing his pants around his chest level, the belt is up there along with the seating position. Subtle or subdued is not what the Dodge Nitro set out to be.


After putting on some sunglasses to tone down the seemingly nuclear-powered Sunburst Orange Pearl Coat, the next thing that meets the eye are the R/T seating arrangements, which feature optional orange inserts with R/T logos for a sporting look that was comfortable over the road. Laz-e-boy recliner might be going too far, but racing seat style road torture is not part of the equation. The driver seat is power 6-way adjustable and the passenger seat and second row seats fold flat for maximum interior space flexibility and possible Nitro camping excursions. Don't worry. The colored seat inserts match the exterior paint colors. Blues stay with the blues and red will see red.


Headroom is something the Nitro has a galaxy of. At the edge of that galaxy is a space age fabric that also serves as a headliner and visual frame for the optional power sunroof, if so equipped. Working down from the top in the Nitro is an interior with enough features to be modern but still make like a sport-utility vehicle should. R/T package interior touches, like the brushed aluminum look door handles and surrounds, add to the bold and edgy feel, but take away none of the basic and tough utility. The durable plastic interior looks like it would be easy to clean and hard to break, with the ability to repel mud and snow from boots, or ice cream cones liberated from the hands of the kids with equal aplomb.