The
Dodge Intrepid offers a comfortable ride and full-size interior room for five people (or six if you opt for the front bench seat). It handles well and has lots of power. In spite of its age, the Intrepid's styling still looks fresh, with a sporty and modern appearance.
This year, Dodge took the racing Intrepid racing, entering the competitive world of NASCAR Winston Cup stock car racing. That is a claim none of the other large four-door sedans can make.
Some changes for the 2001 Intrepid include thicker glass aimed to quiet the interior, optional side airbags for the front passengers, and a three-point seatbelt for the center rear seat passenger.
Three Intrepid models are now available: The base Dodge Intrepid SE starts at $20,910; the ES retails for $22,605; and the sporty R/T model rings in at $24,975.
The SE Intrepid comes with a 200-horsepower 2.7-liter V6 and a standard automatic transmission. The other models come with Chrysler's AutoStick, which allows the driver to switch between regular automatic and semi-automatic shift modes.
Intrepid ES comes with a choice between the 2.7-liter (retuned to produce slightly more torque and horsepower than the SE model) or the more powerful 225-horsepower 3.2-liter V6, which adds $500.
The performance-oriented R/T model comes standard with a larger 242-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, performance-tuned exhaust, and 17-inch alloy wheels with aggressive P225/55R17 tires. A premium Infinity sound system (with a cassette player, in-dash four-CD changer and steering wheel-mounted audio controls) is a new option on the R/T for 2001.
Leather seating surfaces are available as part of a comprehensive options package that also includes an automatic climate control system.
The
Dodge Intrepid is a good example of
Chrysler's cab-forward design. The sloping cowl sweeps into a steeply raked windshield, over the curvaceous roof and down a decklid reminiscent of past fastbacks. There is great nuance to the sheet metal, which rolls and undulates like a work of art. It boasts an aggressive grille borrowed from the racy
Dodge Viper with sleek, wrap-around cats-eye lenses that flow into the sweeping hood line.
While the Intrepid shares its chassis and drive trains with Chrysler's Concorde, 300M and LHS, these cars do not share sheet metal design. Where the slightly longer Chrysler Concorde accentuates elegance, the Intrepid punches the sporty button.
There's a cavernous 18 cubic-foot trunk, nearly 2 cubic feet more than the last generation Intrepid. But the numbers do not tell the whole story. The trunk hinges fold cleanly out of the way, instead of crushing cargo when the trunk is stuffed. We do have one complaint about the trunk: Lift-over height is high, so you have to lift groceries and other cargo high over the rear bumper to get it into the trunk.
