1997 Dodge Avenger Reviews, Pricing & Specs

I've just turned 188,000 miles on my Avenger. I have the manual 5-speed with the 4 cylinder 2.0 liter engine. Even with the mileage I still get 30 mpg around town and close to 40 on the road. Eat your heart out Honda owners. This car just doesn't know when to quit. Handles like a dream and does everything I've ever asked it to do. I only wish I could find another just like it for my son. I'm the original owner and, except for routine maintenance, have had very few needed repairs. It's simply the best car I've ever owned. Fun to drive and totally reliable. It may have a wide turning radius, but who cares when you can get the kind of mileage along with the eye-catching lines and the honest fun-to-drive abilities it posseses. I would NOT be willing to trade it for any other car. PS: I'm 6'3" and it fits me fine.Jun 21, 2009

Performance - It's a flippin' Dodge with a Mitsubishi engine... not so good! Brake's are nice cause I did them myself! Handling... it turns. Build Quality - Again, it's a dodge... Apperance - Nice looking 2 dr Cost of Ownership - NOTHING. Gas is great, maintenance is pretty good, 8 months at 140-160 km, and all I've done is put an outer tie rod on it Fun Factor - It's not a supercar or a tuner, but it has a nice exhaust note Jan 30, 2009

Well um yeah so I drove my buddy's avenger. I pretty much didn't like it. The turning radius sucked, the engine sounded like crap, and the interior was crampt. I liked the acceration.. until it stalled out at 40 lol. Horrible car, I personally wouldn't reccomend it. I really don't think that Dodge was on the ball with this one, but I do think the new ones might have potential.Jul 21, 2008

I bought this car to replace my original car, an '89 Volvo 740GL hatchback, due to total FUBAR engine conditions. That car was DEAD. I searched for a cheap ride in the neighborhood of $2000-3200, and this car showed up for $2400. I checked it out on I-485, and I was impressed by this car's responsive, tight, handling and its badass appearance. It was comfy with a frigid air system as well as a rich, bassy sound system. I was also impressed by its remarkable gas mileage, which I estimate to be around 25-29 MPG depending on what type of driving you're doing. It is a sporty-looking smaller-end car, but I fit into it quite well, and I'm 6'4". The price was also very good at $2000, with some minor lower-front bumper damage and a dent in the right quarter. Nevertheless, a very nice car. I did notice after a few drives that it was an underpowered, yet still strong engine. It is a 2L V4, and the ES edition does feature a V6, which should compensate for the lag in acceleration when already at speed. It's still very fast, and I can get a 0-60 in about 6 seconds, which is just fine for me, even with an Automatic transmission. Everything is very accessible and in logical locations. I feel like I'm in a fighter aircraft when I'm driving this thing, and it brings a great deal of pleasure to drive this vehicle, be it high-speed work commutes, lengthy Interstate trips, or just cruising around on the weekends. I highly reccommend this car to anyone who's purchasing a starter car, but any motorhead will prefer the ES simply because of the plethora of features and additional power.May 03, 2008

It has okay acceleration and a decent top speed, but the handling isn't that good to be honest. The mix of Japanese parts from the Eclipse platform it's based off of and the American parts from Daimler-Chrysler can cause problems with the electronics as well. Overall, she was good for the time but well past her prime when I owned her and did okay for the times I needed to.Apr 16, 2008