Dodge Hornet vs. Toyota Rav4.. Is the Rav4 Really Better? Best vs Worst Selling Crossover 

RacerX hats are now available on my new Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/listing/1753603671/racerx-launch-edition-hat

The difference is marketing and reputation. The Hornet should not have been marketed as a Dodge. Stellentis is not known for reliability, Toyota is known for reliability. That’s it .

One has a reputation of near infinite reliability, one is an Alfa Romeo, nuff said...

This comparison is really an Alfa Romeo versus a Toyota. The Toyota will still be completely functional and roadworthy 10 years and 150K miles from now. That Alfa Romeo will be in a scrap yard within 7 years, well before it ever reaches 100K miles.

IMO, the Hornet is just too expensive for a vehicle that hasn't proven itself to anyone yet. 10K less and it would be enticing

That’s because Dodge fans don’t want no dinky little cross over. Give us power !!!

My Hornet GT Plus has 25k miles on it without ant problems at all. The thing is amazing car. It's quick, rides great, looks good, and has all of the creature comforts. I had a 2019 Scat Pack Charger and this thing is much more fun to drive. The technology is through the roof on this car. It was a great purchase, worth every penny

The issue for the hornet is that people in the market for a small SUV, don't generally care about performance. They want good MPG's, a good price, and carefree reliability. I know Toyota hits all the boxes..

I've been a Mopar fan since the 70s but always have Toyotas as my daily drivers because of their reliability.

I saw one of these at CarMax and decided to sit in it and was actually surprised by the quality the interior felt and how nice it looked for the price. I didn't drive it because it wasn't what I was in the market for but it felt like a cool place to sit.

I think the Hornet would have been better received had Dodge not taken away the V8s and then introduced Hornets and EVs as the “next gen”.

Great Video Racer X. There's other things to consider when choosing between the Hornet vs the Rav 4, too. Cost of ownership. I believe the Hornet will have a higher operational and maintenance cost vs the Rav 4. For example, the Hornet will require higher octane fuel, and the oil changes may cost a bit more due to requiring synthetic oil. Break work will be much more expensive on the Hornet as well. (Performance brake pads) I am certain the Rav 4 will come out on top for lower cost of ownership. Add the lower cost of ownership, and the reliability of the Rav 4, and many will have a compelling reason to choose it. If performance is not a priority, it's a really solid choice. The Hornet is a great option for those seeking performance, and don't mind the higher cost of ownership. As for reliability, it's anybody's guess on the Hornet as it hasn't had a long enough time to prove itself in that department.

I bought a XSE Rav in ‘19, still to date the only new car (including my last call M6 scat) I ever bought I never had a single moment of second thought.

I'm not loyal to any brand, and I'm considering buying a small SUV, so I appreciate this video. I keep my vehicles for a long time and I do my own maintenance. The cost of maintaining European cars has historically been higher compared to American cars. Japanese cars are just known for reliability, so parts are a bit more expensive, but you don't have to buy them vary often. I'd totally consider a Dodge Hornet, but I'm not even interested in an Alpha Romeo or any other European brands. IMO, that's where they went wrong.

Is this a Dodge add? its hilarious watching you try to sell us the hornet lol

Toyota for three things: reliability, reliability, reliability. I’d go for it or a CRV. I don’t want to be financing a service department at a dealer, or the inconveniences of the F.I.A.T. problems. We’ve regressed with our vehicles. I had a ‘09 V6 RAV4, that was a mover for a little utility vehicle. If I needed a tiny SUV now, it’d be that model, or a K24 CRV. Non-turbo, port fuel injection K24 FTW.

I bought a 2024 Hornet GT in June, and love it. Have the Track Pack option with the Blue Bayou paint job. Love, love, love it! I used to have a 2011 Ford Escape XLT but the rear frame was rotting out. Never thought of the Hornet as a muscle car, but,,,, oh man it sounds like it, performs like it.

I bought an Alfa Romeo Tonale Sprint model PHEV ( the base model, not the dolled up, expensive Veloce model, which is more readily available, as for every Sprint model Alfa imported, they imported 9 Veloces ) a year ago. I was the first one to buy one in Canada, and basically bought it off the truck. I paid less then MSRP, and got it less then what a Ford Escape PHEV ( which at the time had a dealer mark up of $3,500, and add ons like $3,500 for Ford's Blue Cruise, etc. ) was going for, and where a RAV4 Prime ( basically the same price without add ons ) was ( and still is ) unavailable, and a 2 year old used Prime was selling for $14,000 more then my out the door price. Other then 9 recalls ( 2 for decals that did not have metric or French on them, that I did myself, 3 for checking high voltage connections were tight, no parts needed, 1 to replace a switch, and 3 for software updates, because where I live the vehicle would not update itself ) I have had zero problems with it, everything is operating above my expectations, and I am getting better electrical range and gas mileage then stated on the Vehicle MSRP sheet. It handles great, looks much nicer then its competition ( I compared the Sprint model against the Escape and Prime, where most reviewers, etc., compare the Veloce model that they are given by the dealers against the BMW X1 or Mercedes GLA, etc. which to me is not a fair comparison, especially a PHEV to a non PVEV ). It is not perfect, just like every vehicle in certain aspects, but I love it, love driving it, glad I bought it rather then any of the half dozen or so other PHEVS I test drove, and I would buy it again. And, it fits nicely in my garage. All new vehicles have there problems, and mine did too, but the dealership I bought mine from, bent over backwards to accommodate me with the recalls, offered me a loaner while my vehicle was being serviced, and Alfa has resolved every issue with my vehicle, some well documented. I cannot say I would have gotten the same treatment from any other manufacturer. Maybe I am lucky with my vehicle, but my whole experience, from buying it through to service, driving, etc., could not have been simpler, easier, stress free, and satisfying.

Awesome video, you should compare the Hornet R/T and the Rav4 Prime XSE as top trims because on paper they are only a tenth of a second apart on a 0-60.

They marketed the Hornet the wrong way like it belonged to the Charger/Challenger crowd, but it should have been sold to the econo box people. Out of the entire time the Hornet has been out, I have only seen one…a literal one car

As someone whose brand loyal to mopar products (atleast to a point), id definitely keep an open mind about the hornet. If the price point is there, I can afford it, and it offers as much as fun as my familys '04 durango (5.7l v8), but in a smaller package, why not? Most everyone touts about toyotas reliability reliability, but even they make pos' themselves, and somebody picks the short straw... I'd probably be that person, dodges have never given me major issues without me being the one at fault, so I think dodge is capable of fun and reliable vehicles. Just my $0.02. :)

Maybe there's more. It's new, so when repairs are required, how long is it going to be out of commision? I have a Charger and Durango, my brother also has a Charger. Over the past two to three years, we're made to feel like the warranty isn't worth the paper it's printed on, and that's on the age-old established models. How many people have had to have their Uconnect touch screens replaced? It takes weeks or months just to get parts, and the $100 deductible suddenly balloons to over a grand. This is on an ESTABLISHED model. With that in mind, I can walk past a quarter mile row of deep discounted Hornets and never bat an eye at them. I love my Mopars, but I think I'll keep the ones I have until Dodge can get their stuff together.

Be safe, Florida has some heavy rain at the bare minimum coming up in the near future

The stalantis group has the worst reliability out the. Alfas and fiat are in the shop more than the road. Resale is also crap.

Get the Rav4, it will last longer. I have had mine for 15 years in tough terrain . The hornet should have had cheaper engine option, why it's sale are dismal

I like the Hornet, if I'm going to end up having to purchase an SUV with all the cars going away. This would definitely be at the top of my list for the performance it offers compared to its competitors!!

I would not buy any Stellantis product at this point. That corporation is a complete cluster at best.

I see the Hornet as being more for a recent college grad's first or second new car. Maybe stealing some VW Golf/GTI types. Marketing it alongside the Charger/Challenger only makes it look like a wannabe. Marketing should have gone in a whole 'nother direction with this car.

The people that buy these types of vehicles aren't Car guys or girls. These people lust after a RAV4 or CRV. If they can't afford them then they go to Hyundai Kia. No matter how good Dodge says the Hornet is these people aren't going to pay that kind of money for it.

Why does this video feel like an Apple vs Android comparison video. One has the better specs, features, options, and performance, and yet the other one is what everybody buys 🤔

The people who buy these small suvs are buying them for reliability not performance. I am a mopar fan through and through but I would take the Toyota all day long. Neither car’s performance is really breathtaking but I’m not buying it for that reason anyways…

I agree that the hornet looks better but they should’ve done it dodge style big v8 everything

Now compare the Hornet to its real competitor, the Chevy Trax that sells for $21,500...

Between those two cars, I would do the Hornet 🐝 all day long! I drove one and actually liked it. I am not in the market for that kind of car. But if I was, I’d take that over the Toyota any day.

I have a 2014 ram 1500 Laramie crew cab. I love the truck, but sometimes I need something smaller to head into town and for other tasks. I was really hopeful on the hornet, but I was underwhelmed by it. I am in New England, and I ended up going out and buying an Outback touring XT turbo a few months ago. I'm happy with it.

I own a mustang and a rav4, the rav4 can one thing and one thing very well, reliable

Toyota has a way better reputation for quality and reliability, Dodge definitely not so much that’s why Dodge is in its current state.

The terrible marketing plan (gateway to muscle ???) and high MSRP (vs Hyundai) doomed any chance for reasonable sales. Not sure if ANY performance oriented angle would have helped....just confused the real target audience and annoyed the V8 crew. It's a small SUV...go lowest cost/price...and offer extended warranty since your fighting an uphill battle. That's how Hyundai gets it done.....lower price than Japanese...better warranty.

The Hornet is overpriced unless you purchase the base model that gives you a very basic SUV especially the interior, plus it's not as attractive as it's Fiat sibling. With the Toyota Rav 4 having a strong reputation and sales. I'm watching hornets collecting dust at my local dealership. Unfortunately your stuck on horsepower, performance and Dodge. The Hornet isn't a muscle vehicle as Dodge promoted it. My honest question to you. Does anyone in your family or friends own a Hornet? Consumers don't purchase a small SUV because of performance numbers. Your videos are coming across like Dodge commercial. From what I'm reading. It will be Lucky if Dodge survives Stellantis expense cuts.

My wife bought a 21 RAV new at $27k and carvana is offering her $23k. The visits to dealers or mechanics, 0. Very basic and timely maintenance at 29000 miles currently. I’m fairly certain if it was the new hornet the value would be 35-45% of msrp had she bought it new in ‘21, and multiple visits to the dealer. The overall experience would have been a 👎🏻. She loves her 2019 Scat Charger that she drives on weekends. I bought it for her new in 2019 and she won’t even let me trade it for a last call wide body. She agrees with me that the prices are way too damn high!

When you buy a RAV4, you know you are getting a proven product with a great history of reliability.....when you buy a Hornet, you are basically rolling the dice...and if its performance you are after, you wont be looking at a Hornet or RAV4 in the first place...bump the Hornet to 350+ HP and you may start to get some more performance oriented buyers willing to take the plunge

hornet is better looking for sure not sure about the hate going on out there.

Not going to promote “Hurricane”. They are killing what we love. Having said that, I want to like the hornet, but 1…tighter fit is a negative. I’m a big boy. 2…euro turbo = easy to break expensive to fix. 3…I have a 2016 rav4. You don’t accelerate in sport mode. Tabs in sport have direct pedal response and will take off with no turn. I used to have 2 Tiguans with turbos. I’ll pick a rav4 all day long when my first tig is sitting in the drive way with the motor in the back seat.

They should offer a Hyundai/Kia warranty on those Hornets

I looked at a Gold Hornet Gt loaded. An really with the discount offered do to slow sales, it was a lot of vehicle. Not sure why the Hornet gets all the hate, it’s way better than the PT Cruiser an those sold very well. I’ve owned a lot of Mopars, just find it’s weird how some people act. Alfa name plate attached to it probably hurts. A lot of the quality issues that Alfa has isn’t really any worse than a lot of manufacturer’s are having. Toyota has been having problems with some of their new stuff and it’s been well documented. I currently own a Jeep Renegade and it’s been a really great vehicle. An it’s sitting on a Fiat platform. An as far as Toyota the best in the line up, the Supra. An the Supra is a rebadged BMW. But Toyota people are little nuts anyway. Just kidding 😁

Compare fuel economy numbers, compare the hornet with the 306hp Rav4 Prime.

Racer X turning into Joe Raiti reviewing small SUVs. Wouldn’t buy either car but I understand why the soccer moms prefer the RAV4. It’s all about reliability. Dodge struggles in that department.

Racer X, put your money where your mouth is, buy a hornet and try to do a long term test. With the depreciation value should be a Huge tax write off, and you can update us on everything that breaks with repair cost. X please realize it’s a Alpha; agree looks good, but reliability & cost of Alpha it won’t age well. Stellantis sell off Dodge where’s your warranty .

Pretty Please could someone do a review and talk about ride comfort??!! As he's in the Hornet I hear a ton of road noise and the camera bumping but he's not making any comments about the ride comfort.....so assume it's a rough ride. Anyone driving this and can comment?

Is it better than a Neon? Or is it comparable/same?

How does the Hornet compare to the RAV4 Hybrid performance wise? It's probably a different story.

The RAV 4 has been in production since 1994 and the Hornet has been in production for 2 years. LOL.

Very informative video!

Agreed, Hornet !

Am I Crazy??!!! I'm thinking of selling my '19 Rav4 XLE and buying a '24 GT Hornet. If you are willing to search the country, you can find them listed for $22,000 (plus fees), that's less than I can sell my 5 year old 50K Mile Rav4 for.

I haven't seen a single Hornet on the roads.

I think the biggest problem with the hornet is that only the 25 and younger crowd want a sporty SUV in that segment. But under 25 people can't afford a 30k plus car and they aren't going to beg there parents for it either. The people trying to rebuild their credit are out of the picture at that price too... If they had released a fwd version at 25k or less and gave it some cool wheels, nice graphics and colors from Dodge's color pallet it would have easily doubled its sales to date. Instead they are going to be lucky to break even on the inventory they have left.

The Hornet has become the Nickleback of Dodge. It’s a nice vehicle but very hated on.

Dodge Hornet.😂 Like Ray from Car Edge always says: " Its the answer to the question nobody asked"🤣 Period.

The Hornet is just like the Alfa and that was rated good . what i don't like is the name they chose .

I bought the wife a new RAV4 earlier this year. Not my cup of tea but she needs dependability/reliability more than anything else. I looked at Dodge, Ford, etc but they really didn't have anything to match in that category for the price.

My mom has a co-worker who bought one of these about a year ago. She says its really nice and she like it... But that it also breaks oftenly regrets buying it But that could just be a fluke. Could just be her car type of thing maybe?

Where I live im starting to see the hornets popping up in a lot of places, I'm not going to lie,i kinda like the looks of them, I don't know what model they are but the day looks pretty sporty for what they are.

If Dodge made a midsize truck with that turbo 4cyl can they get higher output out of it? Can they do a twin turbo with it?

Toyota hands-down. Who’s gonna buy that trash with what the company is going through and who owns it?

I really wish they had put the turbo inline six in the hornet because of the weight

I think they'll do better when dodge stops pissing everyone off lol

I sure wouldn't gamble my $30-45K on a Hornet unless they ever offer some ridiculous 10 year bumper to bumper warranty. 5-7 years out the RAV4 has a ton of life left and resale value. 5-7 years out the Hornet repair costs are likely surpassing vehicle value.

Idk I been seeing a lot of hornets lately at least 3 everytime I drive around in jersey

Toyota is always gonna win that game. Proven reliability, and solid functionality will beat fancy looks. Would never buy an alfa romeo at any model.......they make attractive vehicles but no thanks on the reliability. The hornet may be a good short term lease deal, but ive never buy one. Any amount of long term ownership will cost way more with those hornets vs a rav4.......not to mention the excellent resale value of the rav4. I can say that without ever driving a hornet.......they may look and drive better, but the bang for your buck isnt there with the hornet.

I think one major thing to consider is that it's too small and too expensive. Why spend $30k on the Hornet when I can spend $30k on a used Dodge Durango that bigger, faster, and has history

The Dodge (Alfa Romeo) will be worth nothing in five years as opposed to the Toyota. The Car Care Nut does a great review on the questionable Dodge engineering. Consumers know junk when they see it.

There's really nothing wrong with a hornet as a daily driver, other than the electrical issues we're seeing, like the jeep wagoneer is having. Across the board electrical issues with CDJR vehicles, are killing the brand. With Toyota it is not the case, which is why it is more appealing. The things going to work and be reliable. CDJR vehicles right now, cannot measure up to that.

It has nothing to performance because their performance will never last. Toyota will be there for the long-haul.

Toyota's run forever great reputation

rav 4 reliabilty we love ours

This is the first video I see from you I see on my subscription list 🤔 what’s going on RU-vid ?

I'm in Los Angeles Ca , and i drive a lot and i only seen two Dodge Hornets on the road thus far 😂😂

The Hornet is ridiculous. The pricing is even more so.

Comparing a Toyota to a dodge/alpha? That’s so cute, now tell us the resale of these two or the maintenance of these two or pick anything. There’s a reason why dodge is failing and may be bought out by BYD.

X, u are not a fat guy. Yet you are bigger and wider than the rav 4 driver seat.

History will show that most likely the RAV4 will last 2x as long as the Hornet.

I guess i would be considered a dodge mopar person since the gen srt8 it’s been my favorite car i appreciate the other muscle cars but for me it’s dodge rn how ever the new mustang is nice and might be considered getting one but as far as the hornets it’s kinda a slap in the face to “car” people we don’t really want a suv but that’s the way of the market rn but I’ll still say you can’t beat Toyota or Honda in reliability and price Honda might even do performance better then dodge with smaller engines but suvs are not want car people want

🏆Racer X🏆

To all the people saying it's because it never should have been a Dodge and no one wants a small crossover... congratulations, you are the reason the brand is dead. The only reason Ford and Chevy have been able to keep their V8's is because the brands kept around other vehicles that were efficient and lowered their CAFE credits from the EPA. The reason Dodge hasn't is because at every turn, when they try to come out with anything remotely efficient and practical, the Dodge base completely rejects it.

When was the last time the Italians made a reliable car? NEVER!!!

The Toyota any day of the week. As soon as my 25 year old Toyota dies, which isn’t any time soon. 😁 0-60 Hornet GT 6.5 seconds 0-60 RAV4 8.0 seconds. Great review. 👍🏻👍🏻

hornet only better is those calipers hahahhaha

That Hornet will depreciate like a rock, while the RAV4 will hold its value…..Also no one needs to drive the Hornet to know it is junk. Seriously, when has Dodge or Alpha Romeo ever produced a reliable well built small car?

I would take a CRV from Honda I think it's nicer then the RAV 4

I would say yes the rav4 is better and I'm definitely not a Toyota fan boy the rav4 is more reliable and has better quality parts

AwesomeX《☆》Turbo Suck Literally✌🏼😁☯️

Yeah... I don't understand the Hornet hate. If it's not your demographic , move on. These so called Dodge fans act as if the Hornet was replacing every Dodge vehicle 🤦🏾‍♂️

The Hornet is such a Joke. Slowest selling car in the country.

It's not just that.....its because it is Junk

Historically italian turbo 4s are always pieces of crap. Anyone who knows who makes them won't buy one. I love performance but would never buy a hornet.

The problem with the Hornet is that it is a product that nobody asked for. A Stellantis attempt at creating a non-existent niche’

I had a rental RAV4 in DC and wanted to hate. It was awesome and got great mileage. Controls were very easy to get used to locating. I haven't driven the Hornet yet. It took too long to come to market in my area and the Charger had a great deal for purchasing with all the options a person could ever want or need.

One is a proven well known Crossover while the other is a Whorenet😂

Toyota reliability > Dodge reliability