The Dodge name is back in Ireland with a range of distinctive cars and 4x4's that offer something different. Michael Moroney took the latest SUV in the Dodge range, the new Dodge Nitro, on tour to test its application for Irish conditions. Here's what he found.

The Dodge Nitro with its distinctive styling comes with a 2.8 litre turbo-diesel engine that pushes it into the high VRT band after July 1 next, so buy now if it's your fancy!

There's no mistaking the Dodge Nitro; this Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) is different. At a time when there is a growing design sameness attached to some cars and even more recently SUV's due to manufacturer agreements, it's refreshing to see a new style on the market. And that's exactly what the Dodge Nitro is.

The Nitro is aimed at the mid-size SUV market, while it clearly has greater ambitions with its bigger than average engine size and its relatively large size. And most of all it is distinctive with its strong front grille design and longer than average bonnet, to give it a type of retro look. The design ensures that you cannot forget its American origins deeply rooted in rural USA.

The Nitro comes with a 2.8 litre common rail turbo-diesel engine that complies with the latest in EU emission standards. The engine power from the four cylinder unit is impressive at 177bhp and so too is the torque. These criteria give it a power lead relative to other mid-range SUV's but that doesn't always convert into acceleration.

In the case of the Dodge Nitro, the automatic gearbox version with its five speed ratio gives the best acceleration performance at 10.5 seconds for a 0 to 100km/hr run. That's better than average for the mid-range sector which in my book includes SUVs such as the Honda CR-V, Nissan X-Trail and Toyota RAV4.

The bigger engine has a negative impact on fuel economy, putting the Nitro among the least efficient in the sector. The official fuel economy rating for the Nitro is 8.6 litres/100km (33mpg), which is relatively high for a mid-range SUV.

There's even a bigger hit coming down the line for potential Nitro buyers in the form of the new VRT rates. The Nitro CO2 figure is 228 g/km, pushing it just into the high VRT band rating, which starts at 226g/km and over. This will mean an increased VRT rate from 30 per cent to 36 per cent, adding about 9 per cent to the price of the Nitro after July next.

So the message is, if you want to drive a Dodge Nitro buy it before July. That's the only way that you can minimise your VRT exposure and the higher road tax rates that will also apply from then. The Nitro CO2 figures indicate that it will attract an annual road tax rating of ?2,000 for any new Nitro's registered after then; that's the highest band rating!

That feature takes some of the shine off the attractiveness of the new Dodge SUV. It means that the engineers have some work to do to bring its emission levels down.

Despite the picture of doom the Nitro will have some followers and rightly so. It offers something very distinctive and it comes with useful features as standard not found in many other SUV's.

The four wheel drive system is a part-time system, which has a single-speed transfer case and two modes (2WD and 4WD part-time). This aims to deliver a maximum 50/50 front/rear split of torque. The system can be engaged by a switch on the dash.

The Nitro's safety package includes anti-lock brakes (ABS), Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), Brake Assist System, Traction Control System and Electronic Rollover Mitigation (ERM). This is a system that applies one or more brakes and/or modulates the engine throttle to prevent the vehicle entering a potential roll situation. Every Dodge Nitro has seat-belt pre-tensioners and Constant Force Retractors and the Nitro SXT model is equipped with Rear Park Assist sensors.