Dodge Hornet GT vs R/T PHEV for Black Friday at The Summit

The Hornet GT wins on cargo room and simplicity. The R/T PHEV wins on torque and efficiency. Which one you pick comes down to how you're using it on Black Friday, and both choices carry a real tradeoff worth knowing upfront.

the Dodge Charger draws most of the attention in our showroom right now, and that's fair enough. But the Hornet, especially in its final production year, is quietly the most interesting thing on our lot for a buyer who wants Dodge attitude in a compact footprint. With Black Friday at The Summit coming up fast, a fair question before you shop is a practical one, GT or R/T?

Let's walk through the comparison, feature by feature.

What's the Actual Difference Between the GT and R/T PHEV?

Almost the entire difference between these two sits in the powertrain, and it cuts both ways depending on whether you care more about electric range or about raw pull off the line, so neither one is simply the better engine on paper. The GT runs a 2.0-liter Hurricane4 turbocharged four-cylinder making 268 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque through a 9-speed automatic. The EPA rates that combination at 21 city and 29 highway (24 combined). Step up to the R/T PHEV and you'll get a 1.3-liter turbo paired with two electric motors and a 15.5-kWh battery pack, producing 288 horsepower and a substantially heavier 383 lb-ft of torque through a 6-speed automatic. Flip on its "PowerShot" mode and that climbs to 318 horsepower for short bursts.

The performance gap is real. Zero to 60 in 5.6 seconds for the R/T versus a measured 6.1 to 6.5 seconds for the GT. Merge back onto I-459 on a congested November afternoon with a trunk full of bags and that extra torque is something you'll feel. The efficiency story runs the other way on gas, though. The EPA pegs the R/T at 29 mpg combined on gasoline (once the battery depletes), identical to the GT's highway number. The R/T just gets there a different way.

The cargo penalty catches buyers off guard. The battery eats floor space, and you'll feel it the moment you load up.

Does the R/T's EV Range Actually Cover a Trip to The Summit?

For most Birmingham addresses the answer is yes, provided you leave home with a full charge, though a longer loop out past the southeastern edge of the metro can still tip you onto the gas engine before you're back home. The Summit sits at the crossroads of I-459 and US Highway 280 in the southeastern part of the metro. A round trip from downtown Birmingham or the Southside runs roughly 20 to 30 miles depending on your start. The EPA estimates 33 miles of all-electric range for the R/T PHEV, which means a typical there-and-back hits that window cleanly if you start with a full charge.

None of that is trivial. Running the full loop (parking, store to store across the open-air layout, then the drive back) on electricity means the gas engine never starts. On a full shopping day that covers the REI Co-op, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the Apple store before looping back for Trader Joe's, you've got a meaningfully quieter and cheaper errand.

The downside is plain. Once the battery depletes, the R/T runs on 29 mpg combined (gas only), which is fine. But it also requires premium fuel, and so does the GT. Neither Hornet takes regular. That detail is easy to miss, and it's worth factoring into your running costs before you decide.

the Jeep Grand Cherokee comes up in these conversations too, and it's a genuinely different answer for a different buyer. But if we're keeping it to the Hornet, the R/T's EV range makes the most sense for a commute-plus-errand profile where you can plug in at home overnight.

Cargo Space: The GT's Quiet Advantage

Cargo is the one place we'd push back on the R/T's otherwise strong case, because the 22.9 cubic feet behind its rear seats is a real constraint when you're loading bags from a full Black Friday run across a destination shopping center with more than 100 stores. The GT's 27.0 cubic feet isn't class-leading, the segment average is taller than that, but it's 4.1 cubic feet more than the R/T, which is roughly the difference between fitting three large shopping bags and four.

Fold the rear seats down and both Hornets get more practical, 54.7 cubic feet in the GT and 50.5 in the R/T. If you're hauling something bigger (a piece of furniture from Restoration Hardware, a full REI haul), that 60/40 split fold opens the floor up well enough. The GT still leads by four cubic feet flat.

The vehicle is 178 inches long, a compact crossover through and through.

Neither powertrain version is going to swallow a Ram 1500 bed's worth of holiday shopping. What it does do is navigate The Summit's surface parking lot without drama, and that's a genuinely useful trait on the busiest shopping day of the year.

So Which One Should You Pick?

It comes down to two buyer profiles that barely overlap, and neither one is better than the other in the abstract, only better suited to a specific way you'll actually drive around Birmingham on and off the interstate during the holidays.

Choose the Hornet GT if: you're buying primarily for cargo capacity, you don't have a home charging setup, or you do longer highway runs between Birmingham and outlying areas where the PHEV battery depletes mid-trip and the smaller gas tank (11.2 gallons vs the GT's 13.5) becomes a factor. The GT is simpler and carries more, and it's the easier one to get into.

Choose the Hornet R/T PHEV if: you can charge at home, your daily driving keeps you inside that 33-mile electric window most of the time, and you want the torque. Three-hundred eighty-three lb-ft from a standing stop is a different driving experience than the GT, and "PowerShot" mode (available via a steering-wheel button) briefly unlocks 318 horsepower when you want it. For a commuter who charges every night and uses the Hornet for weekend errands around greater Birmingham, the R/T runs cleaner and faster on the routes you'll actually drive.

One note applies to both. Dodge confirmed in January 2026 that production of the Hornet has ended, so the 2025 model year is the last one. What's on dealer lots right now is what's available new. That doesn't make either version better or worse as a vehicle, but it does mean this isn't a "wait and see" situation if you've been considering one. Our pre-owned inventory is worth a look too if you want a certified earlier-year example.

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