The Dodge Hornet, which was first introduced as a concept over a decade ago, is now an actual vehicle. Despite sharing the name of the concept, the production version is visibly different – and shares a thing or two with its Stellantis cousin, the Alfa Romeo Tonale.
At launch, the 2023 Dodge Hornet was touted to go under $30,000. This sounded like a good deal to interested buyers, enticing 14,000 preorders within days. Now that the Hornet configurator is up, we discovered that the base GT trim starts at $29,995 but that's without the mandatory destination charge. The GT Plus starts at $34,995.
Gallery: Most Expensive 2023 Dodge Hornet
We spent our inexistent money to check how much the most expensive 2023 Dodge Hornet would be. Starting off with the GT Plus trim, the first choice would be the colors. Going for the 8 Ball (black) and Q Ball (white) exterior colors won't charge a dime, but choosing the Blue Steele launch color and special Acapulco Gold asked for an additional $595. We went for the former.
Next, the wheels. A set of 17-inch silver aluminum wheels comes standard, though you can upgrade to bigger sets – both included in respective packages. We went for the 20-inch J Abyss aluminum wheels that come with the $2,995 Track Pack. Alcantara seats, red-painted brake calipers, bright pedals, dual-mode suspension, aluminum door sills, and a sporty leather steering wheel are all included in the Track Pack.
To further accessorize our fictional Hornet, we added the $1,995 GT Blacktop Package (dark "GT" and "Hornet" badges, plus gloss-black painted daylight opening moldings and mirror caps) and the $2,245 Tech Plus Pack that adds a number of driving nannies into the equipment list.
Of note, the plug-in hybrid Hornet R/T isn't on the configurator as of this writing, so the sole option is the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 265 horsepower (198 kilowatts) and 295 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque. This is mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission, sending power to all four wheels.
With $7,830 worth of total options plus the $1,595 destination charge, the most expensive 2023 Dodge Hornet build costs $44,420.
