with many of the audio and navigation offerings. The navigation upgrade supplied by Garmin is among the most intuitive offered in any vehicle. The upgrade adds only $495 to the already competitive price for the Limited, or $990 on models not already equipped with the 8.4-inch screen.

With instruments and controls set into the large padded panel, the look is premium, something you would expect in a more expensive car. Almost perfectly sculpted, the seats fit a variety of torsos, from skinny to stout. (My partner on the test drive was broad of beam and said how comfortable the seats were for him.)

Surrounding the interior are a class-leading 10 airbags. Dodge representatives were proud to point out the airbag count in other C-segment competitors: the current Mercedes-Benz C-Class (seven), the Audi A4 (six), and the Volvo C30 (six).

Dodge rep Chad Robertson observed that the $62K Mercedes-Benz was not only three airbags shy of the Dart, but also lacked its 8.4-inch media center touch-screen display, the nine configuration analog/digital seven-inch screen in the instrument cluster (top photo), and the Dart's heated steering wheel.

He also noted that, at the 2012 North American International Automobile Show, former Chrysler CEO and current Mercedes-Benz head Dieter Zetsche made two trips to the Dodge display to check out all the features in the Dart.

High content is not the only story for the Dart's interior. The designers gave storage more than a passing thought. Due to the central placement of the heating and air conditioning components in the Giulietta, the glove box is exceptionally deep, with enough space to store an iPad (bottom photo), as well as several pairs of gloves and the now typically thick owner's manual.

Another clever storage feature is the passenger-seat front cushion, which flips up to reveal another storage compartment, an option borrowed from the Dodge Journey crossover. The entire floating-island bezel offers an available "racetrack" lighting surround that adds to the sense of premium feel often lacking in under-$25,000 vehicles, even from high-content leaders like Hyundai and Kia.

Now we come to, literally, the biggest component of the Dart story. Although priced to compete in the compact-car segment (Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla), its 110.3 cubic feet of interior and trunk space