It looks like a slightly undersized Land Rover Discovery with massive wheel arches and too much make-up. It packs a powerful 2.8-litre diesel engine, an automatic gearbox, and loads of standard equipment, yet costs just £23,590. It can only really be the Dodge Nitro. And once you see one on the road you’ll know exactly what we mean. This is Dodge trying to do for the SUV what the Chrysler 300C did for the executive saloon – glam it up with some good old fashioned American bling. This SXT-spec diesel is expected to be the biggest seller, though there is a more basic SE version, and a 3.7-litre petrol for anyone seriously anti-derv.

In the Dodge range, the Nitro fits right at the top – above the Caliber crossover and forth-coming Avenger saloon. In the world of SUVs, the picture is a little more complicated. Dodge has it lined up against similarly high value products from budget conscious brands – the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, and new Chevrolet Captiva – and even so-called ‘lifestyle’ pick-ups such as Nissan’s Navarra and the Mitsubishi L200. The Honda CR-V is supposedly a class-size smaller, but these days nearly as big, similarly priced and the benchmark for quality. The Nitro’s USP is based on being decidedly different.

If you’re a bit of an attention seeker then absolutely. Our Nitro test car was cherry metallic red with a big chrome grill and even bigger chrome alloy wheels. 20-inches in diameter - standard on the SXT - the SE’s alloys are a staggering four inches smaller, and considerably less shiny. It draws attention like no other SUV. Only you know whether this is going to suit your perspective on life. But we will just point out the Nitro is very much less than subtle in these environmentally sensitive times, so do not expect everyone staring to be pleased with you.

See above. Ok, seriously, the Nitro’s diesel engine might not be the quietest unit but it’s plenty powerful enough for a two-ton SUV. Even up hill at motorway speeds it simply shrugs off the weight and gets on with it. A massive 339lb ft of torque helps here – your reward for choosing the £1,000 automatic gearbox option (the clunky six-speed manual makes do with ‘only’ 302lb ft). This also knocks the 0-62mph time down by a whole second to 10.5 seconds – just shy of the 3.7 petrol engine’s time. Whatever you think of the overall design, it has some neat touches like the door handles, and equipment levels make it good value.

We’ll get to the interior in a moment. Driving-wise, the most immediate problem is its size, and the fact that pouting front bumper sticks out well beyond what you can actually see from the helm. The Dodge-advised test route was straight up and down some dual carriageway, which gives you a clue about how the Nitro handles challenging corners. Ignoring this, we discovered you really don’t want to push your luck with the high centre of gravity – though there are clever anti-rollover systems as part of the standard ESP. Even on major A-roads the ride never really settles. There’s lots of wind and tyre noise but at least this masks the noise from the engine.

At first glance, the Nitro seems pretty spacious – and with only five seats those in the rear should be fine. However, the transmission tunnel intrudes heavily into both footwells at the front – particularly noticeable when trying to find somewhere for your left foot when driving. Plastic quality and finishing is no-where near what you get in a CR-V or a Santa Fe, while the dash looks like a big dark slab that’s had things stuck to it, rather than an integrated design. But all SXTs get the innovative ‘Load ‘N Go’ sliding shelf in the boot, helpful if you’re often handling heavy loads.

Well clearly the diesel is better than the petrol – but even this isn’t brilliant. Official figures are 38.7mpg combined for the manual, and 36.2mpg for the auto, but you’ll struggle to match these in practice, especially if that torque keeps tempting your right foot. Class leaders manage 42mpg plus, but console yourself with the knowledge the Nitro is much more powerful. CO2 emissions are 228g/km in the manual, 250g/km in the automatic. It would be worse if the Dodge had permanent four-wheel drive; instead it’s 4x4 ‘on demand’ – directing up to 50 percent of the torque to the back axle as required.