"Ouch!" Once again the low roofline of the Nitro threatened to crease my head permanently. Only later would I learn to put my head in first and thus eliminate the contact with the door opening. It is one of the sacrifices you must make for the chopped-roof styling of Dodge’s smallest SUV, which shares its underpinnings with Jeep’s similarly sized Liberty.

Unlike the Liberty, the Nitro errs on the masculine side when it comes to styling, which results in things like the chopped top, high instrument panel, flat hood, etc. And, in total, the styling works. This vehicle doesn’t come off as some "cute ute" more at home prowling the mall lot than it is busting through the back woods. Of course, this particular example would have trouble with the off roading given that only the rear wheels are driven. Also, the Nitro also isn’t quite hard-edged as under the hood sits a 3.7-liter V6 instead of the expected Hemi. The V6 isn’t lethargic – it has 210 hp – though it’s mated to a four-speed automatic (a six-speed manual is standard) that has the same EPA mileage rating of 18 city/24 highway as the manual, and returned 17 mpg in mixed driving.

Then again, maybe all that male bluster is really hiding that this small SUV is all about cruising the home center and electronics store. The Load ‘N Go slide out load floor has six tie downs, can carry 400 lb, and makes loading and unloading much easier, whether the cargo is tools, toys, or two healthy American males after a particularly intense tailgating party. And, yeah, it makes putting groceries and other booty from shopping trips into the hold, too.

The Nitro SLT 4x2 starts at $22,635, to which our example added a power sunroof ($850), eight amplified speakers plus subwoofer ($550), AM/FM/MP3 radio with six-disc in-dash capability ($350), a year of Sirius satellite radio ($195), and a $660 destination charge for a total of $25,240. The one nagging question – other than why the folks at Dodge couldn’t make ingress and egress less awkward – is why the Nitro exists as a Dodge. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for Dodge to get a crossover for this slot, and leave the true “off-road” segment to Jeep? Perhaps the low roofline is there to remind the folks at Chrysler that they should leave well enough alone.