Learn me: Modern Dodge Challenger

Dodge Challenger. 

They're cheaper than I'd expect, particularly (to me) near the top end, where the superlatives live.

They're big. They're heavy. When I was autocrossing semi-regularly, a guy seemed to be doing pretty well in a "scat pack" car.  Two and three year old Hellcats are surprisingly cheap, and might be the first car where stick and auto are both very readily available, and I'd seek out the auto. 

Reviews seem contradictry about whether the car can turn. And with something like a dozen different trims, each with very different performance properties, getting a good idea is tricky. 

Goals for me are daily driving (relatively few miles) occasional road trips for two, autocross, and maybe a Track Night in America event. 

I'm fairly certain GRM did a Buyer's Guide for them a year or so ago.  Maybe they'll add it to the digital archive.  From what I remember from the article, yes - while it's obviously no Miata, the car doesn't completely embarrass itself when facing a curve.

I've had similar thoughts about a R/T 6 spd.  

A bunch of years back Mopar Action magazine took a bone-stock automatic SRT 392 to the Spectre 341 Challenge and got into the 3:41 club while outrunning every stock vehicle except for a single R35 GT-R, so they can totally party. We've had one show up at our autocrosses and win the novice class, which is notable in that the guy had never autocrossed and went up against Miatas and WRXs.

I seem to recall that non-Hellcat and non-SRTs couldn't get an LSD with an automatic. Something about the only way to get an LSD was with the Track Pack, which required the manual, or something like that. Grumble grumble, stupid new car option packages, grumble grumble.

The 392 cars look sweet as hell too. They've (shockingly) made my short list. 

The chassis is based off MB which can't be a bad thing when it comes to ride and handling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_LX_platform

They are attractive vehicles

My daughter is willing to get the one I want as a company car, depreciate it for 50k miles then let my buy it for employee pricing.   This is not a good thing.

They gave her a 2018 GT AWD for a loaner, that was the one I wanted, even Yellow.

When I was still considering a bigger budget, I really considered one, but the desire to track occasionally and what it would have done to brakes/tires/gas and it's sheer size steered me away.

I'd love one. Even would consider leasing one as I hear the scat packs are very cheap.

It's the cost of tires that is the biggest turn off. 

And I have a feeling I would want a lot of tires with a car like that.

They apparently didn't know what they were doing, but I was randomly given a '16 R/T as a rental.  To be honest, I sort of fell in love.  The exhaust note was much louder than I expected a stock version to be and the car just felt... rowdy (on a side note I started calling the car Mr. Piper).  I had ball with that thing on Alabama back roads, but I'll admit it never felt as confidence inspiring as my WRX in the corners.  Fun nonetheless.  Fantastic highway cruiser as well, which isn't surprising. 

As a daily driver I probably don't need anything faster than the R/T with "only" 370 horses on tap.  It was already skirting the line of getting me into trouble.  After that rental, I don't think I'd be happy with the V6 though.  So much of the character of that car came from the V8.  MPGs be damned.

All I know is how sexy they look. Enough so for me that I wouldn't rule one out even if they had worse handling than the classic challengers. Do it. Open diff, six holes, auto, I still don't care. Just not in blue.

I don't have much to add, but I drove one once for a very short distance, and was amazed at how good the manual gearbox was. I was expecting garbage, but it actually shifted nicely. 

I wonder how a GT would do in rallycross. 

I was very impressed driving my friends Scat Pack six speed. Can't comment on handling as I didn't put it through it's paces but it was comfortable sounds amazing and goes like hell. 

I have been trying to get my brother to autocross his SRT 8 for 5 years.  Eventually, we will see how it stacks up to my Answer.

CyberEric said:

I don't have much to add, but I drove one once for a very short distance, and was amazed at how good the manual gearbox was. I was expecting garbage, but it actually shifted nicely. 

It's an updated T-56 and prob THE BEST manual trans out on the market and currently used in a slew of other RWD based performance cars.  

I'm strongly considering one when the Mustang has run its course.  It has a V8, comes in an manual, and has room for three in the back seat, which is my key requirement for chauffeuring the kids around.

I love the looks of them, the only downside is that when I last looked, the older V8/6spd cars seem to hold their value better than I'd like them to (as a potential buyer).

Get the biggest engine you can and enjoy wonderful straight line speed. I wouldn't really try to autocross a Challenger, they're better for the drag strip or for a big track.

I don't know what it is about the Challenger, but just sitting in one instantly makes me feel like a badass. The Corvette, Camaro and Mustang fail to have the same effect.

How hard is it to get in and out of the back seat? I've never really even considered one of these because of the lack of doors.

In reply to 8valve :

Not sure, but I'm sure it's better than a Mustang or Camaro, thanks to the more upright notchback coupe body style and the larger dimensions of it.

I test drove an R/T with the manual and fell in love. This one was on Eibach springs and it looked just right. I loved the interior too. It also had a shaker hood installed which was awesome because I love shaker hoods. Think of them more as a Grand Touring muscle car rather than a performance oriented sports car. I would autocross one no doubt, but I also autocrossed my Impala SS and my Pontiac Grand Prix so I'm not really the one to ask. 

A manual R/T is at the very top of my list to buy if I wasn't back to making the same money I was in 1998.

My coworker has a 2016 Scat Pack and it's got a very usable back seat. I can get in and out pretty gracefully and I'm 6'0 and around 200lbs. Headroom is excellent as well, I can sit fully upright with a reasonable amount of comfort. Legroom is ample as well, better than some sedans I've been in. The Challenger is a pretty big car, for better or worse.

When I ran with NASA-norcal there were a pair that threw down. One an R/T, one an SRT. They both boogied just fine when driven in serious anger at Sonoma - a very tight road course.

This has made me take a good look at the SRTs, there are a few of them around me that are pretty tempting....

The T/A 392 w/ performance suspension  is my favorite.  Its seem to be the only way to get the 275 tires all the way around without spending huge money (just big money) the 'regular' T/A is cheaper and can be upgraded, just not as far.   It takes some time carefully combing thru Dodge's site to figure it all out. Want big brakes? opt for big wheels etc.

The V6 can be had with LSD, its buried in one of the pkgs. you also get a 3.07 gear vs a 2.65 to boot.

The car got a small facelift in 2015 and a much nicer interior. Skip the sunroof for more head room.