Test drove a Challenger R/T

I was bored and wanted to get out of the house a while. I found myself at a Dodge dealership. I was walking around looking at the trucks when a black Challenger caught my eye. It was sitting a little lower than stock and had the SRT front splitter in it. This one had a presence about it. It just looked right. Peaking inside I saw it was a six speed. About that time one of the salesman came whipping up on a golf cart. I thought uh oh, here we go. I explained that I was just bored and killing some time, not a buyer. He said, " We don't charge for test drives so wanna have some fun?" Uh, sure man!

Turns out the PO worked at the dealership and had them install an Eibach pro kit. It felt really good. The ride was excellent and cornered pretty flat. The power was nice, the torque was very evident. Compared to the Camaro it was very roomy inside. All in all I was very impressed with it. It has the attitude and presence in spades. I really fell in love with it. If I had the money I would have left with it.

And that sounds awesome. I heard some Fin talking about one on the hooniverse podcast and my interest is piqued.

Mrs RMD had a run-of-the-mill used '13 R/T Challenger with 6-spd for a loaner while her Dart was getting new wheels and tires (under road hazard warranty), for the third time. It led trading the Dart for a new '13 SRT Super Bee, today.

In reply to RealMiniDriver:

Sweet!

I guess that Honda needs to make the successor to the S2000 then, so almost all the major car manufacturers have a sports car to sell some bored men.

It is quite possibly the fastest thing I have ever driven. I was gingerly getting on the freeway, on an S-ramp. Punched it at the end, and was doing 105 before the end.

On my short list.

RealMiniDriver wrote: It is quite possibly the fastest thing I have ever driven. I was gingerly getting on the freeway, on an S-ramp. Punched it at the end, and was doing 105 before the end.

My Charger is like that. There are times I look down at the speedo and go . It rides so smooth that sometimes you don't "feel" the speed. You have to appreciate a car that has enough guts to be going 80mph up hill and you stick your foot in it and it still accelerates hard.

Mr_Clutch42 wrote: I guess that Honda needs to make the successor to the S2000 then, so almost all the major car manufacturers have a sports car to sell some bored men.

you can always sell a young mans car to an old man......

The amount of want that I have for the Challenger (and Charger) R/T cannot be contained. I've only sat in them so far at car shows, but I felt perfectly inside both of them. They have so much room inside, and the Charger is a really nice place to spend time in (the Challenger still has that Cerberus Capital Management interior but it's tolerable). I have been marinating SWMBO in "I'm getting a Challenger/Charger for my next car" for years now.

In reply to SilverFleet:

I was lucky wife wanted one nearly as bad as me. She really has her heart set on a Redline Challenger RT so I will have to make that happen someday.

In reply to rebelgtp: They had one of those sitting at the dealership. I did not look at it.

"you can always sell a young mans car to an old man......"

My father bought one of these:

While in his 90s . . .

In reply to TeamEvil:

sweet!!

It is quite possibly the fastest thing I have ever driven. I was gingerly getting on the freeway, on an S-ramp. Punched it at the end, and was doing 105 before the end.

Well, i think it's hard to lose objectivity about the speed of the fastest thing you have ever driven, but for me im finding it depressingly hard to care about 400hp cars when run of the mill cars have 300 hp. I work at a huge auction and get to 0-70 in all sorts of stuff (i do have very limited space, thus no higher speeds) and im finding myself more impressed with the stuff that ISNT supposed to be fast than the stuff that is. I recently drove a 6.1/6spd manual SRT8 Challenger, a 3.6L/6spd auto Caravan, and a 3.6L/8spd auto quad cab ram. I thought the Challenger was not as fast as it should be, and the truck and the van were SHOCKINGLY much faster than i expected. Of course they were slower, but ultimately how they related to my expectations had more of an effect on how i felt about it, then how fast they actually were.

It would have been a lot easier to appreciate the extra power of the Challenger if it came with extra drama, but it didnt. Or if i'd been able to take it to higher speeds.

I think they are cool cars, but the ridiculous acceleration of more mundane cars is becoming a joykill for me when i driver faster stuff. (Powershifting into 3rd with a healthy bark) "Well, it is a BIT faster than a Caravan, so thats something.."

Like Vigo, I drive a lot of different things. So many cars have HP overkill. Especially when considering the chassis that the HP is connected to. I tend to get impressed with cars that are quick and balanced packages. Stuff like the BMW 135i/ 235i come to mind.

I think that is the problem Argo. When you take a family truckster like the Honda Accord.. the V6 model has 278 hp, people tend to lose perspective.

I always had a distant lust for the Challenger. Every time I sat in one at the auto shows, they power was disconnected and the seats were set as low and back as possible, so I always felt like I was sitting in cave with no visibility. At the '14 New York show, the power seats were fully functional and I was able to get into a position where I was comfortable and could see out of the damn thing.

My once distant lust has become near.

I just wish it could fit in my garage (and be able to open the doors...)

I don't know what these things make for power. I just know it felt about right to me. It certainly didn't overwhelm me but it had some grunt. If it was an SRT8 I would have been disappointing but the only thing it needed for me was to be more loud.

It certainly wasn't as underwhelming as the G8 GXP I test drove when they first came out. That made 400 HP feel more like 300 more than anything else I've ever driven. Hell my 290 HP Grand Prix felt much quicker, even though by the numbers it wasn't.

nicksta43 wrote: I don't know what these things make for power. I just know it felt about right to me. It certainly didn't overwhelm me but it had some grunt.

376hp, 400 foot lbs torque with the mtx.

Many subtle changes through the years, as well as packages.

The '11+ (I believe) had a re-designed front suspension that helps hide the feel of the weight.

The "track pack" adds a full-off mode to the stability control and some torque management as well as a 3.91 rear with locking diff, bilsteins etc.

The Mtx. adds a few hp on the tune and a larger diameter exhaust. The mtx r/t factory exhaust is a great balance of growl when you get on it and silence cruising on the highway. These engines sound amazing uncorked, but this is a highway cruiser car.

The torque management, for me, made the car feel like it was being held back 80% of the time. Then sometimes the algorithms would line up and the car would surprise me with all its power.

Without torque management or a tuned motor, an electric exhaust cut out and a highway commute and I would have kept mine.

Wah, wah, wah, they are too heavy!!!!

I don't care. I think they look fantastic and I'd love to have one in my garage.

Fat assed barge. Maybe for admirers of old style pony cars (now overweight 2 ton clydesdales) but not for admirers of real sports cars.

Never said it was a sports car

wspohn wrote: Fat assed barge. Maybe for admirers of old style pony cars (now overweight 2 ton clydesdales) but not for admirers of real sports cars.

There it is. Surprised it took this long.

wspohn wrote: Fat assed barge. Maybe for admirers of old style pony cars (now overweight 2 ton clydesdales) but not for admirers of real sports cars.

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