The past weekend, I was in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show. When I got to the National lot at the airport, I was choosing my "full size car", and happened to notice they had Charger R/T's available. Must be a popular rental up this way. Saw a lot passing by the other lots too. I just said to myself "Hey, what the heck", and took one.
This is unusal for me, because I am no fan of the new Chargers, other than the fact that they are a true successful modern muscle car. Because they are 4 doors, I always looked at them as Dodge Intrepids on steroids, rather than Chargers.
The first thing I noticed was that the interior was quite good. Nothing to write home about, but nothing that made me feel like clawing my eyes out, either. Multimedia screen was good sized for big fingers and visibility. Pretty well-placed too. Seats were surprisingly supportive, and definitely not the typical "fat man" style racing seats that have good bolsters way too far apart for slimmer folks. Touch of brightwork here and there on the dash, good visible instruments. Only demerit was the lack of a backup camera. Even economy cars come with those standard these days, and this car had pretty much everything else.
In driving it out of the airport on the notoriously crummy roads there, I found the drive quite civil. Couldn't find anything to complain about, other than the ride being a bit stiff and juttery over the awful road. Brakes were mean monsters. Ask, and you would receive. I immediately noticed that the exhaust was quite imperceptible compared to what I thought it would be. Once out of the highway, I discovered that this is a true sleeper exhaust. Civil when you are not on it, and absolutely loud and nasty when you get on it. At one point I was holding 3rd gear and snapped back on the throttle. I could swear I had momentarily injured a mountain lion hiding in the trunk. Exhaust barked hard when I got back on it. Good enough that for a moment I thought I might be listening to one of those fake engine noise generators that are becoming popular. Opened the windows and verified that noise was definitely coming from the exhaust. No one should ever buy an aftermarket exhaust for this car. Ever.
Totally in love with the grip and handling. Feels ridiculously light for how much it actually weighs. Plenty of times it gripped hard and transferred power right to where it needed to be rather than getting the expected wheelspin or drift. Still has plenty of stones, even when carrying 4 passengers. Handling doesn't seem to suffer much, either. Smooth as silk at 140mph.
This engine had the MDS, and it was surprisingly good for all of the complaints I hear about it. Switches to and from 4 cylinder mode with ease. Definitely delivers excellent fuel economy while trolling along in 4 cylinders. I averaged 23 mpg, even with the occasion beat downs.
Transmission was excellent. Had a gear for every moment and used them all correctly.
The rear seat and trunk space were both great. I feel it might be superior to the 300C that was parked next to this Charger. Rear USB ports are a nice thing to have too.
Overall, this is an incredible car. Reminded me of my old E39 M5 in a lot of ways. I'm forced to conclude that this truly is the muscle car in its truest definition: A full sized car, with a big engine, that makes little compromise on space and comfort in the name of performance, but still has it. I hope this becomes a very popular rental car. I'd like to see one available every where I go.
To think, I almost picked up a year old Impala instead.
This is unusal for me, because I am no fan of the new Chargers, other than the fact that they are a true successful modern muscle car. Because they are 4 doors, I always looked at them as Dodge Intrepids on steroids, rather than Chargers.
The first thing I noticed was that the interior was quite good. Nothing to write home about, but nothing that made me feel like clawing my eyes out, either. Multimedia screen was good sized for big fingers and visibility. Pretty well-placed too. Seats were surprisingly supportive, and definitely not the typical "fat man" style racing seats that have good bolsters way too far apart for slimmer folks. Touch of brightwork here and there on the dash, good visible instruments. Only demerit was the lack of a backup camera. Even economy cars come with those standard these days, and this car had pretty much everything else.
In driving it out of the airport on the notoriously crummy roads there, I found the drive quite civil. Couldn't find anything to complain about, other than the ride being a bit stiff and juttery over the awful road. Brakes were mean monsters. Ask, and you would receive. I immediately noticed that the exhaust was quite imperceptible compared to what I thought it would be. Once out of the highway, I discovered that this is a true sleeper exhaust. Civil when you are not on it, and absolutely loud and nasty when you get on it. At one point I was holding 3rd gear and snapped back on the throttle. I could swear I had momentarily injured a mountain lion hiding in the trunk. Exhaust barked hard when I got back on it. Good enough that for a moment I thought I might be listening to one of those fake engine noise generators that are becoming popular. Opened the windows and verified that noise was definitely coming from the exhaust. No one should ever buy an aftermarket exhaust for this car. Ever.
Totally in love with the grip and handling. Feels ridiculously light for how much it actually weighs. Plenty of times it gripped hard and transferred power right to where it needed to be rather than getting the expected wheelspin or drift. Still has plenty of stones, even when carrying 4 passengers. Handling doesn't seem to suffer much, either. Smooth as silk at 140mph.
This engine had the MDS, and it was surprisingly good for all of the complaints I hear about it. Switches to and from 4 cylinder mode with ease. Definitely delivers excellent fuel economy while trolling along in 4 cylinders. I averaged 23 mpg, even with the occasion beat downs.
Transmission was excellent. Had a gear for every moment and used them all correctly.
The rear seat and trunk space were both great. I feel it might be superior to the 300C that was parked next to this Charger. Rear USB ports are a nice thing to have too.
Overall, this is an incredible car. Reminded me of my old E39 M5 in a lot of ways. I'm forced to conclude that this truly is the muscle car in its truest definition: A full sized car, with a big engine, that makes little compromise on space and comfort in the name of performance, but still has it. I hope this becomes a very popular rental car. I'd like to see one available every where I go.
To think, I almost picked up a year old Impala instead.
