So I rented a 2017 Charger R/T- my review

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My wife and I decided to rent something to drive to NC to visit our son; the original plan was to reserve a Renegade since my wife is thinking of getting a Trailhawk when the i3 lease is up. However, my local Enterprise couldn't get one- the only Jeep that they had was a Compass, and that was notgonnahappen.com. What they did have was a new Charger R/T- so I rented it just for giggles...
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How do I like it? Quite a bit, actually. It's a lot bigger than I prefer but it has a nice ride and decent handling. The base 5.7 Hemi cranks out 0-60 times in the low five second range and the 1/4 mile in the high thirteens; adequate I guess, but I'd definitely have to move up to an SRT if I was buying one. The V8 sounds glorious at full throttle; that alone makes the Hemi mandatory for this car

The ZF 8HP is flawless as always. In mostly interstate driving at over 70 mph it averaged 28 mpg, which is outstanding for a car that weighs over two tons. The Multi-Displacement System kicked in on level stretches and was mostly transparent- the fuel economy display would also indicate when the MDS was functioning.

Speaking of displays, I liked the flexibility to display water, oil, and transmission temperatures- not to mention oil pressure and voltage. I don't like touchscreens, but at least the Uconnect display has redundant volume and tuning knobs- ditto for the HVAC system. The steering wheel mounted controls also work well.
The Alpine speaker system also sounded nice, I could easily live with it.

The seats were comfortable; the lumbar adjustment and heating improved them still more. Needless to say, the cabin is roomy and the trunk is cavernous.

Bottom line: If I was buying a large four door car a Charger SRT-or Hellcat-would be at the top of my list(a properly equipped 440i Gran Coupe nails down the smaller four door spot). As I see it, RWD and a honking V8 trumps everything.
 
Did everyone think you were a cop in their rear view mirror? (If your rental was black or white)
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Did everyone think you were a cop in their rear view mirror? (If your rental was black or white)



Nope, it's silver- but I did blow past a parked LEO at an extra-legal clip and didn't get a second glance.
 
Our police department is getting rid of the Chargers, they haven't aged well.

I think we are down to two chargers.

They were replaced by Chevy Caprices, which many are getting near 100k and are being replaced by Ford Explorers.

We should be at a 100 percent SUV fleet soon. Patrol gets a non-ecoboost Explorer, and the higher ranking guys get a Tahoe.
 
Originally Posted By: thorromig
Them Chargers "always" catch my eye no matter where im driving. LOVE THEM --- GO MOPAR!!!!


Because you think it's a cop and panic because you're speeding?
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
Our police department is getting rid of the Chargers, they haven't aged well.

I think we are down to two chargers.

They were replaced by Chevy Caprices, which many are getting near 100k and are being replaced by Ford Explorers.

We should be at a 100 percent SUV fleet soon. Patrol gets a non-ecoboost Explorer, and the higher ranking guys get a Tahoe.


Tahoes are the way to go. They arguably have lower overall life cycle costs than the Explorer, despite a bit of sticker shock for the Tahoe.
 
FWIW I just completed a road trip to WV and my 5.7 6 speed manual Challenger averaged 28 mpg also. These cars do decent considering the size motor in them. I went I-68 through the mountains of Western Maryland and West Virginia and I had the cruise on 68 mph and left it in 6th gear the whole way. These cars have plenty of power (unless you're racing then it's never enough power).
 
A Ford mechanic told me of them scrapping Fords because some parts were unavailable.I thought it sounded crazy.But he swore on it
Our cops drive everything.I miss those days when you could tell if a car behind you was a cop car.I think newer cars are being built to be disposable.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Great review! Echoes my experiences with the car
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Agreed. I had similar thoughts of our 5.7 powered Challenger last summer in Vegas/Arizona.
 
Good review and pretty much my thoughts on my Charger SRT. Really have no complaints with the car. Love big V8s and if you want one, I suspect you should get one soon.
 
Originally Posted By: fsdork
[/quote] Tahoes are the way to go. They arguably have lower overall life cycle costs than the Explorer, despite a bit of sticker shock for the Tahoe.


Most agencies [like in my neck of the woods] are leasing their patrol cars so the Explorer should hold up hopefully for 3 years. With that said my county still have several 10 year old high mileage Tahoe's still in service. Mostly for K-9. The Leos that have those Tahoe's do not want to give them up anytime soon for the Explorer. The county did buy a few new 2016-2017 Tahoe's for undercover work. Those Leos love them.
 
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