My son and I were driving to Chicago to attend the Tottenham Hotspur FC vs. Chicago Fire game so just for giggles I rented a V6 Challenger for the weekend. Herewith my review...
I'll begin by noting that the 2015 Challenger receives some significant upgrades besides the availability of the mega-horsepower Hellcat; the 8 speed ZF autobox and a "Super Track Pak" are now available with the V6. And a new interior manages to look both more modern and more retro at the same time. The exterior receives a few tweaks as well.
As for the 2014 I drove, I can sum it up in two words: Big Cruiser. And I don't mean that as a slam. The thing is huge- 198" long and 4,000 pounds. Still, the 305 bhp Pentastar does a decent job of moving the big sled down the road; while a 0-60 in the mid sixes and a 15 second quarter mile cannot be considered even remotely fast, it is adequate for this car's intended purpose. And it is relatively efficient, averaging 29 mpg at an 80 mph cruise. The 5 speed automatic works OK, but it isn't all that responsive in manual shift mode. And I still think that the sideways autostick function is beyond moronic; left to downshift, right to upshift? Which imbecile gave the green light to that?
Handling is again, adequate. While I would prefer much tighter shock damping and roll stiffness, the person who buys this car is never going to come close to pushing it to its modest limits(heck, the person who buys this car probably thinks "understeer" is a band that used to open for Pearl Jam). Steering effort was high(which most drivers think-wrongly-equates to steering feel) but not very communicative. Still, it was fine for the type of driving this car encourages. Ditto for the brakes. And the car is a brilliant interstate cruiser, quietly soaking up most every road imperfection with little to no floating or wallowing- it felt almost European as opposed to a domestic land yacht.
I liked the interior; the cloth seats(with power lumbar support) were at least as comfortable as the base seats in my wife's E90 328i but not nearly as comfortable as BMW Sport seats or the chairs in my MS3. The base sound system sounded remarkably good. The trunk is cavernous, and the lid uses gas struts so no hinges intrude on the trunk space.
Summing up,the Challenger V6 is just not my kind of car, but it is perfect for the demographic it is aimed at. As for me, if I had the money and garage space I'd buy an SRT just to take to cruise nights and for longer trips with two passengers.
I'll begin by noting that the 2015 Challenger receives some significant upgrades besides the availability of the mega-horsepower Hellcat; the 8 speed ZF autobox and a "Super Track Pak" are now available with the V6. And a new interior manages to look both more modern and more retro at the same time. The exterior receives a few tweaks as well.
As for the 2014 I drove, I can sum it up in two words: Big Cruiser. And I don't mean that as a slam. The thing is huge- 198" long and 4,000 pounds. Still, the 305 bhp Pentastar does a decent job of moving the big sled down the road; while a 0-60 in the mid sixes and a 15 second quarter mile cannot be considered even remotely fast, it is adequate for this car's intended purpose. And it is relatively efficient, averaging 29 mpg at an 80 mph cruise. The 5 speed automatic works OK, but it isn't all that responsive in manual shift mode. And I still think that the sideways autostick function is beyond moronic; left to downshift, right to upshift? Which imbecile gave the green light to that?
Handling is again, adequate. While I would prefer much tighter shock damping and roll stiffness, the person who buys this car is never going to come close to pushing it to its modest limits(heck, the person who buys this car probably thinks "understeer" is a band that used to open for Pearl Jam). Steering effort was high(which most drivers think-wrongly-equates to steering feel) but not very communicative. Still, it was fine for the type of driving this car encourages. Ditto for the brakes. And the car is a brilliant interstate cruiser, quietly soaking up most every road imperfection with little to no floating or wallowing- it felt almost European as opposed to a domestic land yacht.
I liked the interior; the cloth seats(with power lumbar support) were at least as comfortable as the base seats in my wife's E90 328i but not nearly as comfortable as BMW Sport seats or the chairs in my MS3. The base sound system sounded remarkably good. The trunk is cavernous, and the lid uses gas struts so no hinges intrude on the trunk space.
Summing up,the Challenger V6 is just not my kind of car, but it is perfect for the demographic it is aimed at. As for me, if I had the money and garage space I'd buy an SRT just to take to cruise nights and for longer trips with two passengers.