800 mile road trip in a 2013 Challenger R/T
I will fully admit to being susceptible to the rental car up-sell. In my extensive rental car experience, I have found that you can often (not always) get a better deal by asking about a high end car on the lot and making an offer on it, than you can by booking a "premium car" in advance. With that in mind, I tend to make a reservation for the cheapest possible option (which is usually ok with me anyway) but arrive a bit early to look over the inventory and keep my options open.
So when I arrived at Hertz, I looked around the lot and immediately my eyeballs were captured by a pleasing orange glow...there sat a 2013 Challenger R/T Classic reflecting copious amounts of sunlight in the Hemi Orange portion of the spectrum and my mind was instantly made up. I was able to work a fair deal on the car and off I went.
Over the course of the 800 miles I put on this car, it revceived more attention than anything I have ever driven...too much. "Bros" in pickup trucks revving their engines, old ladies smiling and pointing, children peering from the back seats of SUVs, one challenge from a modded C5 Corvette (which I declined with a smile and wave), numerous police officers with surprising neck-swivel capabilities...I will go to my grave insisting that this is one of the finest paint colors ever conceived but after this experience, I'm no longer certain I would buy a new Challenger in this color.
I have driven several cars on this platform including two earlier model year Challenger R/Ts...but this one was a bit different. The fairly generic looking interior still contains the Cerberus Capitol era gauge cluster and large expanses of blank plastic but it was clear that the materials and touch points were given some attention. The dash was soft, all of the controls had nice grippy rubber added to them to good affect. The leather front buckets were fairly deep but classic looking, very adjustable and two adults rode comfortably in the back seats. Uconnect remains the best electronics package in the business and worked perfectly for me...of course, interior snobs won't be impressed but I was generally pleased.
The paddle shiftrers were a plesant surprise. They are slick looking satin finished metal pieces with satisfying movement. I don't have too much experience with automatics in performance oriented cars but this one shifted quite hard on command and would chirp second gear when provoked.
Anyone who writes these cars off as lumbering roadwhales hasn't driven a recent one. Substantial upgrades were made (2011 model year?) and it seems that more have been made since. I was struck by how well the car's weight is hidden during any steering inputs up to 6/10 of available grip. The steering is nicely weighted and quick (though a tad too sensitive on center), responses are immediate, body motions are very well controlled. Yes, if you fling it into a hairpin, the inertia of 2+ tons of Mopar will become apparent and traction will give way, but at no point (that I found) does the composure fall apart.
The 5.7L motor is a gem. It's not anywhwere near as hard-edged a Coyote 5.0 but it's strong everywhere and the big, friendly, eager personality of the engine perfectly suits the kind of car the Challenger is. There is a nice exhaust note at hgher RPM but like the other V8 coupes from 'Murica these days, the stock mufflers are far too polite.
If the onboard computer is to be believed, I managed 25.3mpg in mixed driving, 85% highway but with quite a few WOT runs thrown in there which was better than I was anticipating. Due to a shortage of legal opportunities, I was only able to attempt three 0-60mph runs (with passengers on board
), the best was a 5.30 seconds...also better than I had anticipated but fairly believable based on my well calibrated butt dyno.
The car is not perfect. While I will never get tired of looking at this bodystyle, that slab sided design is showing its age, particularly in the interior. The visibility is naturally poor with this car's exterior styling treatment (though still better than Camaro) but it seems like some compromise could be made on that front while maintianing that lovely profile. The good body control clearly comes at the cost of ride quality and the style demands cartoonish 20" wheels which are a bit of a curse. Some of the controls (like getting the transmission back fully auto) mode were awkward. Parking the car is a particular pain and requires a large amount of patience.
My overall impression of this car is extremely positive though. I found it to be thoroughly lovable and entertaining. I couldn't wait to hop back in to the car each time and I didn't want to turn it in at the end of the trip. The one underlying attribute that is keeping one of these cars out of my own garage is the size. If the car had the dimensions of a Mustang, it would need no excuses at all.
The cell phone pics below do NOT do the color any justice...the paint is vibrant and saturated in person.
I will fully admit to being susceptible to the rental car up-sell. In my extensive rental car experience, I have found that you can often (not always) get a better deal by asking about a high end car on the lot and making an offer on it, than you can by booking a "premium car" in advance. With that in mind, I tend to make a reservation for the cheapest possible option (which is usually ok with me anyway) but arrive a bit early to look over the inventory and keep my options open.
So when I arrived at Hertz, I looked around the lot and immediately my eyeballs were captured by a pleasing orange glow...there sat a 2013 Challenger R/T Classic reflecting copious amounts of sunlight in the Hemi Orange portion of the spectrum and my mind was instantly made up. I was able to work a fair deal on the car and off I went.
Over the course of the 800 miles I put on this car, it revceived more attention than anything I have ever driven...too much. "Bros" in pickup trucks revving their engines, old ladies smiling and pointing, children peering from the back seats of SUVs, one challenge from a modded C5 Corvette (which I declined with a smile and wave), numerous police officers with surprising neck-swivel capabilities...I will go to my grave insisting that this is one of the finest paint colors ever conceived but after this experience, I'm no longer certain I would buy a new Challenger in this color.
I have driven several cars on this platform including two earlier model year Challenger R/Ts...but this one was a bit different. The fairly generic looking interior still contains the Cerberus Capitol era gauge cluster and large expanses of blank plastic but it was clear that the materials and touch points were given some attention. The dash was soft, all of the controls had nice grippy rubber added to them to good affect. The leather front buckets were fairly deep but classic looking, very adjustable and two adults rode comfortably in the back seats. Uconnect remains the best electronics package in the business and worked perfectly for me...of course, interior snobs won't be impressed but I was generally pleased.
The paddle shiftrers were a plesant surprise. They are slick looking satin finished metal pieces with satisfying movement. I don't have too much experience with automatics in performance oriented cars but this one shifted quite hard on command and would chirp second gear when provoked.
Anyone who writes these cars off as lumbering roadwhales hasn't driven a recent one. Substantial upgrades were made (2011 model year?) and it seems that more have been made since. I was struck by how well the car's weight is hidden during any steering inputs up to 6/10 of available grip. The steering is nicely weighted and quick (though a tad too sensitive on center), responses are immediate, body motions are very well controlled. Yes, if you fling it into a hairpin, the inertia of 2+ tons of Mopar will become apparent and traction will give way, but at no point (that I found) does the composure fall apart.
The 5.7L motor is a gem. It's not anywhwere near as hard-edged a Coyote 5.0 but it's strong everywhere and the big, friendly, eager personality of the engine perfectly suits the kind of car the Challenger is. There is a nice exhaust note at hgher RPM but like the other V8 coupes from 'Murica these days, the stock mufflers are far too polite.
If the onboard computer is to be believed, I managed 25.3mpg in mixed driving, 85% highway but with quite a few WOT runs thrown in there which was better than I was anticipating. Due to a shortage of legal opportunities, I was only able to attempt three 0-60mph runs (with passengers on board
), the best was a 5.30 seconds...also better than I had anticipated but fairly believable based on my well calibrated butt dyno. The car is not perfect. While I will never get tired of looking at this bodystyle, that slab sided design is showing its age, particularly in the interior. The visibility is naturally poor with this car's exterior styling treatment (though still better than Camaro) but it seems like some compromise could be made on that front while maintianing that lovely profile. The good body control clearly comes at the cost of ride quality and the style demands cartoonish 20" wheels which are a bit of a curse. Some of the controls (like getting the transmission back fully auto) mode were awkward. Parking the car is a particular pain and requires a large amount of patience.
My overall impression of this car is extremely positive though. I found it to be thoroughly lovable and entertaining. I couldn't wait to hop back in to the car each time and I didn't want to turn it in at the end of the trip. The one underlying attribute that is keeping one of these cars out of my own garage is the size. If the car had the dimensions of a Mustang, it would need no excuses at all.
The cell phone pics below do NOT do the color any justice...the paint is vibrant and saturated in person.
