10-12-2012, 03:18 AM | #1 |
Carmudgeon
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,243
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Rented a charger..better than I expected
Took a long road trip (LA to SF) and the rental company had a choice of Altima, Camry or charger. Had to go with the charger!
Love the looks of the latest gen version and have always been a bit curious. Being a rental this was the base v6 with a rather archaic 5 speed auto. But the interior is nicely done (and much more solid than any recent BMW). No rattles and everything works well. Very nice plastics with real aluminum trim on the dash (better than audis fake trim in the a4) The steering felt like good old hydraulic rack and pinion with good on center feel (let down only by the rental spec 65 series tires). Granted the car is enormous. I started laughing at what a boat it is. But even on the twisty pacific coast highway the solid Mercedes Benz Underpinnings held their own. Also liked the surprising amount of info available from the center screen including total engine hours and individual tire psi (again BMW wtf). The trunk is fully finished and the lid opens fully by double clicking the trunk button on the fob. Again it's ridiculously huge. The only thing that outright sucked were the seats. These were the base 6 way jobs and weren't very supportive or comfortable. Given that I'm not impressed with recent German efforts, im kind of tempted to pickup a v8 version of one of these. With better seats, and a nice hemi sound-track for around 30k it's kind of hard to beat. |
10-12-2012, 06:40 AM | #2 |
195
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 24,609
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I had a rental one of those for a few weeks earlier this year, and generally agree. It's a lot of car for the money.
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10-12-2012, 11:14 AM | #3 |
No more BMWs
Join Date: Apr 2005
Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8
Location: Glenwood, MD
Posts: 14,753
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I can't imagine driving one of those things daily. They're enormous.
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10-13-2012, 07:56 PM | #4 |
Slacker Extraordinaire
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 3,721
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I rented one last year (around this time) when I when back to NJ for my class reunion.
I liked it. It drove very similar to the new Camaro, imo. It's probably one Dodge product I would consider buying. Oops, that was a Challenger I rented....
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10-13-2012, 08:59 PM | #5 |
I like BMWs
Join Date: Oct 2003
Carmudgeonly Ride: X5 M50 / M550
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 5,789
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It's nice but way too big. They're working on a smaller RWD platform for the new Barracuda (to be sold under SRT brand) that will replace the Challenger and that should be promising. I wonder if they'll do a sedan on that platform as well for Dodge?
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10-15-2012, 01:55 PM | #6 |
Doctor Mudgeon
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,433
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I was riding in a rented Charger about a year ago. There were four of us in there, going thru downtown San Antonio, when we went over a speed bump. WHOMP! We must've popped the bolts that attach the manifold to the rest of the exhaust, because that thing sounded like an angry walrus for the rest of the trip. I'm glad the rental wasn't in my name.
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10-15-2012, 02:08 PM | #7 | |
195
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 24,609
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Quote:
But as a full-size car, it's not so bad. It's no bigger than a Taurus on the outside, at least from a perception standpoint. It has lots of space inside, both in the back seat and in driver/passenger seat. For carting around three kids, it would be a nice alternative to the typical two-row SUV. I'd like to drive a 300C SRT-8. |
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