2009 Dodge Challenger SE, R/T, SRT8 - Tested - video Dailymotion

MT Technical Director Frank Markus tests the three 2009 Dodge Challenger variants - SE

Transcript

00:00 I'm Frank Marcus with Motor Trend and I'm sitting in the newest Dodge Challenger to

00:08 hit the roads, the V6 automatic car.

00:11 $21,995 buys you 250 horsepower, 250 pound feet of torque.

00:15 How does it compare with the V8s?

00:19 Best way to find out is a drag race.

00:22 [Music]

00:30 Countdown for three, four, three, two, one.

00:35 [Music]

01:04 Of course, these cars aren't all about acceleration.

01:09 There's also handling and braking to be considered.

01:12 So, we're taking a spin on the Motor Trend figure eight course to assess the transitional

01:17 behavior, max lateral grip and the acceleration and braking into and out of turns.

01:23 This is a big car for 250 horsepower and 250 pound feet of torque.

01:29 So, accelerating out of the turns is a lot less traumatic than we're going to find in

01:35 the V8s, I believe.

01:36 Sure enough, you can smoke the tires with the RT.

01:38 Shaves about a second off of the figure eight time, but the ESP system can't be turned off

01:43 completely.

01:44 Of course, the SRT8 does allow you to turn ESP off completely and smoke the tires like

01:48 a drift king.

01:49 If you stick to the program, though, you can shave another second off of the RT's already

01:53 great figure eight time.

01:54 So, basically, we're finding that you do get what you pay for, saving about eight grand

01:59 or so for the base car over the RT.

02:03 You get a car that doesn't handle nearly as sharply and crisply.

02:06 [Music]

02:10 Well, we've driven all three Challengers.

02:11 What did we learn?

02:12 Well, for 22 grand, the base car buys you all the retro styling, the stairs on the road,

02:17 the best fuel economy of the bunch, but kind of poor performance.

02:20 You have to pay 20,000 more almost for this SRT8, and you do get tremendous sound, the

02:25 best tire smoking, but you pay a lot at the pump.

02:28 That's why we think the best bet is the RT.

02:30 For only 8,000 over the base car, you get terrific performance, all that great sound,

02:35 and only one MPG on the city down on the performance.

02:38 So, that's our favorite, the Dodge Challenger RT.

02:41 [Music]

02:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]