brucer41

Alrighty, my impressions and so far the lasting ones:

Fit and Finish

Exterior
The Hemi Orange is darn near perfect. No defects or blemishes I can find. A bit more orange peel than I am used to seeing on a new car but it is not too bad that it catches the eye. All gaps and body panels are spot on with the exception of the front valance. The gaps near the fenders are closer then the gap at the center of the hood/valance. The CF stripes are straight and perfect. One very small blemish on the driver side near the washer nozzle though. Looks like a speck of dirt or something got under the tape when they applied it. It’s not real noticeable though. The rear black panel around the taillights has a few ripples in it but is not visible unless you get down and look across it.

Interior
Spacious and comfortable is all I can say. The seats fit real nice and are very firm. The seat belts come over the shoulder and are comfortable on the shoulder. Sitting in a normal driving position there is a great comfort level. Long distance drives in this car will be done in comfort. The dash is very well done. All gauges and controls are easily readable and reachable for me (I am 6’ tall) when driving. It is a bit tough to do any real playing with the MyGig when driving though as this car demands your attention. The carpet, headliner, door panels etc. are well done. The fit and finish is wonderful. No stray edges or threads hanging out anywhere. One thing I do not like is the Emergency brake pedal. I think this should have been a pull handle instead of a pedal. The location for me (with a size 12 foot) interferes with the clutch pedal if I don't angle my foot. It took me a bit to get the hang of using the clutch without hitting the ER pedal. Minor inconvenience but still one never the less.

Engine, tranny, Rear End

Engine
What can be said here? 425 hp and this beast use it all when you want it. The sheer power really comes alive once you get the rpm’s up. Although I only have almost 300 miles on it and I know it will get better, this engine just loves to run in the higher rpm band. The motor is strong and pulls all the way up the rpm band. Not taking it to a track yet or any street fighting I cant really say how hard the power stays in the higher speeds (100+) but on the streets, it is way more then enough. One thing I noticed though and it may be just a new motor or may be a bad pulley, is that when you rev it up say 2500+ rpm’s and let it idle down, when it gets to about 1800 rpm’s there is a little shimmy in the motor. It has a strong idle and you don't feel the shimmy unless you rev it and let it idle down. I will be watching this though.

Transmission
The 6 speed feels really good in shifting. 1-4th are good, strong and keep the power band up. When you get to 5th though the power starts to pull off and the economy side of it takes over. I think they could have put a little lower gear in 5th but I guess on the streets, 1-4th is what will be used more than anything. 6th is just plain overdrive and nothing else. On the street just tooling around you really need to drop down the 4th to get the power band up. 5th wont do it as well. The gate for 1-4th is close and tight. Going to 5-6th you have to concentrate on getting the shifter over there. May be it is me but it feels a bit odd with having 1-4th so close and tight and then having to make an effort to reach over to push it to 5th. The skip shift is a real PITA! In traffic it can be really annoying. I have the eliminator coming and should have it this week to get rid of this. The clutch pedal release is a bit high but in having a hydro clutch before it feels natural to me. The clutch engagement is firm and solid, no clunks or slips if you are not dragging it yourself.

Rear End
Not a lot to say hear. The LSD works well. I did a few little *snicker* burnouts and was treated with solid black stripes. Ok, may be not so little as the stripes were about 30” long! There was no pull to either side as the car grabbed and tracked really straight.

Suspension
The suspension is firm but a bit forgiving of harsh roads. Pot holes and other road nasties are not teeth rattling as the suspension absorbs the hit and translates little to the car itself. Cornering and lean is slight unless you really haul it through a tight turn. As soon as you let off the steering wheel a bit the car comes back up level quickly and is ready for the next turn. Quick left and rights are clean, quick, and responsive. The car has a little lean through the hard turns but it returns as quickly as you turn the wheel. The car tracks straight and true, no wander on the highway at all.

Other

Electronics
The MyGig is a wonder for sure. I didn't order one in my first car and now know I would have been very upset that I didn't get one. I got one now though. It is truly one of the best option they could possibly put in a car. The only thing I think could make this better would be for the radio to be XM and to have Onstar from GM included. The sound is great although to me there is one odd thing. I set the speakers (front/rear and side to side) as I like them and it sounds great but when the genre of the music changes say rock to pop or soft music, the front rear sounds off. It may be the settings need to be tweaked a bit but no big deal there. It is plenty loud enough but at max sound there isn’t a lot of depth to it. I think it needs a better amp or sub would fix this.

Trunk
The trunk is huge compared to the wife’s Mustang. One thing that will be hard to live with is no spare tire. I could always go buy another tire and put it in the trunk to ease my fears but we shall see. The sub is nicely tucked away and so is the battery under the floor panel with the tire pump. Plus of course there is room to put some tools like reflectors and or anything else you use for safety if you breakdown.

Storage
Interior storage is a minimum. The consol box is small and if you use the iPod plug in that makes it a bit smaller as you need the room to put the iPod and be able to plug it in etc. The glove box is not very deep or tall. The owner’s manuals and stuff like that will fit but not much else. You can put small stuff and it will fill it up easily. The door pockets are deep but not very long so larger things like tissue boxes or things like that won’t fit unless you get the packs. As a daily driver these things could get annoying but as my fun car it is fine.

Overall

Driving is both fun and demanding. This car begs to be driven hard. When you want to just tool around, it is hard as every time you rev the engine up you get a surge of excitement and tend to use more power to shift or get going. Around town the car is mild mannered and mild, although you have to concentrate on making it so. With the myriad of people looking at it you of course want to show off a bit and it is very easy to do. This car has way more power then it sensible but that's the key to its appeal as well as styling. It is a sheer monster when you bring up the rpm’s and really put your foot into it. It is way easy to find your way to 80+ mph when not trying. On the highway, forget it; this car knows it is in its element and the power really comes out. Around town it is easy to handle. The size is not intimidating or crazy. It feels right at home in traffic or in parking lots. I didn't feel as if it was terribly hard to park or maneuver around in a parking lot. Making this a daily driver would be very easy to do. The car is comfortable, fun, and exciting to drive. Putting the radio on my favorite station, picking a far off destination to roll out to, and just enjoying the car was a true experience. I have owner many a muscle car in my day and I would not trade my SRT for any one of them. The fit, feel, sheer beauty of this car is wonderful. Dodge certainly did this car right. If I had to find any faults it would be the sightlines on the passenger rear quarter. The passenger seat headrest blocks the rear side window from the end of the door to the B pillar. To me, driving out of the mirror is not hard to do but I can see where it might give others hesitation in driving. I found no fault with lane changing or driving around parking lots. Parking was a snap in this car as long as you planned it first.

45K is a lot to spend on a car and expecting it to be right is not too much to ask. My dealer did all of the recalls before I bought it. The seat bolts are already the short ones. All non painted nuts and bolts in and around the car were painted by the dealer. They did not put on the front plate bracket as they said it would be wrong to do so. I will drive it like this until I get a ticket. They also did not put on any dealer stickers anywhere. I was treated very well by Tyson Motors and do recommend anyone to go there as you will be treated right.