First off - no I didn't go to the big 600 down there. But I did get stuck with the traffic.

I went to visit some family that lives in southern Charlotte (by Matthews). Had a nice bar-b-q down there and just really did some visiting.

We started renting cars to go down there because I really don't want to put over 1000 miles on a vehicle from 1 trip. Last time we rented a car we got a crappy Toyota that looked like someone took a crow bar to it. So I picked the rental car place this time (they actually have American cars).

Here's what I got:






2012 Dodge Charger SXT ... not a bad car - it did have a few bad blind spots and the electronic gear shift on the 8 speed was a PITA to get it into gear.

The tranny was nice at highway speeds but city driving it was a bit choppy because it shifted gears every 3 seconds.

The 3.6L Penstar delivered some good power going through the mountains of WV. I had no issues getting it to 110 to overtake a car on a straight-a-way.

I made some good time going down - coming home I got stopped by the WV state police. The guy came up to the window, "You know why I stopped you?"..."No officer"...."I wanted to check out the interior."

He said he loves these cars and can't wait until the department updates from the crown vics (in his defense, I was doing 82 in a 70). (My written warning is actually in the interior picture, the yellow paper).

Only hit one bad accident that closed the road - it was a bad rain and a semi hit a concrete barrier and flipped.

 

I've still got the car until this afternoon so here's a few more pictures.


Proximity Key





Aux and USB inputs in the console.






Proximity Key Demonstration:


Just put the fob in your pocket. Grab the door handle to unlock or hit the button on top to lock. Same deal with the button on the trunk. I also like the options the car gives. You can enable/disable DRLs, have headlights come on with the wipers, have the heated seat turn on with remote start, etc. Granted, if you ever have a computer failure in the car you're looking at 4 to 5 digit repair bills since EVERYTHING is electronic.

My one other gripe, the physical key in the key fob would lock the glove box (and unlock) but it wouldn't unlock the DOOR?!

 

This is really cool.i would love to have this.

 

Thanks `Mike for sharing...You did the Charger "1000" & won a safe/fun trip....
What was your MPG's ? Would you trade your Monte for one What ? ~>

Great review..., now all our member's are going to run out and buy one ~>

 

I believe about 27-28. It has an ECO mode that will kick in and the car will shift sooner (when not under load). As you accelerate up past 2k, the ECO light will shut off (and gears will hold out longer) until you let your RPMs drop back down again. On the highway I would cruise at 1400-1500 RPMS in Eco versus the 2k cruise in my Monte, 3k cruise without Overdrive.

The 8 speed is supposed to gain 4-5 mpg over the 2011 with the same engine and the 5 speed.

If I ever got one I'd get one with a V8 and the 5 speed with a physical gear shift. The blind spots were pretty bad too. Big bulky headrests and the seams between the back of the passenger front and back door made trying to see what you're about to back out of your driveway in front of rather difficult.

The lack of sport mode (to disable ECO all together) also was annoying (it is an option you can get on the SXT, though). With ECO, the low cruise made maintaining speed sometimes jerky. If you're on flat ground, you'll do just fine, in fact, sometimes the speed got away from me, but the slightest incline and you'll loose speed like crazy and once you hit 2k RPMs and turn off ECO mode it jerks and the gears change, it gets a little annoying, sometimes just a little too much pressure on the gas and it'll turn of ECO and lurch.

The brakes were too sensitive, and the car engine brakes in low gear, so coasting to a red light is not really easy because you'll actually stop way before it, as I found out. I don't like running up to the light and slamming on the brakes.

The steering is TIGHT, which has a big learning curve. I could turn corners by turning the wheel 60 degrees (not even a quarter revolution).

 

I love the look of the new chargers id love to have a SRT version

 

My dad has a '12 Charger R/T w/ 5-speed auto. I drove it today for a service. I like it, but I love my Magnum SRT8 more. lol.

Did it not have the back up camera? The camera is a big help on these cars. I want to put one in my Magnum. I agree on the 8-speed automatic. I test drove one. It is a pain in the *** and annoying after awhile.

 

Sweet! That kicks the crap out of that junky Toyota you said you had. The auxillary input and USB ports are a great touch. I wish our 6th gen Monte's had the option of a factory installed auxillary input port. (before anyone says it... I know there are kits and such you can wire up. And I know you can install a different stereo.) I think Chevy dropped the ball by not including that.

That's funny that the cop wanted to check out the interior. The Windsor police have some Dodge Chargers. Granted they're not 2012 models. I think they're 2010 models. But most windsor police officers say the Chargers don't have as much room in the front seat as the old Crown Vic's. And the car has more blind spots than the Crown Vics. But the lack of interior room is a result of all the equipment they put in, taking up all the dash space and front seat room. Luckily I haven't seen the inside of a police car lately. But I suspect the police Chargers don't get the sound system and GPS unit your rental had. Traditionally, (at least here in windsor) police cars didn't have a car stereo in it at all.