Dodge Magnum SRT-8 review.
The SRT group takes ordinary vehicles and turns them into high performance muscle machines; they have three cars and a Jeep named SRT-8, all using the 6.1 liter Hemi engine.
The least likely of the trio is the Dodge Magnum, the station wagon we’re not supposed to call a station wagon.
The SRT group takes ordinary vehicles and turns them into high performance muscle machines; they have three cars and a Jeep named SRT-8, all using the 6.1 liter Hemi engine.
The least likely of the trio is the Dodge Magnum, the station wagon we’re not supposed to call a station wagon.
The Magnum R/T has a nice ride and surprisingly good dry-road handling, with quite a bit of power; but it’s hard to break the rear tires loose for longer than it takes to chirp them.
Though big, it’s easy to throw through tight or fast turns, and works well on wet roads, keeping its footing even when we tried to knock it off kilter with sudden straight-line acceleration.
The SRT-8 ups the ante by over 80 hp, making it more difficult to keep the rear tires planted, especially on wet or dirty roads. Acceleration is a blast, and unpowered dry-clean road cornering is even better than the Magnum’s already-quite-good performance.
Dodge Magnum SRT-8
Acceleration is extremely good, but not always predictable. The engine makes good power in low rpms, but really comes into its own when revved.
The Mercedes 5-speed automatic transmission doesn’t always shift for optimal acceleration, but stays in low gears longer so if you hit the gas, back off the throttle for a moment, and still want instant power, you can get it.
Once you get the feel of the transmission and can consistently get that power, taking the odd grain of sand on the road into account, the SRT-8 feels as though it has far more brute force than cars with similar sprint times, such as the Lexus GS450h, albeit less than all-out sports cars like the Corvette.
In case you were wondering, the ideal-condition 0-6o time is about 5.0 - 5.2 seconds, with 0-100 in about 12 seconds, a 13-13.6 second quarter mile, a top speed of 165-170 mph (depending on quoted source), a skid pad rating of .9 g, and a zero to 100 mph back to zero time of under 17 seconds.
The interior has the usual SRT-style seats, with oversized side bolsters to hold you in place no matter how quickly you go around turns, and with a grippy cloth in the center of the seats (the bolsters are covered in clearly stitched leather).
Powerful seat heaters have two levels, and are visible at the bottom of the center stack. A special gauge set is used, the differences being oversized numbers on the temp gauge instead of letters, and a 180 mph speedometer that puts very illegal speeds where 60 mph would normally be.