mrjones
09-28-2004, 10:42 AM
My local dealer finally got in a new RT with the Hemi. I got my little card in the mail a few weeks ago to go test drive and send in for a $75 Visa debit card, but I wanted to drive the RT. They had in a black one with light gray interior. This one was loaded with all the goodies, roof, Nav, heated seats, trip computer, side curtain airbags, etc.
I took the wife and kids, so the first thing that I noticed is that the doors seem to provide a bigger opening for getting the car seat in and out. Slightly more room front and back for the legs, but less head and shoulder room. Although it looks to sit lower, it gives the impression of being a little taller than the Marauder when driving.
The seats are not nearly as comfy as the Marauder, and the passenger side doesn't include the power recline. One thing that bugs me about the Marauder, that they got spot-on in the Magnum is the console and armrest on the door. The Marauder has the center console and the armrest on the door at different heights, and that bugs me. How hard would it have been to put a thicker pad on the armrest so it matches the height of the center console. Dodge got that one right, and it feels much better.
Ride and handling is very good, but I'd give just a slight edge to the Marauder.
Power (or should I say lowend torque) is no contest. The Magnum has it all over the Marauder in the low end. The top end seems comparable, but by the time the Marauder got to 3K, the Magnum would've jumped out ahead. The Hemi also sounds exactly like a V8 should, but I love the sound of my Marauder too. The Hemi is much quieter, even than the Marauder was stock. Did you see the episode of "Monster Garage" where they turned a Magnum into a train? The exhaust on that thing is so convoluted!
I enjoyed the drive, AND the $75 bucks I'm going to get out of the deal. I do like the car, and I'm gonna buy one someday, but it'll be after the AWD's have been out for a couple of years and taken some of the depreciation hit. Right now I'm enjoying the Marauder, AND it's the first brand new car I've bought myself since high school.
On an interesting side note, when I pulled into the dealership, I told the salesman that I wanted to drive the black Magnum RT. He opened up, gave me the key, and I put the wife and kids in and left. No copy of the DL, no insurance, nada. We were gone about 30 minutes, and when we came back, he said the manager had asked him about the length of time we were gone. Seems last week that someone took a new QuadCab pickup for a test drive, and the state police stopped them about 30 miles away, going 99MPH!!! Trooper escorted them back to the dealership, and arrested them on the spot for theft!
On another side note, the salesman we talked to had never seen the card for the $75 debit card, but another salesman said he'd already sent his in! He said "If they're gonna send me one, I'm gonna get it". Makes sense.
I took the wife and kids, so the first thing that I noticed is that the doors seem to provide a bigger opening for getting the car seat in and out. Slightly more room front and back for the legs, but less head and shoulder room. Although it looks to sit lower, it gives the impression of being a little taller than the Marauder when driving.
The seats are not nearly as comfy as the Marauder, and the passenger side doesn't include the power recline. One thing that bugs me about the Marauder, that they got spot-on in the Magnum is the console and armrest on the door. The Marauder has the center console and the armrest on the door at different heights, and that bugs me. How hard would it have been to put a thicker pad on the armrest so it matches the height of the center console. Dodge got that one right, and it feels much better.
Ride and handling is very good, but I'd give just a slight edge to the Marauder.
Power (or should I say lowend torque) is no contest. The Magnum has it all over the Marauder in the low end. The top end seems comparable, but by the time the Marauder got to 3K, the Magnum would've jumped out ahead. The Hemi also sounds exactly like a V8 should, but I love the sound of my Marauder too. The Hemi is much quieter, even than the Marauder was stock. Did you see the episode of "Monster Garage" where they turned a Magnum into a train? The exhaust on that thing is so convoluted!
I enjoyed the drive, AND the $75 bucks I'm going to get out of the deal. I do like the car, and I'm gonna buy one someday, but it'll be after the AWD's have been out for a couple of years and taken some of the depreciation hit. Right now I'm enjoying the Marauder, AND it's the first brand new car I've bought myself since high school.
On an interesting side note, when I pulled into the dealership, I told the salesman that I wanted to drive the black Magnum RT. He opened up, gave me the key, and I put the wife and kids in and left. No copy of the DL, no insurance, nada. We were gone about 30 minutes, and when we came back, he said the manager had asked him about the length of time we were gone. Seems last week that someone took a new QuadCab pickup for a test drive, and the state police stopped them about 30 miles away, going 99MPH!!! Trooper escorted them back to the dealership, and arrested them on the spot for theft!
On another side note, the salesman we talked to had never seen the card for the $75 debit card, but another salesman said he'd already sent his in! He said "If they're gonna send me one, I'm gonna get it". Makes sense.