Our SUV is in the shop and it's apparently taking a lot longer to fix than they expected (supposedly just a failed BCM, but last I saw the car the mechanic was completely upside down under the hood). The dealer was nice enough to provide me with a vehicle to use while they figure out what's wrong with our car. Interestingly enough, the loaner car was a 2010 Dodge Challenger.
First impressions of the Dodge Challenger are "wow!" Dodge did an awesome job of making the Challenger look completely retro. At first glance, it would be easy to mistake the 2010 for a 1970-1974 Challenger. The Challenger is not a car for someone that wants to keep a low profile. At the very least, the menacing look of the Challenger gets stares and a lot of people talking.
My loaner car is powered by the 3.5L SOHC V6 and provides just enough power to get this nearly 2 ton car out of it's own way. Handling is very good, especially considering the weight of this thing.
The Challenger is slightly uncomfortable for my 6'4" tall, large frame. It seems that the pedals are closer to the steering column than I'm used to. In other words: with the seat far enough back for me to comfortably grasp the steering wheel, my legs are still fairly bent when on the pedals. In fact, my right knee rests right on the corner of the center dashboard. After a long drive, my knee was starting to hurt. I can't honestly see who would be 100% comfortable driving this car. Isn't everyone's legs longer than their arms? The pedals really need to be farther forward, or perhaps the steering wheel needs to come farther into the cockpit. The steering wheel is actually quite flush with the dashboard and actually obstructs the view of some of the instrumentation.
The backseat of the challenger is more useful than other modern-day pony cars on the market in that you can actually fit adults back there. The problem is in getting those adults in and out of the back seat. Only the passenger seat flips forward to allow access to the back.
Trunk capacity is enormous in the Challenger and the interior is fairly roomy with plenty of head and shoulder room. The sound system is excellent for a stock sound system and all controls are well within reach (if not located in different locations than most other cars I've driven.)
I'm not a big fan of the 5-speed automatic transmission, but that's more of a knock agaist Chrysler in general and not the Challenger specifically as I have driven other Chrysler products and have NEVER liked their "Autostick" shifting mechanism. I have a tendency to rest my right hand on the shifter on the center console. With Chrysler's Autostick, a slight pull towards the driver causes a downshift and changes the transmission mode from automatic to Autostick. In many other cars, like those equipped with Triptronic or Shiftronic, the manual upshift/downshift is operated in a separate shift gate AWAY from the driver so there is no unintentional downshifts from simply resting one's hand on the shifter.
Over all, the Challenger is a very cool car. I can totally see enjoying the V8 Hemi version with a manual transmission. Would I buy one? No. It's just not practical and I can't see taking one for a long trip. But if I'm given the opportunity to drive one again on someone else's dime, I would totally do it.