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The legacy 2013 Dodge lineup is set for few changes, all apparently related to options. The Challenger will get rear park assist as an option or standard feature on all models; radar red leather will be available on SXT Plus, R/T Plus, and R/T Classic; and new colors will be available (Billet Metallic, Granite Crystal, Jazz Blue, Phantom Black Tri-Coat). The Dodge Charger will get the same Black Roof option as select Chrysler 300s (see earlier news), along with new colors -- Billet Metallic, Granite Crystal Pearl, Jazz Blue, Ivory Tri-Coat Pearl, Copperhead Metallic, Phantom Black Tri-Coat Pearl. Dodge Caravan gets a new Blu-Ray player option for rear-seat video, coupled to a new, nine-inch rear video screen. A new "black and Sandstorm" interior color setup will be added. HDMI cables will now be available with at least one of video option, reportedly with higher capacity power outlets, to allow for XBox connectivity...

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[OneGunzo]

I guess the 2012 Durango was so good, no upgrades required for 2013 I know I'm loving mine.

 

[UN4GTBL]

It even won some more awards/best pick contest today

 

[valiant67]

I was hoping for something that would make me really want to buy a Challenger next year. Like the 8 speed transmission, even though I knew it wasn't coming.

 

[Mike V.]

I was hoping for something that would make me really want to buy a Challenger next year. Like the 8 speed transmission, even though I knew it wasn't coming.

Just buy it and enjoy it.

Mike

 

[Veronica Jegg]

Just buy it and enjoy it.

Mike

Hard to do, I just took an SXT plus for a test drive with my checkbook in hand. The interior of the car was dreadful and the performance about on par with my bathtub.
I desperately wanted to like this car, I didn't even buy return airfare home (I had to fly 500 miles to a dealership), but I couldn't drop 32k on what turned out to be ...rubbish. While on the test drive, I realized I felt nothing, no joy or excitement, just a desire to go back to the dealership so I could get out of this awful terminally boring lump of a car. One whose interior styling had all the grace and refinement of a school bus. I'm no Ford fan but my brothers 2005 Mustang is vastly superior to this in every way EXCEPT exterior styling. I am still attracted to the exterior of Challenger, why did the rest of the car have to be so crummy?

 

[Moparian]

Hard to do, I just took an SXT plus for a test drive with my checkbook in hand. The interior of the car was dreadful and the performance about on par with my bathtub.
I desperately wanted to like this car, I didn't even buy return airfare home (I had to fly 500 miles to a dealership), but I couldn't drop 32k on what turned out to be ...rubbish. While on the test drive, I realized I felt nothing, no joy or excitement, just a desire to go back to the dealership so I could get out of this awful terminally boring lump of a car. One whose interior styling had all the grace and refinement of a school bus. I'm no Ford fan but my brothers 2005 Mustang is vastly superior to this in every way EXCEPT exterior styling. I am still attracted to the exterior of Challenger, why did the rest of the car have to be so crummy?

I'd take the interior of a challenger over the mustang 8 days of the week. Sorry but the mustang interior is not "vastly superior" to any car. If you wanted performance from a challenger you should have been driving a R/T not SXT. The v6 pony cars were never about performance although they have improved drastically since the prior generation. Yes Ford makes a performance pack for the v6, strictly handling and brakes, doesn't make it faster. To be fair the Challenger isn't really in the same class as the mustang. Sure everybody compares it to the mustang and camaro but its a larger car with more room and excellent retro styling.

 

[Moparian]

Vs

 

[valiant67]

My problem is I enjoy the 300C I have, I need something to say WOW!, it's worth a bigger monthly payment and to start those payments all over again.

 

[Stratuscaster]

I am still attracted to the exterior of Challenger, why did the rest of the car have to be so crummy?

Because Daimler forced it to be so.

When stacked up against the other refreshed models like the 300 and the Charger - heck, even the 200 and Avenger - the Challenger's interior really is starting to show it's age.

 

[JRS200x]

Ugh... just because the Challenger is bigger than the Camaro and Mustang does not mean it is in a different class than the Mustang and Camaro. It directly competes with both the Mustang and Camaro and Chrysler intended it to do so. There is no Pony and Muscle Car class, they are all 2-door performance cars and they compete against each other. The size of the Challenger is just one of its assets (or detractors) in a comparison. It allows it to be more comfortable, by a long a shot, have a much better back seat and trunk... it also makes it feel a lot heavier and less, tossable i guess, and contributes to it being the slowest of the bunch.

NONE of that though means that it is in a different car class, its not. It was built to compete with the Mustang and Camaro and compete it does.

 

[Stratuscaster]

Is the base Challenger, Camaro, or Mustang really a "performance" car? :huh:

Actually, they ARE in different car classes. Per the EPA, the Mustang is a sub-compact, the Camaro is a compact, and the Challenger is a mid-size.

In market class, yes - they compete with each other.

(Hmm. Interesting. What changed between 2009 and 2012 to make the Challenger move from a compact to a mid-size? :huh: Somehow it gained 3 more cubic feet in the interior.)

 

[Dave Z]

Thinner seats? Redesigned trunk with compact spare? Just throwing ideas out.

If you don't like Challenger, get a Charger. Superior interior, superior transmission, superior acceleration and gas mileage, more space.

As for Mustang vs Challenger, yes, I'd say it's a tossup for the interior, which is why Camaro's doing so well!

 

[JRS200x]

Well by that definition Stratus the Camaro and Mustang shouldn't be compared either, but noone seems to have a problem with that. They simply use the "They are in a different class!" argument as a defense of the Challenger being outperformed in the uh, performance, categories. Ignoring the fact that it does a LOT of things better, not everyone wants the fastest thing out there, if you do, then you won't like the Challenger, if what you want is the best daily driver, the best looking, the most comfortable, or the one you can actually use the backseat without amputating legs in, then the Challenger wins.

Just stop saying they don't compete with each other, its a silly statement.

 

[Dave Z]

PS> Camaro interior seems higher level than Mustang or Challenger but is definitely the ol' "lie down" type car whereas Challenger is more of a sedan style "sit up."

 

[Stratuscaster]

Thinner seats? Redesigned trunk with compact spare? Just throwing ideas out.

Trunk is still 16cuft. Seats appear the same.

 

[Veronica Jegg]

The ocean of hard black plastic that makes up Challengers interior just doesn't cut it. MUSTANG also was full of plastic but at least tried to break up the colors a bit. My brother drove me the last 300km to the dealership in his new MKZ. An engine with less rated power than challengers. When you matted the MKZ you could feel the acceleration. Challengers old 5 speed doesn't have the gearing necessary to utilize its torque and get challenger moving. Outdated interior and tranny not good.

As for V6 performance, with new Camry's turning in 5.8 0-60, well what can I say? When mom's grocery getter has more street cred than your muscle car, it's time to back to the drawing board.

I think there is hope though. A lighter Fiat platform with the 3.6 and zf 8 speed, some attempt at an interior, and Barracuda might be worth the money.

 

[Moparian]

The ocean of hard black plastic that makes up Challengers interior just doesn't cut it. MUSTANG also was full of plastic but at least tried to break up the colors a bit. My brother drove me the last 300km to the dealership in his new MKZ. An engine with less rated power than challengers. When you matted the MKZ you could feel the acceleration. Challengers old 5 speed doesn't have the gearing necessary to utilize its torque and get challenger moving. Outdated interior and tranny not good.

As for V6 performance, with new Camry's turning in 5.8 0-60, well what can I say? When mom's grocery getter has more street cred than your muscle car, it's time to back to the drawing board.

I think there is hope though. A lighter Fiat platform with the 3.6 and zf 8 speed, some attempt at an interior, and Barracuda might be worth the money.

The only thing the Challenger needs is the 8 speed auto. I'll take the vast swatches of curved soft touched upper and attractive lower plastics over that sharp angled multicolored tupperware of the 05 mustang. The Camry in no way shape or form has more street cred then a Challenger, a Challenger R/T which is what anybody who wants performance is going to buy(in a Challenger) will leave that camry in the dust and look 100x better doing so. On that note as I can see where this is going......... :notroll:

 

[Christopher]

I was hoping for something that would make me really want to buy a Challenger next year. Like the 8 speed transmission, even though I knew it wasn't coming.

Same for me with the Charger.

 

[Mike V.]

Hard to do, I just took an SXT plus for a test drive with my checkbook in hand. The interior of the car was dreadful and the performance about on par with my bathtub.
I desperately wanted to like this car, I didn't even buy return airfare home (I had to fly 500 miles to a dealership), but I couldn't drop 32k on what turned out to be ...rubbish. While on the test drive, I realized I felt nothing, no joy or excitement, just a desire to go back to the dealership so I could get out of this awful terminally boring lump of a car. One whose interior styling had all the grace and refinement of a school bus. I'm no Ford fan but my brothers 2005 Mustang is vastly superior to this in every way EXCEPT exterior styling. I am still attracted to the exterior of Challenger, why did the rest of the car have to be so crummy?

If you like the car, buy it. The interior isn't "rubbish". And although it is the oldest of the group, it isnt that old compared to years past. Most people do not realize the MANY updates that have occurred inside the Challenger from 2012 and beyond.

Good luck,

Mike

The ocean of hard black plastic that makes up Challengers interior just doesn't cut it. MUSTANG also was full of plastic but at least tried to break up the colors a bit. My brother drove me the last 300km to the dealership in his new MKZ. An engine with less rated power than challengers. When you matted the MKZ you could feel the acceleration. Challengers old 5 speed doesn't have the gearing necessary to utilize its torque and get challenger moving. Outdated interior and tranny not good.

As for V6 performance, with new Camry's turning in 5.8 0-60, well what can I say? When mom's grocery getter has more street cred than your muscle car, it's time to back to the drawing board.

I think there is hope though. A lighter Fiat platform with the 3.6 and zf 8 speed, some attempt at an interior, and Barracuda might be worth the money.

The ocean of hard black plastic that makes up Challengers interior just doesn't cut it. MUSTANG also was full of plastic but at least tried to break up the colors a bit. My brother drove me the last 300km to the dealership in his new MKZ. An engine with less rated power than challengers. When you matted the MKZ you could feel the acceleration. Challengers old 5 speed doesn't have the gearing necessary to utilize its torque and get challenger moving. Outdated interior and tranny not good.

As for V6 performance, with new Camry's turning in 5.8 0-60, well what can I say? When mom's grocery getter has more street cred than your muscle car, it's time to back to the drawing board.

I think there is hope though. A lighter Fiat platform with the 3.6 and zf 8 speed, some attempt at an interior, and Barracuda might be worth the money.

The V6 is a touring car, not a muscle car. What did you expect????

The majority of the dash and the door panels are all soft touch. Obviously you didn't touch it. One color does not mean all one material.

This car isnt for you, please go buy something else.

Mike

Because Daimler forced it to be so.

When stacked up against the other refreshed models like the 300 and the Charger - heck, even the 200 and Avenger - the Challenger's interior really is starting to show it's age.

Age is one thing. Making assumptions on what the material used is quite another.

For instance, when the pics of the dash were first shown on autoblog the posters and writers assumed it was all hard plastic because it was all one color. If people would actually go feel and touch instead of assuming they would find the materials are much better than the internet perceives them to be.

Mike

Thinner seats? Redesigned trunk with compact spare? Just throwing ideas out.

If you don't like Challenger, get a Charger. Superior interior, superior transmission, superior acceleration and gas mileage, more space.

As for Mustang vs Challenger, yes, I'd say it's a tossup for the interior, which is why Camaro's doing so well!

The Camaro's retro dash is popular, the materials are not better by any means. It's too bad only the owners of the early cars appreciate the many subtle changes and upgrades that occurred to the Challenger interior that have nothing to do with the steering wheel.

Compact spare? Yuck. Well mine didn't have a spare anyway.

Mike