The 2010 Dodge Challenger most accurately depicts the old muscle car styling taking a decidedly retro approach. The new Camaro on the other hand merely takes a couple of styling cues, the small vertical streaks ahead of the rear wheels for instance, from the classic designs of the 60's. It looks much more sinister and more modern. Both, however, are vying for the same piece of market share and are taking rather different approaches. The spot in the market has been dominated for the last several years by the Ford Mustang as it was the only muscle car inspired model on sale. I set out to see which one of these two recaptures that old muscle car spirit the best.
The Challenger R/T is the mid range model in the Challenger line up. It features Chysler's familiar 5.7 liter Hemi V8. The engine is connected to your choice of a five speed automatic or a six speed manual. The manual is the obvious choice for those who prefer to be involved in their drive. The manual features a retro style pistol grip shifter, and tightly space gears. When combined with the manual the engine puts out a respectable 375 horsepower. Driving the Challenger proves to be quite easy once you are comfortable with the sheer size of the car. While the EPA somehow categorizes the Challenger as a compact, it sure as heck doesn't feel compact. At 75.7 inches wide, the front passenger side fender seems miles away when maneuvering through a parking lot. The controls, however, make it easy to place the Challenger where you want it.
The styling is purely retro, and entirely awesome. The full length tail light emphasis the appearance of width. Whereas the Camaro's headlights scream aggression, the dual lamps of the Challenger effuse a sense of physical confidence. It's not going to get in your face, but pick your fights carefully. The Challenger is now offered with a Classic package that adds stripes that run from the front fender and terminate at the back of the side windows with a stacked R/T logo and 20” five spoke Cragar aluminum wheels. The Challenger is also offered in a wide pallet of colors that includes a metallic sky blue called B5 as well as the classic Plum Crazy purple.
If you are looking for a modern interpretation of the classic muscle car driving experience, the Challenger delivers. For better and worse. For better, the fairly high ride height and compliant suspension means the Challenger rides comfortably. Visibility out the front is good, the upright windshield provides a clear and undistorted view of the road. Visibility in the rear is compromised by the very thick C pillars. Combined with the width of the car, backing into parking stops might require a spotter the first few times.
The engine further delivers the proper sensory experience. It responds enthusiastically to inputs of the throttle pedal. Unfortunately, the Challenger is not a light car so the power doesn't feel breathtaking. The gear box also proved a little challenging. The pistol grip feels great in hand, but the neutral slot feels too far forward, and engagement in each gate is quite vague. This feeling of vagueness conspires with the narrow gates to induce missed shifts. Rowing up through the gears is natural enough, but I often found myself in fourth when attempting to downshift to second. The clutch was fairly light and has an average length travel. Engagement is smooth, but disengaging the clutch at speed sends an odd shudder through the gearbox. This might be a result of unfamiliarity, but it felt a little disconcerting nonetheless.
Handling was also reminiscent of a classic muscle car. It could quite literally drive circles around something like the GTO mentioned above. Compared to most cars today, though, it retains that built for straight line speed and not much else feeling. Attacking an off-ramp shows that it has decent body control, but the elevated ride height and compliant suspension tuning make the car feel floaty around corners. The steering is light and provides little feedback, but is accurate. The car responds deliberately if not athletically.
The Camaro feels much more solid than the Challenger. This is emphasized by the closer, less airy cockpit. Even at six foot tall, I didn't feel claustrophobic but there is sense of less space. The clutch travel is very short and the engagement feels abrupt at first. Once accustomed to the pedal though, it gives the driver confidence that the six speed manual transmission can handle the abuse of the 6.2 liter LS3 V8. The throws on the gear box are short and much more direct than the Challenger. I never missed a shift in the Camaro. The big V8 chucks out an impressive 426 horsepower, more inline with the top dog SRT8 Challenger. This makes the Camaro considerably faster than the R/T. Hit the gas in second gear and the engine responds immediately. Coming off low revs, the torque of the V8 does not leave one wanting for grunt. Then it hits around 3500 rpm, takes a big gulp of air, and erupts forward. The power is intoxicating. And this is before even mentioning the noise. The V8 is unobtrusive at idle with just a subtle rumble. Punch the accelerator and the pipes let loose a growl the Challenger can only dream of matching.
Furthermore, the Camaro feels much more buttoned down than the Challenger. It doesn't feel floaty, and while the suspension is tuned more firmly, it doesn't punish the occupants. Turning into a corner gives a greater sense of confidence with less body roll and better communication through the chassis. The tighter feeling cockpit also lent the Camaro to a more user friendly feel. While not a small car, it simply felt a more compact. Between the two, the Camaro is the choice pick for taking on a twisty road.
The interior is another place where the Camaro fuses retro design inspiration with a decidedly modern look. The squared off instrument binnacles with deep set gauges look great. The spacing on the speedometer seem too closely spaced to make accurate determinations of speed with a quick glance. Fortunately the display area between the speedo and tach can be programmed to display a digital speed readout. It also displays other critical information such as tire pressure and can link with OnStar to give turn by turn directions. The center console is heavily stylized, but fairly straightforward and easy to use. The auxiliary gauges, displaying oil temp, oil pressure, volts, and transmission temp, look neat but are too far out of the driving sight lines to be truly useful. The steering wheel looks cool, but in reality isn't the best user interface. The leather on the rim feels fine, if not especially nice. My biggest gripe is in regards to the deep dish. The spokes at 3 and 9 sweep backwards too steeply to comfortably grip the wheel at those positions.
Which one of these two cars is better? That is a difficult question to answer. Both are attempting to recapture the essence of the original muscle cars. The new Challenger does the better job of capturing the style. The Challenger is retro heavy for sure. The styling is more loyal to the original with fewer modern touches. It is a stunning car with immense road presence. It also is the most loyal reinterpretation of the classic muscle car driving characteristics, preferring to blast down the straights instead of hustling through the corners.
The Camaro on the other hand, borrows less liberally from the retro ink well. Its strongly creased shoulders remind one of the original design, but has more modern touches inside and out. Furthermore, the Camaro is far more adept at playing the role of sports car in addition to muscle car. It drives tighter, handles better, and sprints faster. With prices under forty thousand, either car is a good performance deal. The only thing to figure out is what is most important to you in a muscle car. Spectacular looks or athletic abilities?
