2009 Dodge Challenger vs Speed 3

[Kaidao]

Hey,

I just visited the thread with the Dodge Challenger, and damn is it sexy. How would the Challenger compare with the Speed 3? In terms of say...acceleration, handling, price (SE trim), and also...the insurance prices for a 2-door (considering it as a person's first car).

 

[imac]

for a first car? neither. terrible idea.

buy something cheaper and not nearly as fast as a first car. even if you "think" you're a really good driver, you havent had to deal with all the traffic and other generally stupid people who share the road. get yourself something more reasonable for a first car, then upgrade. you'd only be setting yourself up for disaster.

 

[CWPspeed3]

I agree with imac. Plus if your first cars really quick then you haver a harder time going up from there. The new Challenger SRT is quite a bit quicker but the "base" ones that are coming out I'm not too sure, I see Challengers all over the place though and I'm almost sick of them already, overpriced in my opinion.

 

[FrequentFlyer]

Hey,

I just visited the thread with the Dodge Challenger, and damn is it sexy. How would the Challenger compare with the Speed 3? In terms of say...acceleration, handling, price (SE trim), and also...the insurance prices for a 2-door (considering it as a person's first car).

If you're not going to get the SRT-8 or the R/T, at the least, the car will be slow. The SRT-8 tested weight during Road and Track's test was over 4,300lb. The thing is a BOAT with wheels. Although, with 425hp/420lb-ft torque, it manages a 13.0 @ ~110mph, but I'm sure people out in the "real world" at tracks will crack into the 12's stock. I would think the R/T model will manage to crack into the high 13's at about 100mph with 370hp. The V6 model won't touch a Speed3 in acceleration. It weighs ~700lb more with 13hp less. It'd be lucky to be in the high 14's. Handling-wise; the top of the line SRT-8 did 65mph through the slalom vs the Speed3's 69.6mph. This is all magazine racing, but I would suffice to say the Speed3 would rule on a tighter road course where anything less than the SRT-8 Challenger (R/T, much less SE) would have a hard time flexing its muscle. These are two totally different cars. I would not waste the cash on the SE unless you're hard bent on getting a wannabe classic car that seems more tailored to a person going through a mid-life crisis.

 

[mckraut]

I also agree with imac. Either one is going to be a lot to handle for a first car. I got enough points in my first car, which was an '88 Acura Intega. Lord knows I'd be in jail if I had this little beastie back then.

Also, especially in the case of the Challenger, these cars are going to attract a lot of unwanted attention that a newer driver doesn't need to deal with.

 

[oskinosmee]

where are you from? please dont get either car if this is your first car.

 

[Bravnik]

First Car implies young. The LAST thing you should have is a fast car. I really don't care how mature you think you are. If your parents buy you ether one they should be brought up on charges of child endangerment. But that's just my opinion and you don't have to listen too it

With that said. They are 2 totally different cars. The MS3 is quick and practical, the Challenger is Fast (SRT8) and drinks gas as faster than Shia Labeouf drinks shots. One is a hatch the other is a muscle car. The MS3 you will hardly get noticed, the Challenger will have people at every light ether asking you question or wanting to race (or both).

Not to mention 50k vrs 22k.

 

[Loose]

I agree..

..I wouldn't buy a Challenger SRT for a first car. In this day and age I wouldn't even get one as my primary car. The mileage sucks I got about 15mi/gal in my commute which is about 20 miles each way. granted I was stomping on it alot.

I bought the car as a 2nd vehicle to take to cruises. I am 39y/o so my insurance is right at 92/mo. I would not want to see the cost for a male under the age of 25. I'm sure they would be *****.

As far as the performance....The SRT wastes the 3. The 40-100+ time is ridiculous but I will say this.... The Speed is more fun to drive as it compares to driving a go-cartwith ballz verses truck with bigger ballz

The Speed 3 but just doesn't get the attention the SRT gets but it's new and the attention will soon wear off.

 

[saranya]

agree, if it's your first car. get something cheap and used. drive for a couple years or so or graduate from college and then think of getting a nice new car.

you'll thank us later...unless your parents are loaded then what the heck get a speed3. you'll probably get to enjoy it for at least a couple months.

 

[mdavis]

you'll probably get to enjoy it for at least a couple months.

LMFAO

 

[imac]

umm.... everybody seems to be missing the fact that the challenger he's considering is the SE trim. this thread should have nothing to do with the SRT8.

that said, i'll reiterate (mind you, this is coming from a 21 year old).
i didnt particularly enjoy drinving a 115hp celica for 5 years, but i'm hella glad i did. kept me out of a whole lot of would-be trouble. not to mention that i've already totalled one car (i hit a deer, had nothing to do with me, just bad luck) and had to take the hit because i didnt have comp on it, so just imagine what that would have done to my wallet if i was driving a new car.

cliff notes: for a first-time driver:
brand new car = bad idea
fast car = bad idea
brand new fast car = much more badder idea

 

[fishdonotbounce]

^^^ very true. And the fact that you'll have every single person looking at you wondering "what did that little prick do to deserve that car?"

 

[imac]

^^^ very true. And the fact that you'll have every single person looking at you wondering "what did that little prick do to deserve that car?"

i think the same thing every time my neighbor drives by in his 05 3-series bimmer. best part about that one is that the reason his parents got it for him is because he totalled the first car they bought him and needed a new car to drive.

 

[CoolWhip]

First car ... How old are you?

Reason I'm asking is I wanted a fast car right off the bat when I turned 16. Ended up driving an Izuzu Rodeo throughout highschool (Loved that car!)

I ended up getting a Mazda 3 when I turned 18 and drove that for a few months, put down 6,000 miles on it and decided to upgrade from there.

Wouldn't reccommend either for a first a car. Get something simple and don't go overboard.

 

[FMOS Racing]

Consider for a moment that you can buy TWO MS3s for the price of an SRT-8 Challenger... the acceleration performance difference isn't that huge - within a few mods to the MS3, the MS3 will handily whomp the Challenger in handling, and personally I prefer flying under the radar, which will be absolutely impossible in the Challenger.

I had a VW Rabbit Diesel as my first car. 52 galloping horses, 4 speed, redline at 3400 rpms. It topped out just shy of 70, accelerated to 60 in about 22-23 seconds, got 53 mpg, plenty of room in the back seat. Perfect first car!

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

Get the fastest frickin car you can! You are young, you will have plenty of time to recooperate from that horrible decision. I am not kidding, get it. You will kick yourself later for not and going to smart route. You may never have another oportunity to own a car you might consider a "dream car".

 

[Retrobmx63]

...drinks gas as faster than Shia Labeouf drinks shots.

That's pretty funny. I didn't even know he was old enough to drink

 

[fishdonotbounce]

Lmao, when the kid pulls up to the stop light and is challenged by some ricer to a race and he accepts and "controls" his car directly into a ditch or lightpole, he'll have people like you to thank for encouraging him to buy his "dream car" as his first car.

Listen, it seems to me like you are a little better of family wise than most of your peers so do yourself a favor and buy yourself a "nice" but not something that you will regret crashing too much cause the chances of you crashing your first car are pretty high. buy yourself and early model 3 or something. trust me, in four or five years you will be glad you did.

Get the fastest frickin car you can! You are young, you will have plenty of time to recooperate from that horrible decision. I am not kidding, get it. You will kick yourself later for not and going to smart route. You may never have another oportunity to own a car you might consider a "dream car".

 

[oaklandopen]

first year challengers are only the srt-8 models, and have no factory options (including not having a manual tranny).

the challenger srt-8 is actually faster than the charger srt-8 (im fairly certain) even though it weighs more than the charger. the challenger is built alongside the charger to be more of a sporty option.

 

[mckraut]

Lmao, when the kid pulls up to the stop light and is challenged by some ricer to a race and he accepts and "controls" his car directly into a ditch or lightpole, he'll have people like you to thank for encouraging him to buy his "dream car" as his first car.

Listen, it seems to me like you are a little better of family wise than most of your peers so do yourself a favor and buy yourself a "nice" but not something that you will regret crashing too much cause the chances of you crashing your first car are pretty high. buy yourself and early model 3 or something. trust me, in four or five years you will be glad you did.

I agree. Nothing says you have to buy a beater car, but something that won't get you easily killed while flirting with the hotties in the left lane. Plus, once you have a few years of driving experience under your belt and can afford a nice car on your own, you'll appreciate it a lot more.