2006 Dodge Magnum Test Drive

Muscle Wagon

The Magnum SRT8 offers a unique combination of high performance and family-friendly accommodations.

Interior

The Magnum seats five in reasonable comfort with sufficient rear leg- and shoulder room for adults. Backseat headroom is compromised by the sloping roofline, though only the tallest riders will be affected. Ingress and egress in the front and rear is fairly effortless, but taller passengers will want to watch their heads getting in and out of the back.

The high windowsills and dashboard can make front-seat occupants feel as if they’re sitting too low in the saddle, even with the power seat adjustments ratcheted up high.

The short back window tends to inhibit rearward visibility. Adjustable brake and accelerator pedals are offered on all but the SRT8 version.

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Despite being dressed up with fake carbon-fiber trim on the center of the dashboard and other minor differences from the rest of the Magnum models, the SRT8's interior appearance remains barely above rental-car quality. This is a characteristic that plagues other Magnum versions, but it seems particularly pronounced here, given the SRT8’s premium price.

While the instrument panel gauges are large and clearly legible, and the car’s ergonomics are fairly intuitive, what surrounds the driver and passengers is otherwise uninspiring. There’s just too much cheap-looking and flimsy-feeling plastic, bland switchgear and a general lack of stylishness overall. The Magnum’s corporate companions, the Dodge Charger SRT8 and Chrysler 300 SRT8, do a slightly better job of visually sprucing up their interiors.

Power leather seats are standard and afford good overall comfort. They include suede inserts and additional side bolstering to help keep the driver and passengers in place during hard cornering maneuvers.

While the lowered rear roofline tends to encroach on the Magnum’s ability to carry tall items in the cargo area, there’s still a total of 71.6 square feet of cargo space back there. The split rear seat backs fold flat fairly easily to create a large load floor for carrying flea-market finds or homebuilding/gardening wares.

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The SRT8 comes well-equipped with items like a 276-watt Boston Acoustics audio system with CD changer, a tire pressure monitor and a full complement of power accessories. Our test version came with the optional Kicker audio array that includes a 100-watt subwoofer and affords ample amplification no matter how loud you like your music. Unfortunately, both it and the standard system lack an external input for an iPod or other portable devices.

Perhaps to underscore the SRT8’s persona as anything but your parent’s station wagon, a roof rack and the backseat DVD entertainment system that’s optional on other Magnums are unavailable here.