2006 Dodge Magnum Test Drive

Muscle Wagon

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

Performance

Muscle cars are — and have always been — about sheer acceleration, and the Magnum SRT8 does not disappoint in that regard. What’s refreshing about the car’s 425-hp 6.1-liter Hemi V8, however, is that it can still be driven in a fairly docile manner around town.

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Unlike some high-performance cars, you don’t have to struggle to keep the SRT8 at reasonable speeds on residential side streets. In fact, if you don’t feel like punching the throttle particularly hard, as we did when we took some interested parties out for a test-drive, your passengers will likely wonder what the hubbub over Dodge Hemis is all about.

On the other hand, when you do reach an open highway on-ramp or uncluttered straight stretch of road, all you need to do is depress your right foot with authority. While it sounds trite, the effect is truly like a rocket thruster suddenly igniting and pushing the vehicle forward at what seems like an ever-increasing rate of speed. The subsequent G-forces turn the smirks on our passengers’ faces to jaw-dropping gasps in about a second.

This effect tends to work best when the vehicle is already mobile, however. Unless you first switch off the Magnum SRT8’s electronic stability program (which Dodge calls ESP) prior to attempting a serious peel-out launch, you might think you’re piloting the V6 version instead. The system will intercede with throttle and braking control to counter wheel spin until the car gets going. With stability control switched off, you can easily smoke the rear tires, but this is almost as fruitless, acceleration-wise (and will peel months off the life of your tires), until the rubber settles down to make firm contact with the asphalt.

Dodge claims zero-to-60-mph times of less than five seconds, though it takes a bit of practice and accelerator modulation to propel the car that quickly from a standing start, with or without ESP engaged. The EPA (generously, we think) rates the SRT8 at 14 mpg city/20 mpg highway.

The souped-up Hemi works well enough with the Magnum’s standard five-speed automatic, which affords sufficiently dramatic downshifts. This gearbox includes manual gear-changing capability, but it’s best limited to occasional use, such as for dropping a gear before entering a sharp curve at speed. Aside from not being all that responsive, the system will automatically shift to a higher gear in manual mode under certain circumstances, whether you like it or not. Unlike Audi’s superior sequential-manual gearbox technology, this is no high-tech substitute for a stick shift.

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Riding on large 20-inch wheels and low-profile Goodyear F1 tires, along with a specially modified sports suspension, the SRT8 generates serious grip through turns. You’ll still be reminded of the vehicle’s sheer size and weight during extreme maneuvers, however, as all the mass of this full-size wagon abruptly and reluctantly changes directions.

The all-wheel-drive system offered on lesser Magnums isn't available on the RWD SRT8. But the tendency to oversteer isn’t particularly pronounced as on some RWD high-performance cars. (Oversteer happens when the rear end of the car swings out around a turn taken aggressively; experienced drivers can harness this tendency to drive faster, but the average motorist might spin out). While ESP will intercede if you overestimate the car’s cornering or your driving abilities, it’s tuned to offer a sportier driving experience with less intervention on the Magnum SRT8.

The car's antilock disc brakes have been beefed up with larger Brembo calipers (finished in racy bright red, no less) that are more than up to the task of bringing this large and powerful wagon quickly to a controlled halt. Braking was stable and the car stopped in a straight line, no matter how hard we mashed the pedal. Dodge claims a 60-to-zero-mph braking distance of around 110 feet, which seems about right in our experience.

All-season tires are available as no-cost alternatives to the standard high-performance rubber. It’s a recommended swap for added traction if you live in an area where the weather turns nasty. And keep in mind that even the latest in stability and traction control technology won’t help a rear-drive car plow its way out of a snowed-in parking space like a FWD or AWD vehicle. Unless you travel with a group of comrades who can readily be called upon to give you a push during winter months, installing a set of snow tires is recommended if your area is subject to snowfall.