2010 Dodge Challenger SE
The 2010 Dodge Challenger SE (re: the V-6-powered version of this “muscle car”) clearly can’t do what its better-endowed V-8 brothers are able to. That is: no massive acceleration, no fantastic soundtrack, and much less compensation for the weight penalty that the Charger-based car is born with. 2010 Dodge Challenger SEremains a surprisingly good handling vehicle—better roll stiffness and grip than most would expect—but I didn’t notice any real handing advantage from the lighter V-6 out front.
The Challenger SE does, unfortunately, suffer hugely on the expectation vs. reality scale; especially the car in question is loaded up with go-fast stripes and wheels. The public at large love this car: they want to hear its engine rev in parking lots, they want to race it away from the line at stop lights, they want it to live up to its muscle car image. The V-6 SE can’t cash any of those checks that its hot looks are writing. It is, instead, perfectly serviceable at highway speeds, a comfortable cruising coupe, and mildly more fuel efficient than the V-8 versions.
I guess, the Challenger SE is a pretty pitch perfect remake of the muscle cars that came before it in that regard—the V-6 cars have always been about the show, not the go.
