Division has a couple Hemi's making their way across the state for us to drive (for a couple of hours) and tell them what we think so here goes.
340/390 HP/TQ my ***. This pig may be slightly (and I use that world lightly) faster than a 3.27 CVPI (how did ford make a 3.55 geared car slower to accelerate) but if this is what a Hemi is... I'm glad I have a 4.6 mod motor in my off duty toy. My bone stock 3.55 geared, 300/320 HP/TQ rated 06 Mustang GT feels much stronger than the charger and I even read the manual about how to turn the ESP off. Granted my GT is a little lighter but not 4-500 lbs lighter which is what the weight diffrence would have to be to justify the diffrence in performance between the Hemi and my GT. Less than $2000 (less if you go with cheap headers) in bolt-on's and exhaust and the mustang is putting down around 310-325 HP depending on the tune. I have a feeling that Dodge is way over rating the Hemi to sell an "Interceptor" type car.
The trunk is worthless. You can't even throw a patrol bag in there once all your standard equipment (first aid, fire ext, radios, flares, crime scene kit, etc) is thrown in there.
Visibility out the back of the car is horrid. Could they make the trunk lid any higher and the window any smaller?
The shifter has to be the worst design I've used to include colum mounted manual transmissions when I was stationed in Japan. The shifter is not conducive to executing a quick K turn like the CV shifter is.
This is the first autostick (or whatever they are calling it) that I've ever driven. It is pretty much a worthless feature since it is nothing like a stick shift. If I downshift the car should immediately downshift unless the shift would put the car over the established redline.
The way the airbags are setup, the standard 13" computer screen is not usable as it would cause problems with the passenger side airbag deployment. I have 20/20 vision but I'm sure that will be ruined if I have to look at a little 7" screen for the next 15 years.
I'm sure there is more I will find that I don't like about the car after I drive it again wednesday night for 6 hours on patrol.
There are a couple of things I like about the car.
The Whelen control unit that is factory installed is very nice compared to some of the POS's that division has installed in our CVPI's.
The suspension/steering is much tighter than the CVPI. The Charger responds much quiker and snappier to steering input and it can defianately be thrown around much easier than the CVPI without breaking the backend loose (with ESPOFF displayed in the odometer).
The Charger stops faster than the CVPI untill the brakes get hot. The brakes leave much to be desired of once they get hot. The CVPI brakes seem to take many more emergency stops before they start to fade but that is easilly remedied by a change in pads or even better throwing the SRT 8 brake setup on the police Charger.
The higher top end of 150 is nice for highway situations but there are few times you are going to need to go that fast and it has been my experience that most police officers have no business maxing out a CVPI at 130 let alone a Charger at 150. We train with our sidearms and long guns a couple times a year but I know the last time I was at the track in a patrol vehicle was the academy 5 years ago. I drive hard in empty parkinglots and an old air stip at a closed down army base with my mustang for fun and to improve my driving skills just like I shoot on my own time.
Ok... I'm done with my rant. What do the guys who already drive these on a daily basis think of crash survivabilty versus a CVPI? This is not an invitation to start flaming ford for the CV rear impact issue... I have been in 2 CV's that were totalled and 2 fellow Troopers that I currently work with, were in another one that was totalled. Aside from being sore the next day we all came away without a scratch. How about mechanical reliablity? Anyone out there put 30K miles on a Charger a year? How much time do they spend in the garage aside from normal 5K preventative?
340/390 HP/TQ my ***. This pig may be slightly (and I use that world lightly) faster than a 3.27 CVPI (how did ford make a 3.55 geared car slower to accelerate) but if this is what a Hemi is... I'm glad I have a 4.6 mod motor in my off duty toy. My bone stock 3.55 geared, 300/320 HP/TQ rated 06 Mustang GT feels much stronger than the charger and I even read the manual about how to turn the ESP off. Granted my GT is a little lighter but not 4-500 lbs lighter which is what the weight diffrence would have to be to justify the diffrence in performance between the Hemi and my GT. Less than $2000 (less if you go with cheap headers) in bolt-on's and exhaust and the mustang is putting down around 310-325 HP depending on the tune. I have a feeling that Dodge is way over rating the Hemi to sell an "Interceptor" type car.
The trunk is worthless. You can't even throw a patrol bag in there once all your standard equipment (first aid, fire ext, radios, flares, crime scene kit, etc) is thrown in there.
Visibility out the back of the car is horrid. Could they make the trunk lid any higher and the window any smaller?
The shifter has to be the worst design I've used to include colum mounted manual transmissions when I was stationed in Japan. The shifter is not conducive to executing a quick K turn like the CV shifter is.
This is the first autostick (or whatever they are calling it) that I've ever driven. It is pretty much a worthless feature since it is nothing like a stick shift. If I downshift the car should immediately downshift unless the shift would put the car over the established redline.
The way the airbags are setup, the standard 13" computer screen is not usable as it would cause problems with the passenger side airbag deployment. I have 20/20 vision but I'm sure that will be ruined if I have to look at a little 7" screen for the next 15 years.
I'm sure there is more I will find that I don't like about the car after I drive it again wednesday night for 6 hours on patrol.
There are a couple of things I like about the car.
The Whelen control unit that is factory installed is very nice compared to some of the POS's that division has installed in our CVPI's.
The suspension/steering is much tighter than the CVPI. The Charger responds much quiker and snappier to steering input and it can defianately be thrown around much easier than the CVPI without breaking the backend loose (with ESPOFF displayed in the odometer).
The Charger stops faster than the CVPI untill the brakes get hot. The brakes leave much to be desired of once they get hot. The CVPI brakes seem to take many more emergency stops before they start to fade but that is easilly remedied by a change in pads or even better throwing the SRT 8 brake setup on the police Charger.
The higher top end of 150 is nice for highway situations but there are few times you are going to need to go that fast and it has been my experience that most police officers have no business maxing out a CVPI at 130 let alone a Charger at 150. We train with our sidearms and long guns a couple times a year but I know the last time I was at the track in a patrol vehicle was the academy 5 years ago. I drive hard in empty parkinglots and an old air stip at a closed down army base with my mustang for fun and to improve my driving skills just like I shoot on my own time.
Ok... I'm done with my rant. What do the guys who already drive these on a daily basis think of crash survivabilty versus a CVPI? This is not an invitation to start flaming ford for the CV rear impact issue... I have been in 2 CV's that were totalled and 2 fellow Troopers that I currently work with, were in another one that was totalled. Aside from being sore the next day we all came away without a scratch. How about mechanical reliablity? Anyone out there put 30K miles on a Charger a year? How much time do they spend in the garage aside from normal 5K preventative?
Comment