2009 Dodge Challenger R/T | 1st Full Test | Edmunds.com

[@FRESNOSTATE1559]

my 9 year old challenger is still running strong even with 200k+ miles

[@golfiedowling]

after some aftermarket parts into my challenger the performance has greatly increased, after the Flowmaster Super 44 exaust system (cat back no res), new high performance tires, Mopar cold air intake, and with the ECU chip in the mail this car is well worth it, you can do all of this without voiding the Warranty, its perfect.

[@gragra73]

What many people fail to realize is how edmunds test their cars from 0-60. They don't do a rolling startout which many magazines do. A rolling start basically allows the cart to roll for about a foot which gives it about a .3 sec advantage. Edmunds does a true 0-60.

[@Basslightning666]

It's a 5 second car, 13.5 - 1/4 mile, 13.1 with drag radials and seat delete. My 2020 RT Plus Shaker is anyways... But numbers aside, it is an insane amount of fun to drive...

[@ListeningPoint]

Who taught this dude how to launch?

[@texan176]

I saw this car in person and sat in it for the first time at the local car show. WOW The base model is only 22 grand with a 260hp V6!!! I'm sure it can be brought to 300 with a tune and under $2 grand in hardware. A 300hp RWD car for about $25K that does not drink fuel like a V8. It's the best value of all. The interior is just perfect on it...the view outside from the driver's seat is stunning cause of the short glass height all around.

[@DCuerpoJr]

When you race at a drag strip the road crew places your vehicle on a white line precisely 1ft behind the starting line. This is referred to as "1ft of roll-out". When the green lights signal you to accelerate the timer is designed to start when your front wheels pass the start line. Therefore you are already in motion (typically 3-5mph) before the timer begins. This results to faster acceleration times. Car Manufacturers and most magazines use this method of recording track times but not IL

[@retroolschool]

As an automotive artist, once I saw this new Challenger, I fell in love with its fantastic design. I usually draw old cars and trucks, and the last time I drew a new car as part of my series, was in '98 when I drew a Lincoln Navigator. I'm doing the 2009 Challenger RT in an old school green color. When I get this drawing done I'll be posting it here on youtube. Elton.

[@Sinn0100]

I know this is old but your times are bad. Stock it runs 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and the quarter in 13.2.

[@DCuerpoJr]

Edmunds doesn't include rollout times for the 0-60, 1/4 mile or slalom times. MotorTrend, Car & Driver, & most other magazines or auto review sites include roll out times. If you refer back to their website you'll see that including rollout would shave a few tenths of a second. With that in mind, their recorded times are actually within the same range as other reviews.

[@niceprince]

This car is about style, sound and just overall badassness. Comfortable riding and straightline cruising man.

[@teambronski]

I picked up one of these last weekend and personally I don;t care WHAT the 0-60 is, the real scary part is the speed you get while rolling. Thgis thing on the highway is scary! Now I know tha thte 6th gear is for, it's for keeping you from accelerating to 100mph in 5th with hardly a touch of the pedal! Only 300 miles on mine so far but it's a solid machine and the interior is far superior than any other American car I have seen.

[@Wojo-88]

I love that they are bringing back that classic mucle car look!

[@dave1927p]

Just bought a challenger srt8 put a procharger in it. Produces 900rwhp my 0-60mph in 3.36 seconds top speed - 187 mph ungoverned. I bought it used so all in all i spend 38000$. This car is a great buy if you just want something fast but cant afford a lambo/ferrari etc.

[@WBD86]

ok it is beautiful beast and if someone disagrees try to redesign such legend.

[@cutmullets]

my recruiter has this car, but he has quite a bit of performance upgrades on it. very nice car.

[@Chargerchad]

the handling is excellent and for its size and weight? the handling is unmatched world wide.

[@bigassfordsd]

I heard about that show, but I was also told that the the HEMI they built was the "RACE" hemi you could have back in the day not the 425HP rated "Street" hemi.

[@RX552VBK]

You lucky bastard! Enjoy it, brother!

[@Leviathan81X]

Motortrend just tested all the 2009 Challengers. The R/T six-speed did 0-60 in 5.1s and the quarter mile in 13.6s at 104 mph. The SRT8 did 4.6s and a quarter of 13.1 at 108 mph. Seriously, Insideline, how can you be off by THAT much? Wow.

[@dwiggs77]

its not just the auto manufacturers its the consumer. lets face it they can make what ever they want,its whether or not we buy it that matters.

[@blackdog1138]

Plus the R/T has the high performance transmission, steering, and suspension. Also has a posi rear end, and i hear they handle and ride a lot better than the SRT 8

[@Leviathan81X]

Friend of mine went to a Dodge Challenge tour event. They had a stock Challenger R/T automatic (no sticks were running at that event) that did the quarter in 13.6 seconds.

[@josh1303]

Thats the traction control doing that to the tires. It wont let them slip so it makes the tires screech.

[@MetalGearHead]

that still sounds about right, my friend know how to shift it thats why he got that 4.7s. but 4.9 is still pretty dam good on this car if you ask me

[@Garage2Trail]

To give you an idea of how good these "pro" drivers are, I got the exact same time in my stock r/t six speed my first time ever going to a drag strip. The car is a low 13 second car in the hands of a good driver.

[@Leviathan81X]

Just found out something interesting. The reason it takes so long to reach 60 is because it requires a shift into 3rd, which eats up valuable time. Turns out Dodge put the rev limit at only 5700, even though multiple reviewers insist that if it were higher they stay in second and get much quicker times. I think Dodge purposefully set the rev limit so low so that the R/Ts perfomance wouldn't steal buyers from the SRT.....I think it's time they replace the 6.1L with the 6.4L.

[@sdustin85]

The 2010 Taurus SHO is almost a second quicker but the Challenger is just so old school and badass.

[@Weazell]

I wouldn't buy this car for its handling or even its speed. It's just pure beautiful and the sound is great. Plus, who can forget its history?

[@coolvideo28]

The RT is a V8 but it will run on 4cyl when you dont romp on the gas so it suposedly can get up to 25mpg and it can run on regular fuel so its a great buy Iam getting one

[@orenmcgrath]

ya, i get what your saying my 06 5.7 hemi charger with a performance chip goes from 0-60 mph in 5 seconds flat its got 410 hp and 420 pounds of torque

[@Kamikaze86JLK]

Beautiful car! But do they make a convertable and how much do they run if they do!?

[@snk4eva]

i love how it has 72 more hp than my mustang yet the stang has faster 0-6, slalom, and 1/4 times.... it is a very nice car non the less

[@Sinn0100]

I know this is old but his times are terrible. When my 2017 Challenger RT was stock it was getting 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and ran the quarter in 13.2 seconds. I guarantee you he left MDS on and that just kills times. Now, my Challenger RT hits 0-60 in 4.2 and my quarter mile is 12.7 running at 440hp@425 ft. lb. of torque.

[@torqmuch]

I think they'll be pretty sweet. Especially if you can get ahold of one of the SMS 296 superchargers from saleen. Supposedly as much as a 45% power increase with supporting mods and tuning.

[@coolerdude44]

woah, he test drove this in my town lol. thats just awesome

[@formerice]

I wouldn't be surprised if the computer does not hold back a little until the car is broken in. My hemi Magnum ran a lot better after a few miles. My Magnum ran high 13's once broken in. Now it's bumping 11's with a little juice.

[@DCuerpoJr]

If you go to Edmonds IL website you'll see in detail the track times the record with and without roll out.

[@silasjones04]

No no no. Edmunds is what sucks. I just bought one of these about 3 weeks ago. Its an R/T. It has a little more hp than the stock R/T because it has k & n air filter and glass packs. So it has about 385 hp. I'll admit, the take off on them isn't the fastest but if you still have to the floor when it hits about 3rd gear, then I'm telling you, you have to watch it or it will get away from you. Its a damn good car.

[@KoukiMS6]

I love my little MS6 than can seat more people than your huge slow tank, while handling better and being faster. Honestly, if you're in the DC area, we can race and video tape it. Ill even introduce you to a 11.6 sec MS6. No shit talking just fun racing.

[@PH020]

saw this in orange with the black strips! ddam its sick

[@LANDROVERDANNY]

NICELY STATED!!!

[@mrbutros]

i think this is a much better value than the 6.1, and is what will really help dodge compete with Mustang GT and the Camaro.

[@teambronski]

I agree, it is not the fastest car on the road, but it's really about bringing performance to a large car, you know, muscle cars. 4 cylinder performance these days is amazing but it's a different kind of power. I hear you though, I drove a saturn sc2 for years (all tweaked out) and it was great, but this is moving a mountain..... quickly. (millage is not bad on the 5.7 either, 25 I think.... for a V8? Not bad at all. My buddies Infinity gets 18)

[@gkailash3]

love that tyre sound. Kinda different!

[@sideburns2009]

thats a good demo of ABS

[@passit8d]

Can you get stripes on any trim of the challenger or do they only come on the SRT?

[@CBlackjr]

stock its fairly bland but these hemi's have some very nice hp potential. For aftermarket value I much rather take the R/T with 6 spd manual stroke it, add in some suspensions modification and brakes and you'll have something that will be making trouble for none Z06 C6 vettes at a drag strip.

[@Bret928]

Nice I really like it but I got tired of waiting for Ford to release it. So I bought a Bullitt Mustang and after seeing the numbers I paid less and got much more. Certainly the Bullitt is much faster ride with less of a dint in the buyers wallet. In fact performance closer and in some ways better than the SRT8. Still while I feel that they nailed the styling in spades Dodge couldve done a better job with their retro rendition compared to the competition.

[@CaelanM]

That is awsome car! It looks kind of like the old 1968 Dodge Charger which is also an awsome car!

[@koukicrisp]

@MillionairJoe A Boss 302 starts at 42G's the Challenger R/T is about 35k, that's not too close at all. I think you are confusing this for the SRT-8 392, which is 44K.

[@pyropk123]

this gives me a eyegasm!

[@GeneralCuster14]

I like your thoughts on customization :D.

[@texan176]

The RT is around 35 grand which is a lot more than a bit more at 13 grand extra. The power to money ratio is not that great on the RT considering the car looks pretty much 90% like the base and has less than 100 extra horsepower. This car is a total winner. It's nothing like how a base V6 Mustang is junk compared to a V8 GT; there it's better to just buy the GT.

[@nick9802]

Good test sir. I'm looking to purchase a R/T

[@holiday920]

I agree. I personally like the chevy camaro more though. Not to say that the challenger is a bad car.

[@bertito43]

Does it comes with manual trans or is it only the autostick?

[@DoctorNumber46]

the 0-60 time is the same as motortrend got out of the base camaro with the v6, and the quarters were not much slower. maybe these guys are just REALLY slow drivers, cuz im pretty sure that the camaro is also pretty heavy, like the dodge challenger but that the extra 120lb ft of torque will help it a lot.

[@AutoYoung]

@raptorman2666 hey, there's a thing called power to weight ratio. While the R/T is not this slow, about 5.2; a firebird is considerably lighter. So a car with almost the same power with less weight will usually win.

[@Micahdogg]

Man, with a set of slicks/skinnies I bet you could really aggravate some SRT8's!

[@smilsmff]

as a shopper for a new car ive been watching you tube recently and i am stiffled? by huge variation of e t s.

[@disbsam333]

Tell me about it. My Saturn managed to pull on one today. I got wasted by a GTO though.

[@Starsky5000]

I love it. The looks of this car is awesome. The performance is okay. But the weight is a problem? I read somewhere it's over 4,000 Lbs. Jesus. That's alot of weight for a car. I wish they would trim 1,000 lbs off this car then you will see some real performance.

[@Joerotty]

That's strange..My 07 Charger R/T with the Road and track package only has 350 horses and I was getting 5.6 secs 0-60 when the engine wasn't broken in yet.Now i'm in the low 5's with no mods.

[@JaredDiBartolo]

r u talkin bout the challenger or the 350z?

[@MrLumpz]

I love the new Challenger. I think the best model is the R/T. Better engine than the SE, and better MPG than the SRT8. Chevy better step their game up with the new Camaro!!!

[@Leviathan81X]

Insideline is always slower than all the others. Wait unilt MotorTrend posts their numbers. They always get like .5s better than Insideline. Which means with a proper launch and drag strip rules, you're looking at 5.2-ish for the R/T.

[@elkpointquader]

sounds like a standard. and generally a good automatic can outaccelerate standard. its kinda hard to shift as fast with a standard

[@rumblebeast08]

Yea, that 0-60 time is really bad, my 2004 Ram truck stock would hit 60 in about 5.9-6.0 sec; and run the quarter in 14.7. I'd expect this car to be in the high 13s and the SRT-8 to be at the low 13s.

[@dautolover]

had he pressed on more, the back wheels wouldve spun out, and hurt the time. im sure 5.9 was the fastest time after he figured out what was the best way to launch it

[@USGiorgi]

this is a big car. I just saw one on the streets yesterday. Orange with black stripes. guess they really wanted the big muscle car feel to it. I like the design, but i think its just too heavy.

[@TheJellybean1988]

I have a 2011 challenger rt automatic, same car. I got the 0-60 timer on evic, and did it in 4.82 seconds, stock. Whoever said 0-60 in 5.7 seconds doesnt know how to drive. But then at the same time, once in a while the car has some "dead spots" where I hit the accelerator expecting power and it isnt there..... Why?

[@motokrzrrbom]

lovin the sound

[@red05hemi]

they do!

[@jonv92]

i was really expecting more form the new challengers

[@hish911]

is the manual rough

[@teambronski]

Isn't that a 90,000 dollar car?! :) R/T with the track pack will be around 36,000. Anyway I agree, the AMG Merc is like a mature Ferrari. Hey, how do you like the Crossfire? Not compared with the Merc, but it does share a lot of lower end Merc parts. Personally I think it was a great idea they didn't they upgrade well enough. If they did it would be competing for Challenger customers by now. God I can't wait to rive a Track Pack R/T.

[@Garage2Trail]

@smilsmff it differs from day to day, track to track, driver to driver. i was disappointed at first when i this video was posted before i got to see them for myself at the tracks and before i got mine. after i've seen them perform in the real world and seeing how my first time at a drag strip equaled these "professional" numbers, i can dismiss this test and all the others that downplay the r/t. let the haters think they have an easy kill...makes it that much more fun when you surprise them!

[@brentmann]

I dont care how quick to 60! It's Freaking beautiful!

[@demoskunk]

@willem01 The V8 sounds like a beast, I like it. But I really like the way my inline 6 sounds, too. It sounds more like a race car. I think more people prefer the sound of a big V8, though. It's deep, throaty, and intimidating.

[@smilsmff]

@koukicrisp BOSS 302 IS 68 K AT DEALERSHIP check mark ups, 392 is 49 k

[@ChiTownOnDeck]

R/T stands for road and track. SRT stands for Street Racing Technology

[@SchwartzeBaron]

Hey....try reading about the car before you give it a "know-it-all" comment. It DOES have Independent Rear Suspension! that partly sets it apart from the Shelby Mustang that still has the solid rear axle.

[@Corvobell]

Tight but even the V6 Version of the new Camero can get to 60 in 6 seconds. The challanger looks cool though.

[@mrbutros]

Yeah stock tires suck for drag racing, and the braking noises were caused by the ABS.

[@xHSxSTUNN3Rx]

im bying this peice of art

[@Leviathan81X]

The slalom matters...if you plan on taking your car to a road course. But people don't buy muscle cars for that purpose. If I needed a car for that I'd get an EVO or an STI. This car is for bragging rights at stoplights...and the freakin' V8 soundtrack.

[@walterevans8396]

My daughters has 126k..still runs and drives like new!

[@georgeone11]

New Camaro SS: 0-60 5s. 1/4 mile 13.00.

[@DoctorNumber46]

they need to make an RS version of this, where they keep the engine the same, and take out ALL THE WEIGHT. now that would be something. 372 hp, 2600lbs anyone?

[@xxMafia101]

yea. motor trend says the srt8 goes 0-60 in 4.5

[@demoskunk]

@willem01 Oh yeah, a '73 Lincoln HAS to have a sizeable V8. My dad bought a '79 Buick LeSabre with the (at the time) new V6 option and he traded in the car almost immediately 'cause it couldn't get out of its own way. A full size car needs a V8. I drive a 2002 M3, and yes, the inline 6 suits it perfectly. It's a fairly small car, and the 333 hp that its high revving engine produces just rockets the car forward, especially in third gear!

[@GeneralCuster14]

A deep black with white racing stripes :D. Nothing much else... I like smaller rims though :P. Black is better for me :).

[@jezuzfreek777]

I get 4.9 in mine

[@thedefinitive6296]

i don't blame you

[@coolvideo28]

If your so against the challenger rt why did you bother come checking out the video? just to right a negative comment? wow its a Muscle car If your looking for the fastest car out there your looking in the wrong class.

[@jonatube28]

Im talking about the styling. American car manufacturers are obsessed with the retro look! And please dont call me an idiot as i am rather sensitive, and might cry!

[@demoskunk]

This car is all about looks and nostalgia. Performance wise, it's too heavy to do anything very well. My 3.2 liter inline 6 cylinder is a full second faster to 60 and it runs circles around the Challenger in every other conceivable category. So when people spout off about the superiority of V8 muscle cars, they have no clue what they're talking about.

[@dsm2xtreme]

A big 16g turbo which is standard on evos is not that big. try a 20G for some REAL boosting. My old DSM had a small 16G and with 17psi could outrun my brother 99 LS1 trans am all day. Impressive from 2.0L for sure but god help you if someone turbos a V8!

[@MetalGearHead]

0-60 in 5.9 seconds, my friend has the same exact car and he gets 4.7

[@ChiTownOnDeck]

honestly i have a dodge challenger R/T and 5.9 seems a little slow...i have two 12 inch sub woofers in the bak and i get around 5.9 for 0-60 times. my subs way like 65 lbs. easy and if they werent in there i KNOW i would increase my 0-60