So we got a 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8

The Dodge Challenger SRT8 has been out in the UAE since last year. A facelifted version may already be on the way by the end of this year. And some nincompoop magazines had already ripped up the rear tyres on our tester. But hot damnit it is still an awesome car.

The Challenger is a big imposing machine, looking the most retro among the ‘Big Three’ muscle cars, but also the most exclusive, thanks to Chrysler’s GCC outfit choosing to import only the top-shelf SRT8 version here.

In fact, it is so exclusive that people in pricier cars were giving me thumbs-ups on the road, while hordes of bystanders were taking pictures of the car. And I took pictures of them.

This car was so unique that I offered two professional photographers a chance to take shots, and they happily obliged. This is in addition to my own photos.

This particular Challenger is spiced up with a sticker package that made it stand out even more. The stickers on the bonnet even have a make-believe carbon-fibre pattern.

The interior is very simple, while would be fine in the old days, but not against today’s competition. However, this turned out to be the highest-quality cabin out of the ‘Big Three’ simply by virtue of having extensive soft-touch surfaces on the doors and dash. And that voice-controllable multimedia-navigation system is second to none.

The sporty front seats are awesome. The driver’s one is power-adjustable, while the passenger’s one is manual. The upholstery is a combination of leather and alcantara which extend to the door panels too.

The manual seat makes it quicker to slide out of the way for rear-seat access. While entry is still tough, there is actually a reasonable amount of legroom for average-sized people, with rear a/c vents and padded armrests too. Even luxury-branded coupes usually cheap out in rear accommodations, let alone other muscle cars.

The luggage trunk was just weird. As we saw a couple of years ago in the Chrysler 300C SRT8, the large boot is taken over by the full-size spare wheel. However, we suspect that most cars actually have a space-saver spare instead of the setup seen in our test car.

This car is full of quirks. There is full keyless start as well as remote start, but unlocking the doors still require pressing buttons on the key-fob. The rear camera and sensors seem tacked on, as they are not standard. The plastic around the bonnet vents are slightly warped, but overall quality seems better than either competitor. That optional Mopar gear-shifter “handle” is comedic. All that tech, and the strong a/c is still a single-zone unit. There are no side-indicators, while two entire circular headlight units are used as front indicators.

Still, complaining about this car would be rather daft. It costs more than its retro brethen, but it also offers more space, better cabin materials, more tech and way more exclusivity. It might not have the handling edge, but it still did rather fine for the streets, given the abused rear tyres, and it was almost as comfortable as a Toyota Camry to cruise in. More in the full review soon.

Mosque photos by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury.
Motorcity photos by Faisal Khatib.
Tunnel photos by Shruti Jagdeesh.