'12 Dodge Challenger R/T Ride Report
Oct 28, 2012, 6:06 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: BOS
Programs: National Exec, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 171
'12 Dodge Challenger R/T Ride Report
Before I even begin, let me just say that if you're not comfortable with blind spots while driving, this car is not for you. A massive column means that you've got a blind spot that can swallow an entire car on either side (possibly two cars if those cars are Smart cars).
I reserved a FCAR a few weeks back for this weekend, since I knew I'd be needing to make a trip. The last time I came through the HLE, I made an offhand comment to my rep about the Challenger and mysterious Mercedes (it was parked behind three other cars so I didn't get a great look at it). And lo and behold, when I arrived Saturday afternoon, the Challenger was sitting right out front:
My rep just kinda grinned at me and handed me the contract/keys. They were, of course, for the Challenger. Hell. Yes.
The R/T is the "middle" trim available for the 2012 Challengers, coming with a 5.4L V8 HEMI under the hood, and the Hertz models have those tethered to a 5-Speed autostick transmission, with paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
The steering wheel is leather-wrapped, and has just about every function possible crammed on there one way or another. Like most mid-trim newer Dodges, it has all the audio controls on the backside of the steering wheel, info/uconnect controls on the left side and cruise controls on the right side.
One thing you can't see very well in that last picture, is that despite the '12 Challenger being configured to be a KeylessGo start car on all trims, Hertz has apparently requested that to be removed, and instead you'll need to carry at least one bulky keyfob with you to start the car (I was given two... tethered together. Brilliant, I know).
Now, space wise, this car isn't exactly meant for more than 2 people plus luggage. In my infinite wisdom, I forgot to take many pictures of the interior
But I do have pictures of the trunk!
Closed:
Open:
It's not particularly spacious but I'm fairly sure you could fit two large bags and a small bag in there... You'd have to be using soft luggage though, hard sides wouldn't be conducive to fitting back there.
The front end (okay, well really the whole damn car) is styled so that you can't help but see the Challengers of the 60's in it.
The car is a very smooth ride, and very comfortable for long periods because of the leather bucket seats. The only quibble I had with it was that the media system seemed to have issues interfacing smoothly with my iPhone at times.
Car Description: 12 SIR CHALLNGRR/TS (2012 Dodge Challenger R/T with SiriusXM Radio)
Class: V4
Miles on the clock: 14,529 miles
PROS:
Comfortable seats, quality materials
Engine purrs like a lion, very responsive autostick shifts
Touch-Screen Media system, UConnect
Everyone moves over for you (usually while drooling over you at the same time)
CONS:
Every trooper within 50 miles will be looking at you. All. The. Time.
Horrible gas mileage (15/23, I averaged 17.9 for this trip combined)
Active removal of KeylessGo?? Why?
(Business travel) - Pretty flashy to show up to a meeting in
Limited storage space
Final Score: I would not take this car for a business trip. However for leisure, absolutely! I would be more than willing to use this as a road trip car, assuming I could get two people to come with me.
I hope this hasn't been an abject failure of a first ride report
I reserved a FCAR a few weeks back for this weekend, since I knew I'd be needing to make a trip. The last time I came through the HLE, I made an offhand comment to my rep about the Challenger and mysterious Mercedes (it was parked behind three other cars so I didn't get a great look at it). And lo and behold, when I arrived Saturday afternoon, the Challenger was sitting right out front:
My rep just kinda grinned at me and handed me the contract/keys. They were, of course, for the Challenger. Hell. Yes.
The R/T is the "middle" trim available for the 2012 Challengers, coming with a 5.4L V8 HEMI under the hood, and the Hertz models have those tethered to a 5-Speed autostick transmission, with paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
One thing you can't see very well in that last picture, is that despite the '12 Challenger being configured to be a KeylessGo start car on all trims, Hertz has apparently requested that to be removed, and instead you'll need to carry at least one bulky keyfob with you to start the car (I was given two... tethered together. Brilliant, I know).
Now, space wise, this car isn't exactly meant for more than 2 people plus luggage. In my infinite wisdom, I forgot to take many pictures of the interior
But I do have pictures of the trunk!
Closed:
Open:
It's not particularly spacious but I'm fairly sure you could fit two large bags and a small bag in there... You'd have to be using soft luggage though, hard sides wouldn't be conducive to fitting back there.
The front end (okay, well really the whole damn car) is styled so that you can't help but see the Challengers of the 60's in it.
The car is a very smooth ride, and very comfortable for long periods because of the leather bucket seats. The only quibble I had with it was that the media system seemed to have issues interfacing smoothly with my iPhone at times.
Car Description: 12 SIR CHALLNGRR/TS (2012 Dodge Challenger R/T with SiriusXM Radio)
Class: V4
Miles on the clock: 14,529 miles
PROS:
Comfortable seats, quality materials
Engine purrs like a lion, very responsive autostick shifts
Touch-Screen Media system, UConnect
Everyone moves over for you (usually while drooling over you at the same time)
CONS:
Every trooper within 50 miles will be looking at you. All. The. Time.
Horrible gas mileage (15/23, I averaged 17.9 for this trip combined)
Active removal of KeylessGo?? Why?
(Business travel) - Pretty flashy to show up to a meeting in
Limited storage space
Final Score: I would not take this car for a business trip. However for leisure, absolutely! I would be more than willing to use this as a road trip car, assuming I could get two people to come with me.
I hope this hasn't been an abject failure of a first ride report
Last edited by roymustang; Oct 28, 2012 at 7:49 pm Reason: Formatting
Oct 28, 2012, 7:57 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Posts: 16,720
Awesome report 
I've seen a bunch of Challengers at different locations and I imagine them being so much fun to drive around in.
FWIW the steering wheel controls (i.e. the audio controls on the backside) date back to 2000 or possibly even earlier! It's the same setup as on my family's '00 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's too bad they removed the keyless start system
I do hope I can get one of these someday!
-J.
I've seen a bunch of Challengers at different locations and I imagine them being so much fun to drive around in.FWIW the steering wheel controls (i.e. the audio controls on the backside) date back to 2000 or possibly even earlier! It's the same setup as on my family's '00 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's too bad they removed the keyless start system
I do hope I can get one of these someday!
-J.
Oct 29, 2012, 11:40 am
#7
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 150
How did you find the space inside when driving, im looking at hiring one of these over a corvette due to the luggage space and I can recline the seat more than in a corvette, and for a big guy thats important.
Im gonna do a 2500 California road trip in one.
Im gonna do a 2500 California road trip in one.
Oct 29, 2012, 5:32 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: BOS
Programs: National Exec, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 171
Do you just mean in the front seats, or the rear as well? The driver and front passenger will have a nice ride. You'll have plenty of space should you need it. Anyone in the back, however, won't have such a good time.
Oct 29, 2012, 11:39 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 150
Yeah purely front seats being used, yeah looking at picking this over the corvette.
Oct 30, 2012, 5:16 am
#10
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Programs: DL Diamond Million Miler, AA Ex-Plat, IHG RA, Marriott PLAT, HERTZ Pres Circle
Posts: 1,220
Sep 1, 2013, 12:09 am
#11
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, HHonors Diamond, National Exec, Hertz PC, Nexus
Posts: 413
$40 upgrade, yes please
Last Saturday I was scheduled for a one-day full-size rental out of SAN for $41.25 AI. I was staying at the U.S. Grant downtown and planning on schlepping in on the city bus (#992) to pick up the car since the HLE rates downtown were much higher. A little before my alarm clock was set to go off I got my Carfirmation, advising me that I'd be in a black Mazda 6, definitely one of my favorite cars in the class. Naturally I clicked on the link to see what my other options were: a gray Altima for $0 more (boring) and an orange Challenger for $40 more. I'd admired this model in other Hertz lots over the past year, so I decided to go for it. If I were on a multi-day rental I probably wouldn't have sprang for the $40 a day, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity for some fun driving.
After picking up the car I stopped by the hotel to pick up my wife and drive up to La Jolla. I used to live in San Diego and this trip was basically just a $20 stopover for my wife and I enroute from SEA to LIH using an Alaska Air Visa Signature Companion Pass. So other than the dinner we had with friends the night before, we didn't really have much of an agenda, except for getting a burger at In N' Out. While I like walking by the water in La Jolla, the roads and parking lots were choked with traffic. After a short stop for drinks at the Goldfish Cafe I decided I wanted to have some fun with the Challenger. So I found a website with some suggested drives in the area. We ultimately decided to drive down to El Cajon and take Wildcat Canyon Road up to Ramona and continue on to the historic gold rush town of Jullian.
The road is mostly two-lane, with passing lanes at a couple points, with a lot of turns, dips, and hills. Even though I didn't go much over about 5-8 mph over the speed limit the car was a pleasure to drive and I loved the purr of the engine going up those hills. While we didn't get too many second glances in La Jolla, where it's not uncommon to see a Porche or Ferrari, we got a lot of looks driving down the small main drag in Julian.
The one noteworthy and kind of scary part of the rental had to do with the hood latch. At some point near Julian I thought I saw the hood going up and down slightly, but I wrote it off to glare. Later, as we were driving back to town I noticed again and decided to pull over. It turns out that the hood was released, but thankfully still latched. I hadn't touched the hood release the whole time, so this was kind of alarming. I re-latched the hood and continued on to In N' Out and as we got near the restaurant, the hood seemed to be moving again as I accelerated from stops, so I re-latched the hood. After eating we were going to head back to the hotel and return the car first thing next morning, so I opted not to stop by Hertz to swap out the car. I told the agent what had happened when we checked in the next day and she told me she'd send it in for maintenance. The situation was a little scary in retrospect. If the hood would've come all the way up on Wildcat Canyon Rd we could've had a nasty, quite possibly fatal accident.
I don't have much to add to roymustang's helpful observations about the car. Although, I do think the trunk is fairly roomy for two people. We put one full-size suitcase, two roll-aboards and two backpacks in there without any trouble, although there was no room to spare.
My ride, a Challenger with 3,356 miles and NV plates. The car also had a moon/sunroof, that we opened briefly until my wife began to complain.
After picking up the car I stopped by the hotel to pick up my wife and drive up to La Jolla. I used to live in San Diego and this trip was basically just a $20 stopover for my wife and I enroute from SEA to LIH using an Alaska Air Visa Signature Companion Pass. So other than the dinner we had with friends the night before, we didn't really have much of an agenda, except for getting a burger at In N' Out. While I like walking by the water in La Jolla, the roads and parking lots were choked with traffic. After a short stop for drinks at the Goldfish Cafe I decided I wanted to have some fun with the Challenger. So I found a website with some suggested drives in the area. We ultimately decided to drive down to El Cajon and take Wildcat Canyon Road up to Ramona and continue on to the historic gold rush town of Jullian.
The road is mostly two-lane, with passing lanes at a couple points, with a lot of turns, dips, and hills. Even though I didn't go much over about 5-8 mph over the speed limit the car was a pleasure to drive and I loved the purr of the engine going up those hills. While we didn't get too many second glances in La Jolla, where it's not uncommon to see a Porche or Ferrari, we got a lot of looks driving down the small main drag in Julian.
The one noteworthy and kind of scary part of the rental had to do with the hood latch. At some point near Julian I thought I saw the hood going up and down slightly, but I wrote it off to glare. Later, as we were driving back to town I noticed again and decided to pull over. It turns out that the hood was released, but thankfully still latched. I hadn't touched the hood release the whole time, so this was kind of alarming. I re-latched the hood and continued on to In N' Out and as we got near the restaurant, the hood seemed to be moving again as I accelerated from stops, so I re-latched the hood. After eating we were going to head back to the hotel and return the car first thing next morning, so I opted not to stop by Hertz to swap out the car. I told the agent what had happened when we checked in the next day and she told me she'd send it in for maintenance. The situation was a little scary in retrospect. If the hood would've come all the way up on Wildcat Canyon Rd we could've had a nasty, quite possibly fatal accident.
I don't have much to add to roymustang's helpful observations about the car. Although, I do think the trunk is fairly roomy for two people. We put one full-size suitcase, two roll-aboards and two backpacks in there without any trouble, although there was no room to spare.
Sep 4, 2013, 5:18 pm
#13
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Programs: Amtrak Select Executive, Hertz PC, National EE, IC Diamond Ambassador, ALL Gold, Hyatt Disc
Posts: 531
At SFO the '13 Model has been going for as low as $25/day on the weekend. This weekend I believe it is up to closer to $40/day. They have quite a few of them with less than 5-6k depending. I have had 3 of them in the past month, 1 as a PC upgrade on an F reservation and the other two were booked initially for the $25/day. Made for a smooth ride to/from San Diego... though put quite a few miles on the clock.
The trunk was somewhat spacious, especially compared to the Buick Regal I received next time! Space for the car seat in back as well
The trunk was somewhat spacious, especially compared to the Buick Regal I received next time! Space for the car seat in back as well
Sep 4, 2013, 7:50 pm
#14
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Programs: ANA Miledge club, JAL Miledge bank, Hertz #1 Gold
Posts: 223
Last Saturday I was scheduled for a one-day full-size rental out of SAN for $41.25 AI. I was staying at the U.S. Grant downtown and planning on schlepping in on the city bus (#992) to pick up the car since the HLE rates downtown were much higher. A little before my alarm clock was set to go off I got my Carfirmation, advising me that I'd be in a black Mazda 6, definitely one of my favorite cars in the class. Naturally I clicked on the link to see what my other options were: a gray Altima for $0 more (boring) and an orange Challenger for $40 more. I'd admired this model in other Hertz lots over the past year, so I decided to go for it. If I were on a multi-day rental I probably wouldn't have sprang for the $40 a day, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity for some fun driving.
After picking up the car I stopped by the hotel to pick up my wife and drive up to La Jolla. I used to live in San Diego and this trip was basically just a $20 stopover for my wife and I enroute from SEA to LIH using an Alaska Air Visa Signature Companion Pass. So other than the dinner we had with friends the night before, we didn't really have much of an agenda, except for getting a burger at In N' Out. While I like walking by the water in La Jolla, the roads and parking lots were choked with traffic. After a short stop for drinks at the Goldfish Cafe I decided I wanted to have some fun with the Challenger. So I found a website with some suggested drives in the area. We ultimately decided to drive down to El Cajon and take Wildcat Canyon Road up to Ramona and continue on to the historic gold rush town of Jullian.
The road is mostly two-lane, with passing lanes at a couple points, with a lot of turns, dips, and hills. Even though I didn't go much over about 5-8 mph over the speed limit the car was a pleasure to drive and I loved the purr of the engine going up those hills. While we didn't get too many second glances in La Jolla, where it's not uncommon to see a Porche or Ferrari, we got a lot of looks driving down the small main drag in Julian.
The one noteworthy and kind of scary part of the rental had to do with the hood latch. At some point near Julian I thought I saw the hood going up and down slightly, but I wrote it off to glare. Later, as we were driving back to town I noticed again and decided to pull over. It turns out that the hood was released, but thankfully still latched. I hadn't touched the hood release the whole time, so this was kind of alarming. I re-latched the hood and continued on to In N' Out and as we got near the restaurant, the hood seemed to be moving again as I accelerated from stops, so I re-latched the hood. After eating we were going to head back to the hotel and return the car first thing next morning, so I opted not to stop by Hertz to swap out the car. I told the agent what had happened when we checked in the next day and she told me she'd send it in for maintenance. The situation was a little scary in retrospect. If the hood would've come all the way up on Wildcat Canyon Rd we could've had a nasty, quite possibly fatal accident.
I don't have much to add to roymustang's helpful observations about the car. Although, I do think the trunk is fairly roomy for two people. We put one full-size suitcase, two roll-aboards and two backpacks in there without any trouble, although there was no room to spare.
My ride, a Challenger with 3,356 miles and NV plates. The car also had a moon/sunroof, that we opened briefly until my wife began to complain.
After picking up the car I stopped by the hotel to pick up my wife and drive up to La Jolla. I used to live in San Diego and this trip was basically just a $20 stopover for my wife and I enroute from SEA to LIH using an Alaska Air Visa Signature Companion Pass. So other than the dinner we had with friends the night before, we didn't really have much of an agenda, except for getting a burger at In N' Out. While I like walking by the water in La Jolla, the roads and parking lots were choked with traffic. After a short stop for drinks at the Goldfish Cafe I decided I wanted to have some fun with the Challenger. So I found a website with some suggested drives in the area. We ultimately decided to drive down to El Cajon and take Wildcat Canyon Road up to Ramona and continue on to the historic gold rush town of Jullian.
The road is mostly two-lane, with passing lanes at a couple points, with a lot of turns, dips, and hills. Even though I didn't go much over about 5-8 mph over the speed limit the car was a pleasure to drive and I loved the purr of the engine going up those hills. While we didn't get too many second glances in La Jolla, where it's not uncommon to see a Porche or Ferrari, we got a lot of looks driving down the small main drag in Julian.
The one noteworthy and kind of scary part of the rental had to do with the hood latch. At some point near Julian I thought I saw the hood going up and down slightly, but I wrote it off to glare. Later, as we were driving back to town I noticed again and decided to pull over. It turns out that the hood was released, but thankfully still latched. I hadn't touched the hood release the whole time, so this was kind of alarming. I re-latched the hood and continued on to In N' Out and as we got near the restaurant, the hood seemed to be moving again as I accelerated from stops, so I re-latched the hood. After eating we were going to head back to the hotel and return the car first thing next morning, so I opted not to stop by Hertz to swap out the car. I told the agent what had happened when we checked in the next day and she told me she'd send it in for maintenance. The situation was a little scary in retrospect. If the hood would've come all the way up on Wildcat Canyon Rd we could've had a nasty, quite possibly fatal accident.
I don't have much to add to roymustang's helpful observations about the car. Although, I do think the trunk is fairly roomy for two people. We put one full-size suitcase, two roll-aboards and two backpacks in there without any trouble, although there was no room to spare.
Nice read, I noted down the scenic places for San Diego for my next trip. thanks for that.
I had the challenger 3 times. Once in NJ, and twice in SoCal taking to to Vegas and Grand Canyon. What a car! I would actually buy one if I lived in US. You drive it, and it doesn't matter where you are, people give you thumbs up, or roll down their window and compliment you. You don't get this in a friggin camry! And the feeling of pulling into Bellagio valet in that thing with that big ol V8 and XM Classics Rewind blasting out of speakers, is just unmatchable. For our first road trip to Vegas we tuned into Elvis Radio
I did have the same hood problem, but I think the hood lever is positioned so you can accidentally bump it with your knee or foot (don't remember exactly) i noted the location of that lever and the problem never happened again.
Aug 7, 2014, 8:33 pm
#15
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: OOL
Programs: VA Gold, QF Nothin' Bronze, IHG Plat AMB, Europcar Privilege Elite
Posts: 59
Thanks for the reviews so far folks.
Just wondering how much luck you guys have reserving these or upgrading to on the day of rental? I've got 24 hrs spare in Las Vegas in October and am quite interested in renting one for a run up to Rachel and back.
Just wondering how much luck you guys have reserving these or upgrading to on the day of rental? I've got 24 hrs spare in Las Vegas in October and am quite interested in renting one for a run up to Rachel and back.