Yes, though tough to see through clouds of supercharged tire smoke, there are 2015 Challengers besides the SRT Hellcat. Believe me, I drove them. They come in all sorts of colors, with lots of different stripe packages, running three different engine options, and now vaguely resembling the ‘71 version of the original. You can even spec a houndstooth interior! While it’s true that they don’t have 707 hp—the V6 models make do with less than half that figure—the non-Hellcatted Challengers are still worth a look.
Let’s be honest: For the past five years this car has leaned heavily on its looks. It leaned heavily on its sidewalls too. Dodge’s 2015 launch presentation began with an admission that the Challenger it’s been selling since ‘08 wasn’t perfect—not exactly news to us, but it was nice to hear all the same. As the automaker sees it, there were three areas areas that needed improvement: interiors, transmissions, and size. The hard-black-plastic cave is now a soft-black-plastic cave with modern technology and conveniences; the look can be brightened by a selection of seat materials. The ancient five-speed autos have been replaced by modern eight-speeds that seem better sorted than those in the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300. And it’s still big. Dodge decided to own that part. (Without a new platform, there wasn’t much choice.)