The Dodge Magnum was a car we didn't want to stop driving. All that horsepower, all that torque, great tight handling, solid comfortable ride, very enjoyable instrument panel and steering wheel and seats.
The five-speed automatic transmission, designed by Mercedes, upshifted sharply and smoothly, but even in the AutoStick mode it sometimes upshifted before we wanted it to. The specs say that the engine is electronically limited to 5800 rpm, but our Magnum shifted at 5500. The engine felt easily underworked at that speed. Numbers and charts notwithstanding, this is an engine that feels like it wants to rev. Although by the same token, the 340 horsepower peaks at just 5000 rpm, so revving past 5500 would seem to be unnecessary. It was just so much fun. We should add that we were testing a pre-production Magnum, and it's possible that showroom models may be programmed to shift at 5800, not 5500.
Even with all that power and torque, the acceleration isn't neck-snapping; the Magnum has a very tall final drive ratio of 2.82, which is great for gas mileage and quiet running, but tempers acceleration. There were times it felt like it had 340 horsepower, and times it didn't. There were more times that it didn't feel like it had 390 pound-feet of torque, which might be because the torque peaks at a relatively high level, 4000 rpm. With torque peaking at 4000 and horsepower peaking at 5000, there's a relatively small area of maximum happy performance for such a big engine. We're not complaining, merely lamenting what could be. And no doubt will, with aftermarket tuners.
They'll also find grippier tires for the Magnum. It comes with Continental Touring all-season tires, P225/60R18, which were the likely cause of the Electronic Stability Program's occasional intrusion into our hard but not overboard or even borderline driving. As the tires lost their limited bite, the ESP cut the throttle on us. With grippier tires it's unlikely that intrusion would occur. This car warrants sport or high-performance tires, though they may not last as long or work as well in the winter.
We also felt the front wheels bouncing at times, which was the only blemish on an otherwise great ride, tested in a variety of road conditions. Again, we suspect tires.
The brakes are another story: they are fully up to the task (for example, towing up to 3800 pounds is eminently doable). The front vented rotors measure a huge 13.6 inches and the rear vented rotors are 12.6; additionally, the fronts use dual piston calipers. Couple that mechanical strength with ABS with brake assist, which balances the braking between front and rear, and no worries, you're gonna get stopped when you need to. On the curvy mountain roads we repeatedly hammered the brakes into downhill curves, and the pedal never once showed any sign of stress or distress.
We drove the Magnum RT for half a day, and its dressier sister the Chrysler 300C for the other half. They're built on the same platform and have much of the same equipment, including rack-and-pinion constant-rate steering systems. Both handle extremely well; tight is the best word to describe them. It may have been in our head, but we think the Magnum felt more nimble. One difference might be weight distribution; even though they're heavier, wagons (er, sport tourers) inherently have better balance than sedans. The 300C is 54/46, while the Magnum RT is 52/48.
Finally, a word about the MDS, or Multi-displacement system, which cuts out half of the eight cylinders during those times when not much horsepower is needed. At a steady 60 miles per hour on a flat highway, or less, you're only using four cylinders and you're getting about 30 miles per gallon. With a response time of 0.04 seconds, we couldn't feel when it went from a V4 back to a V8, when we hit the throttle to speed back up again.
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