Yesterday we rented a “premium” rental car from Advantage rental. The only car they had was a 2017 Charger RT. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of a rental Chrysler product, but I didn’t have any choice other than to “upgrade” to a minivan or a Traverse. Yikes.
My initial thoughts were that it was OK. The sound was nice, though not as gnarly sounding as the scat pack I drove a while ago. But as we drove the car around Las Vegas, I found myself growing more and more disappointed with the car.
Despite having low miles, the intense heat of the Nevada sun, coupled with the thousands of butts that have occupied the car, have not been kind to this fragile interior. The door panel has pulled away from the top of the door and curved at an upward angle that’s quickly apparent to the passenger. The plastics inside on the center console and dash appear to have changed colors somewhat. There are squeaks and rattles everywhere.
My finance was surprised at how low rent the car felt and looked inside. She compared it unfavorably to the loaner Honda civic she received when her pilot was in for the airbag recall about 6 months ago.
Mechanically, the car seems mostly fine other than a strange rattle from the engine at low rpm at medium load as the car chugs along through traffic. The shifts are also clumsy and delayed in normal driving around the strip. At least it sounds good.
Outward visibility is good. The dials are easy to read and everything is in reach. The large infotainment screen responds quickly to inputs and the stereo sounds OK. Wow, the mirrors are tiny little things. Why are these mirrors so tiny?
I’ll add pictures today when I return it to Advantage. I’m hoping they have anything else I can exchange it for because I’d rather not have this for the rest of the week. Ultimately we’d rather have something that’s a little nicer inside as there isn’t anywhere in this city where the power could be appreciated anyway.
Hre are some pics:
