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Cheap Speed, Round 23
Dodge SRT4 ACR
Highs: Big dirty speed, astounding brakes, an autocrosser ready for tire immolation.
Sounds like the definition of cheap speed to me.
Lows: Noisy at all speeds, vibration at all speeds, overly aggressive front seats.
So? Lose weight.
The Verdict: A one-trick pony you'll want to save for SCCA weekends.
Again, sounds like the definition of your article.
Spell check is a great thing.
The Dodge SRT4 ACR—we were asked not to use the Neon designator here, lest readers conjure a wimpy, dental hygienist's car—represents a kind of descent into acronymic nirvana. SRT stands for Socially Regressive Thinking [It stands for Street and Racing Technology—Ed.], and ACR stands for Alabama Canine Registry [It stands for American Club Racing—Ed.]. The $1195 ACR package includes an even firmer suspension—yeah, that's what it needs—as well as 225/45-16 BFG g-Force T/As instead of the standard 205/50R-17s.
So, aside at the real lame attempts at humor over all the acronyms the writer was too lazy to look-up, at least you tested the right version of the SRT-4; the ACR. And god forbid it have a decent suspension set-up. I mean, I know you guys like to drive around in your STS's all day, but the wallow of an STS as it screams around the track at Willow Springs doesn't exactly say "Cheap Speed" to me.
Thus equipped, this smiley-faced Dodge is not so much a bull in a china shop as a tyrannosaur in a maternity ward. Not only does its turbo 2.4-liter four produce 230 horses, but it also churns out 107 more pound-feet of torque than the Acura. No surprise, then, that it bagged the quickest 0-to-60 time (5.6 seconds), the quickest and fastest quarter-mile blast (14.3 seconds at 99 mph), the greatest top speed (150), and the most enviable autocross time. The Dodge was the only car in our quintet to score a perfect 20 points in our coveted powertrain performance ranking.
And it came in 3rd place in a SPEED comparison because it's interior wasn't up-to-par? You guys need to get your priorities straight.
What's more, the SRT4 offers intergalactically powerful brakes, shedding 70 mph of velocity in 161 feet—supercar territory. If you're beginning to think of the SRT4 as more race car than street car, we wouldn't talk you out of it.
Well, at least you didn't pick any competitors with drum-brakes.
Race cars make a lot of noise. The SRT4 was far and away the noisiest car in this group—at idle, at wide-open throttle, and at a 70-mph cruise. Racing engines don't have to be smooth. The SRT4's produces a riot of vibration and is so lumpy at idle that our testers couldn't write clearly in the logbook.
Write bigger. Or get your asses out of the tight seats. Or, hey... TURN THE CAR OFF. Problem solved.
Race-car seats aren't designed to be comfy. The SRT4's hold your legs almost at belt level, as if you're in a Formula Ford, and the bolsters were apparently designed to clutch onto Steve Kinser. The struts and anti-roll bars groan and gronk. The throttle-return spring is so heavy it could close a screen door. The rear windows are operated via manual cranks. And the spare tire is directional, as if the Dodge guys assume it's the first thing buyers will discard on the garage floor.
I'm surprised you're not complaining about the lack of memory seats, a flower vase, and auto-tilting rear-view mirrors. Of course, we all know how important the interior fit-and-finish is to someone who is concerned about CHEAP SPEED, so please - point out all the flaws that Dodge wallows in, and Acura excels in.
While autocrossing, the Dodge felt right at home but was also the easiest to overdrive, with boost manifesting as early as 2000 rpm. Curb your right-foot enthusiasm, or the SRT4 will smoke its front BFGs out of every corner, even in third gear, plowing wide of your intended line.
So, you're saying you need to know how to drive it. Gotcha. Then again, you got one of the lousiest 1/4 mile times out of an SRT-4 (
[email protected]), so perhaps you need to learn how to drive first.
This feisty little brute might have placed higher (an SRT4, in fact, won our May 2003 "Serial Thriller" comparo) were it not such a one-trick pony. The Dodge was a perfect marvel on our Ohio handling loop and a perfect nightmare on the drive down—hobbled by the omnipresent lawn-mower exhaust drone, the let's-get-it-on ride, the rock-hard brake pedal, the torque steer off the line, the dense steering at low speeds, and the onlookers who assume you're a sociopath looking for a school bus to ram.
So, in other words, it lost points because it has a crappy interior, and goes fast as hell. Right. In a "Cheap Speed" comparo. And of course, far be it to shine the light on a car that won't be around in a few months when there are other cars that have manufacturers waiting to purchase advertising space for their continuing cars.
Pulse-pounding velocity is dandy, until you want to sip an espresso latte while commuting to work at 6:30 in the sleet. Then all the boy-racer stuff becomes cloying. Still, if there's pavement in front of your house that needs to be torn up, buy your SRT4 now. This mobile monster disappears in 2006.
Funny, I have super-size drinks in my SRT-4 all the time, and I never spill them. You should get the hole in your lips checked out.
And if you're sipping espresso, you're not interested in "CHEAP SPEED".
