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The following is my overall opinion based on 2 days of driving the SRT4:
At first glance at the car once my friend and I arrived at the dealership, I was in complete awe! This car looks MUCH better in person than all the photos that I've seen thus far!
Body Style, Trim Level and Options:
The exterior has a great appearance, clear coat and paint appear to be very good as well. I love the arching tail fin! It didn't not inhibit my rear view as much as anticipated. I did notice that the front window pillars did take a chunck out of my periphial vision on both sides. This will take some time to get use to. The trim level inside was definately not comparable to the imports, however, I knew this prior to purchase and wasn't expecting much. I must comment that the aluminum accents look great! The seats are incredible! For the 10 hour drive home, I expected to make several stops to combat the sore back. However, this was NOT the case and proved to be VERY comfortable in the short or long term. For general comfort, they are better than the Nissan SE/R Spec V seats in which I rode in on the way down to get the car. The back seats are very comfortable too. The overnight sleep in the back was acceptable. LOL j/k. The stereo system ROCKS for being factory! Surely it's not IASCA competition level but it suits me just fine. Cupholders everywhere! I did make sure to read the owner's manual so I was able to find the trunk release on the first try. If I didn't read the manual, I would have had trouble finding the fog light switch.
Powertrain and Performance:
This is were the SRT4 shines. I'm fairly new to the turbo scene, but I've had plenty of experience with naturally aspirated medium horsepower engines (170-300hp). I must say that the turbo is a sound that I'll never get bored with. It's fantastic!! I'm not sure, but I didn't notice any lag in the transition were the turbo kicks in. SHHHHWEEEEEET! During the drive back I always kept the RPMs less than 4.5k and the boost less than 10psi up until about 300 miles on the car. This is the recommended "break-in" period from the owner's manual. After that, I boosted between 15-17psi (according to the gauge) about 3 times. I did notice a couple of times during a boost the engine/turbo fell on it's nose, so to speak. It's like it loss power for about 1 second. IS THIS NORMAL??? Not sure, because it hasn't happened today.
Driving Impressions:
Overall driving experience is exhilerating!!! I can't drive this car enough!! I've had this
on my face since I left the dealership! Unfortunately due to the break-in period, I declined a few invitations to race anyone. I did end up creeping over 100mph twice on the Interstate, but that was briefly. Lastly, I fueled up the first time since leaving the dealer and got back in the car to drive away and my "check engine" light came on. So I was like WTF!!?? I called the dealer immediately on the cell to find out what may be the problem. His first response was that I had not "clicked" the gas cap on atleast 3 times. So, I pulled over to do that and it still remained on. He then replied that I would need to disconnect the positive battery post to reset the computer. So, we did that and it worked just fine. So far, no such problems.
Finally, I will post pics once I get all the DAMN love bugs cleaned off the front. I hope this was informative to any would be owners.
At first glance at the car once my friend and I arrived at the dealership, I was in complete awe! This car looks MUCH better in person than all the photos that I've seen thus far!
Body Style, Trim Level and Options:
The exterior has a great appearance, clear coat and paint appear to be very good as well. I love the arching tail fin! It didn't not inhibit my rear view as much as anticipated. I did notice that the front window pillars did take a chunck out of my periphial vision on both sides. This will take some time to get use to. The trim level inside was definately not comparable to the imports, however, I knew this prior to purchase and wasn't expecting much. I must comment that the aluminum accents look great! The seats are incredible! For the 10 hour drive home, I expected to make several stops to combat the sore back. However, this was NOT the case and proved to be VERY comfortable in the short or long term. For general comfort, they are better than the Nissan SE/R Spec V seats in which I rode in on the way down to get the car. The back seats are very comfortable too. The overnight sleep in the back was acceptable. LOL j/k. The stereo system ROCKS for being factory! Surely it's not IASCA competition level but it suits me just fine. Cupholders everywhere! I did make sure to read the owner's manual so I was able to find the trunk release on the first try. If I didn't read the manual, I would have had trouble finding the fog light switch.
Powertrain and Performance:
This is were the SRT4 shines. I'm fairly new to the turbo scene, but I've had plenty of experience with naturally aspirated medium horsepower engines (170-300hp). I must say that the turbo is a sound that I'll never get bored with. It's fantastic!! I'm not sure, but I didn't notice any lag in the transition were the turbo kicks in. SHHHHWEEEEEET! During the drive back I always kept the RPMs less than 4.5k and the boost less than 10psi up until about 300 miles on the car. This is the recommended "break-in" period from the owner's manual. After that, I boosted between 15-17psi (according to the gauge) about 3 times. I did notice a couple of times during a boost the engine/turbo fell on it's nose, so to speak. It's like it loss power for about 1 second. IS THIS NORMAL??? Not sure, because it hasn't happened today.
Driving Impressions:
Overall driving experience is exhilerating!!! I can't drive this car enough!! I've had this
on my face since I left the dealership! Unfortunately due to the break-in period, I declined a few invitations to race anyone. I did end up creeping over 100mph twice on the Interstate, but that was briefly. Lastly, I fueled up the first time since leaving the dealer and got back in the car to drive away and my "check engine" light came on. So I was like WTF!!?? I called the dealer immediately on the cell to find out what may be the problem. His first response was that I had not "clicked" the gas cap on atleast 3 times. So, I pulled over to do that and it still remained on. He then replied that I would need to disconnect the positive battery post to reset the computer. So, we did that and it worked just fine. So far, no such problems. Finally, I will post pics once I get all the DAMN love bugs cleaned off the front. I hope this was informative to any would be owners.
