2005 Dodge Magnum SE Test Drive
Mrs. Superdork I really want to like the Magnum. I mean really, with a passion. I think it’s great that Dodge is marketing it to death, and the campaign, “open it up from both ends” is genius. But then I drove the Magnum. I want to emphasize that I drove the base model with a tiny little V6 – a more upscale interior and more horsepower might have altered my opinion quite a bit.
The Magnum has love-it or hate it looks. I love wagons and hot rods, so I love it. I’m not a huge fan of chopped rods, but the Magnum just gives that impression – it really isn’t all that chopped.
I don’t care much for Chrysler’s colors, especially how they charge more for the red – the only decent color of the bunch. The black-crystal-pearl-which-is-really-metallic-charcoal-grey is probably my next favorite color. The white on the Magnum is a horrid ecru shade that looks great on brides but not on cars.
I like the toned-down version of the Dodge grill on the Magnum. It’s aggressive looking without being gaudy. What really stood out about this model, however, were the hub caps. That’s right, hub caps. I didn’t know you could buy American cars with hub caps!
The Magnum is has a fairly stiff ride but it was smooth without feeling floaty, and I felt the bumps in the road but none felt jarring. I personally like feeling the road and hate the ride in luxury vehicles like Cadillac and Lexus, so take my opinion of the ride with a grain of salt.
My biggest piece of advice if you buy a Magnum: don’t get the baby V6. The 2.7L V6 felt pretty anemic. Its starts out with a little pep in first gear, but when it shifts into second it feels like the car actually slows down. The base model was much less of a deal when the engine is taken into consideration. Pay the money and get at least the next size up V6.
Once in the Magnum, visibility from the front seats was just fine despite the chopped style, but I didn’t ride in the back seats so I can’t vouch much for the view there. The front seat was a bit high for my tastes and since this was a stripper I didn’t have the option of lowering it. It felt a lot like sitting in a padded chair as opposed to a car seat. The steering wheel was a good size and felt nice in my hands. I don’t understand the squiggly pattern of the shifter – it’d be easy to change gears in a hurry if I didn’t have to work through a maze. It was easy enough to work however, since I only put it in drive once.
The back seat in the Magnum could be described as a couch when compared with the other vehicles we’ve been looking at – the Xterra, Pathfinder and Grand Cherokee. It looks and feels like normal sized front seats – just placed in the back. There is plenty of legroom, too, especially if you sit behind me. The seats fold down to expose a huge storage area. If we owned this we wouldn’t have buy midget Christmas trees anymore. There is a removable floor cover that folds back onto itself to be completely flat (removes to expose a plastic cargo floor underneath for your muddy stuff). The one in my Audi doesn’t and can be a pain, so it’s cool the Dodge does. My only complaint about the rear of the Magnum is the ridiculous door handle – it’s placed right in the edge of the door and made of smooth plastic so your hand slides out when trying to shut it. A pull-strap would be infinitely more usable.
Overall Impression
Sadly, I won’t consider buying a Magnum. Call it a short attention span, but I know myself and know that as much as I love the look now, I’ll be tired of it in a few years. I’d rather have a vehicle with style that won’t age as much as the Magnum’s is going to. But Kudos to Dodge for trying and I hope they find many buyers trendier than I. If you are one – go for the big engine and upgraded interior. The extra bit it costs will be well worth it.