The fabled “Super Bee” moniker is back once again for the 2013 Dodge Charger SRT8. Our friends over at Autoblog recently had the chance to dive one of these four-door muscle cars for a week, and have reported on their findings. The list of positives include the incredible power and relatively good handling, while their biggest complaints have to do with the price and fuel economy.
The Super Bee is still powered by the 6.4L 392 Hemi V8 pumping out 470 horsepower and the same amount of torque. The 392 Hemi is also still backed up by the same 5-speed automatic transmission from recent years.
The Super Bee package is actually a more stripped down version of the Charger SRT8, and is meant to serve as a slightly more cost effective option. However, the 2013 Super Bee does get a few cool goodies of its own, like split five spoke 20-inch wheels, Super Bee decals, and a traditional bee graphic on the grille.
The Autoblog reviewers loved the torquey 392 Hemi, but were very disappointed in the terrible gas mileage they recorded during their tests – 16 MPG combined. Somehow, we actually don’t see this as all that bad, especially considering that they probably did more than their fair share of “spirited driving” during their road test.
Plus, anyone considering this car probably isn’t all that worried about their MPGs. Then there is the issue of the price – $44,435 “as tested”. The guys from Autoblog say that for that much coin you should get more, and we absolutely agree. It’s a nice car, but aren’t “stripped down” muscle cars supposed to actually be more affordable? For that much you could easily buy a very well-appointed 2-door muscle car from one of the competitors. What do you think?