| 2011 Ford Mustang vs 2010 Dodge Challenger | December 30, 2009 | AUTORIVALS.NET |
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| Along with the Chevrolet Camaro, the Dodge Challenger arrived just in the nick of time to compete in the muscle car revival. It looks the most retro by far with the strongest resemblance to its respective original, the 1970 Dodge Challenger. It comes armed with an available 6.1L Hemi V8 and has the largest chassis by a significant margin compared to its competitors. The Ford Mustang on the other hand, is the smaller, nimbler pony car and gets two brand new engines for the 2011 model. | ||
1967 Ford Mustang | 2011 Ford
Mustang |
1970
Dodge Challenger | 2010 Dodge Challenger |
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| 2011 Ford Mustang | vs | 2010 Dodge Challenger |
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| The Mustang gets minor changes to its exterior for next year. Design cues comes from various Mustang years such as the upper grille inspired by 1967-1968 Mustangs and the one piece headlight/turn signal unit inspired by the 1970 Mustang. The Dodge Challenger's exterior carries over from its introduction year with the same performance hood fitted with scoops and dual round headlights resembling the original Challenger. | ||
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| The Challenger is fitted with a front lip spoiler and squarer front end than the Mustang. Matched with the hood stripes, the front fascia has a stronger resemblance to '60s and '70s muscle cars. The hood looks nearly identical to one of the original's hoods (the 1970 model was fitted with four different hoods) and the grille is deeply recessed too. The Mustang's power dome hood looks better however with a more modern design mixed with classis styling. | ||
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| The Challenger is the largest muscle car available and nearly ten inches longer than the Mustang. The extra dimensions gives it the best rear head and leg room along with the best cargo space. The extra size gives it a great cruiser presence but unfortunately adds a ton of weight. Two tons actually for the SRT8. Luckily its got the Hemi to keep it fast off the line. The beltline is shaped like the original model with muscular proportions and a large C-pillar. It's larger on purpose like the original was whereas the Mustang is smaller and more compact with tighter fitting sheet metal. | ||
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| The Challenger's taillights have a striking similarity to the original that goes the width of the car. The design is the same with the Dodge logo fitted in the center. The rear fenders are shaped more muscularly than the Mustang's which are more modest but tauter. The only thing to knock on the Mustang's design is the side rear windows. | ||
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| It's hard to compete with the
Mustang's interior after Ford has had a few years to tweak the
refinement but the Challenger does an admirable job. The
trapezoidal gauge cluster housing recalls the original's
interior and is oversized like its exterior (though not nearly
as oversized as the original). The layout is modern enough but
materials aren't up to the Mustang's standards. Passengers will
enjoy the Challenger's extra space though. |
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PROS +Smaller, lighter, tighter +Better engines for 2011 matched with a lighter chassis +Best interior among muscle cars CONS -Side rear window |
PROS +Gives the greatest sense of nostalgia +Larger size makes it a great cruiser CONS -V6 model weighs as much as the Mustang GT V8 -Interior isn't as refined |
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| Video Source: Inside Line via YouTube |
| 2010 Ford Mustang Engines | vs | 2011 Ford Mustang Engines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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