Besides telling you how cool the cars are, how fast (or slow) they might be, and the like, this blog is also for letting you know what it's really like to live with 'em. So here's me with a few real-world Challenger impressions. (WARNING: If you have a low tolerance for baby seat installation posts, I suggest you skip this one. Bad-ass retro-style dads and moms, follow the jump!)
I generally hate installing our giant Recaro car seat in coupes. Even if the front passenger seat folds and moves forward far enough to create a hole big enough to cram the car seat into, there's usually not much space for me to maneuver back there to cinch it down (despite my super-slight frame). For the Challenger, the first order of business was to get that manual front passenger seat out of the way. I engaged the lever on the side of the seat and used all of my 98-pound weakling strength to shove it forward and simultaneously slide the whole heavy seat forward, too. Not an easy task, would be even less easy if you were trying to keep a toddler from running away from you in a crowded parking lot while doing it.
Happily, the kid seat fit pretty easily through the resulting space, once I extricated the shoulder belt from its router on the seatback (self-strangulation being low on the baby seat install priority list). There was enough room for me to crawl back there and tighten it down nice and snug, too. The grippy leather upholstery was also excellent at keeping the kid seat in place, which can't be said of every leather interior.
I was less pleased with the process required to put the front passenger seat back in place so someone could actually sit up there. When you push the seat back toward the rear of the car with your hand, it stops in the most upright (and impossible to sit in) position and the seat doesn't move backward in its track at all. To reset the seat to a usable position, it's a two-and-a-half-step process: 1) adjust the seatback angle with the lever on the side of the seat and then 2) reach down into the passenger footwell and adjust the fore/aft position of the seat. Very tedious and inconvenient if you're going to do frequent kid-driving duty (or any rear passenger duty, for that matter), then 2.5) re-route the seatbelt through the incomplete-O-shaped router.
However, kick space for the kid, once buckled into the forward-facing seat was decent, and the front passenger's knees weren't jammed uncomfortably into the glovebox.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com @ 3,142 miles
randycat99 says:
06:58 PM, 04/ 6/09
You haven't figured it out, have you? You are supposed to throw the kiddy seat into the trunk! :p If you are truly driving safely, the baby will be ok in there (just don't forget to take'em with you when you leave the car, though).
randycat99 says:
07:01 PM, 04/ 6/09
Alternatively, square-jawed Challenger owners don't stick around to father their baby during the infant years (but there is often an uncomfortable reunion later in the teen years, but at least the baby seat is no longer necessary).
cwc1 says:
07:27 PM, 04/ 6/09
It's also the little things that can make the difference in consumer perceptions.
After getting used to coupes with better designed rear seat access, such as the front seats raising up and moving forward and then returning to their original position at the touch of a lever, a-la BMW, Dodge's design does seem pretty lame and old school. Even if it doesn't cost as much, the Challenger isn't cheap either, and it's still built on a 10 year old Mercedes platform whose development cost has long been amortized, so Chrysler certainly could have spent a few extra dollars on a better mechanism.
dougtheeng says:
06:05 AM, 04/ 7/09
I never mind letting people into the back of my MINI because the seat returns to the same position. I definitely have experienced the painful process that Bryn is talking about, however it was in my old Dodge Colt. Coupes are great for many things, but hauling people conveniently in the back is generally not one of them.
vvk says:
08:05 AM, 04/ 7/09
Bryn, thanks for this interesting post.
Is that a Recaro Como seat? Have you tried installing it in a 3-series BMW (E90)? I have not been able to install my Britax seat in my 328xiT due to the way LATCH anchors are enclosed in a plastic frame. This prevents me from being able to get the LATCH belt tight enough. I am thinking of possibly buying the Recaro Como.
the_big_al says:
08:43 AM, 04/ 7/09
Did you use the lower lever or the upper lever on the seatback? I know that in my 8 year old S-10 if I use the lower lever the seat flips forward and then slides all the way forward and then when you put the seat back, it goes back to it's original recline and track position. No readjusting the recline angle and forward/aft position. Especially useful if it's the driver's seat as I find it near impossible to find that "perfect" position after the seat has been moved around.
It is surprising that a car costing this much and as advanced as we are in automotive engineering wouldn't have a simple feature like this. a feature that has been around even on "cheap" vehicles for years. It shouldn't cost that much or be that expensive to implement. Unless GM has some sort of proprietary rights to this type of mechanism?
gobryngo says:
09:30 AM, 04/ 7/09
@wk: It is the Recaro Como, and I love it, but I always use the seatbelt to install it (I'm pretty sure your Britax has the same LATCH attachments as the Como). I have not tried it in an E90 yet, but I will try it as soon as I have the opportunity.
@big_al: I tried both the lower lever and the one on the back of the seatback. It was the same either way. Annoying.
0757lx says:
09:47 AM, 04/ 7/09
Its good to see that a car seat of that size can fit in the back seat. Whats disappointing is that Chrysler didn't invest more $$ in the seat design...the passenger seat is the primary method of getting into the back seat.
I drove a HEMI Challenger and was surprised that the driver's seat doesn't move at all when you tilt the seat back forward....Come on Chrysler enough with the cost cutting already!
rda717409 says:
10:05 AM, 04/ 8/09
Bryn, I like that you referred to me as a "Bad-ass retro-style dad."
My wife and I bought a new Challenger R/T, and we have 3 children. We had no problem with 2 booster seats and a car seat in the back of our 1994 Ford Thunderbird, and we have no problem with the same set up in the back of our new Challenger.
The complaints and comments in your article and in this blog are accurate. The lack of a quick release on the driver side for rear access is annoying and the operation of the passenger side seat for rear access is not as easy as it could or should be. It all comes down to what you are willing to tolerate. My wife and I love the car and enjoy driving it, so we decided to tolerate the shortcomings regarding rear seat access and go ahead with the purchase. Some Moms and Dads want to enjoy their driving experience. I have yet to drive a mini-van that brought a smile to my face, no matter practical it was.