BMW people are not Chrysler SRT people, and vice-versa. Neither would cross shop the other product with any seriousness, because, well, obviously. And yet, five and ssix years on, we find a Dodge Magnum SRT8 and BMW 535xi Touring with comparable prices and mileage.
In one corner we have an exquisitely engineered all-weather tourer with a turbocharged 3.0 straight six. The other contains an casually assembled, awkwardly styled bruiser riding on an outdated Mercedes chassis. The BMW might break your heart with maintenance bills, but the Magnum might just turn your stomach. One will kick you in the teeth with torque, the other will turn any mountain journey into a joyride.
Let’s see some details after the jump.
With 43k miles and 420hp on tap, the Magnum is probably the more Hooniverse choice here (we’re an adjective now). Of the many slights against mid-2000s Chrysler products, “overengineered” is not one of them. When (not if) the Dodge breaks, parts should be available, cheap, and installed in your own garage. Until that day comes, you’ll be able to enjoy decent cargo capacity, a sweet V8 burble and even sweeter power curve. Just don’t spend too much time touching the interior plastics, mmmmkay? Personally, I loved the time I spent in the SRT8 Cherokee. Aside from some (fake?) Viper wheels, this one’s been spared the cruel fate of crappy customization that many of [sc:ebay itemid=”300919742438″ linktext=”its brothers met” ].
[sc:ebay itemid=”300921185246″ linktext=”2007 Dodge Magnum SRT8 For Sale – eBay Motors” ]
I can only imagine the experience of an engineering design review at BMW. “Unteringenieur, how can we get an additional 3% more [power,efficiency,weight reduction] from this design?” “well, Herr Doktor Zuffenmiserhousen, I could double the number of components, reduce the serviceability, and increase costs by 40%” “Exzellent!” (This all culminated with the triple-turbo 550d M Sport). This Autobahn bomber sports a twin-turbo, variable valve timing equipped straight six delivering 300hp through an all-wheel-drive system that’s always played second fiddle to Audi’s. Not exactly a screamer, but easily boosted to ludicrous speed with some aftermarket tweaks. This example sports a refreshingly unique combo of grey exterior on light tan leather on light grey wood interior, along with rear windows you can actually see out of. While this one’s a slushbox, manuals do occasionally pop up from time to time. Maybe pretend this is one of those.
[sc:ebay itemid=”251285828494″ linktext=”2008 BMW 535xi Wagon for sale – eBay Motors” ]
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