Chevrolet laid its groundwork for the new SS with a profile body for the 2013 NASCAR circuit. The racing Chevy SS and the racing Dodge Charger would have each been that rarest of things: a V-8 rear-drive Sprint Cup competitor modeled after a V-8 rear-drive production car. But the SS arrived just as Dodge quit the series, so fans were cheated.
Instead, the speedway rivalry that never was has simply moved out to the parking lot. The production SS squares off here, on a rainy weekend, against the Dodge Charger SRT8. The latter has strutted alone in Detroit’s arena of civilian rear-wheel-drive muscle sedans since 2009, when GM pulled Pontiac’s plug and with it the SS’s excellent predecessor, the G8. While both the Charger and SS are more sensible than their two-door siblings, the Challenger and the Camaro, these old-school tire smokers cement their relevance by not really giving a damn about it.
Still, Chevrolet wants you to know that its new halo sedan is the brand’s first rear-drive four-door V-8 in nearly 20 years. The SS is as American as can be for a Euro-inspired car built in Elizabeth, South Australia, which is absolutely nowhere near Sydney or any place with a working telephone. Known as the Holden Commodore SS in its home market, the Chevy SS is GM’s third attempt to domesticate one of its Australian models—after the ill-fated Pontiac GTO coupe and G8 sedan.
Thus equipped, the Dodge is up 55 horses, 55 pound-feet, and about 10 grand versus the Chevy. But it’s the SS that feels $10,000 dearer.
The Commodore’s current VF chassis (so named for the Aussie fashion of giving each new version of a model its own two-letter code) has been updated from the VE structure that we loved in the G8, but it’s still similar to what’s underneath the stubbier Chevrolet Camaro and the stretched Caprice PPV police cruiser. Additional aluminum in the suspension, subframes, hood, and trunklid helps the SS shed more than 100 pounds from a comparable G8. GM paid special attention to overall refinement and noise insulation, while a new electrical system supports all of the company’s latest safety and entertainment gear, including the feared switch to electric power steering.
A low-volume unicorn for the brand, the handful of SSs to be imported will all be pretty much fully equipped and ready to boogie for $45,770, including a $1300 gas-guzzler fee slapped on the sole engine—a 415-hp, 6.2-liter LS3 V-8. GM’s six-speed 6L80 automatic is sadly the only transmission offered. Although a power sunroof ($900) and a spare tire ($500) are optional, the sporty suspension, Brembo front brakes, and 19-inch wheels with performance tires are all standard.
The Charger SRT8 was last updated in 2012. It’s now a thoroughly modern muscle car, with a sinister mien, a 470-hp 6.4-liter Hemi V-8, driver-adjustable adaptive suspension, and even larger Brembo brakes all around. The Charger also is automatic-only, with just an old five-speed unit until ZF’s ubiquitous eight-speed enters service.
Although budget Super Bee versions of the 2014 SRT start at $45,380 (including $1000 in guzzler tax), the regular SRT is $3000 more and closer to 50 grand when equipped like the Chevrolet. Our test car was a 2013 model mechanically identical to the 2014 SRT; it blossomed from its $47,475 base price to $55,150 with the 2013-only 392 Edition appearance package ($2495), as well as a Harman/Kardon audio system ($1995) and Laguna leather seats ($1495), plus summer performance rubber and a few electronic watchdogs and gizmos that are standard on the SS.
As chest-thumping totems for their respective makes, these cars are here to claim bragging rights. So, after the obligatory burnouts, we headed for the last vestiges of fall color in rain-soaked northern Michigan to see which car best re-imagines the great American performance sedan.
2013 Dodge Charger SRT8 392
With roots in the DaimlerChrysler era, the Charger, like the Chevy, has global genes. (It’s imported, too, from an assembly plant in Ontario, Canada.) But as a proper Mopar, the SRT8 is simply bigger and badder than the Chevy ever will be.
The Charger’s extra-strength Hemi rumbles to life with authority and always feels ready to overwhelm the rear Goodyears with its 470 pound-feet of torque. Our best runs happened without the car’s launch-control software and required a careful throttle foot to optimize wheelspin. Get it right and 60 mph passes in 4.2 seconds, three ticks quicker than in the SS. A similar gap exists at the quarter-mile mark (12.6 seconds to 12.9), with the Charger reaching 114 mph to the Chevy’s 111. The momentum continues to a drag-limited 178 mph, long after the SS’s 160-mph governor kicks in.
While the SRT’s 0.90 g of grip on the skidpad can’t match the Chevrolet’s amazing 0.95-g effort, it did need one less foot to stop from 70 mph (in a short 152 feet). It almost tied the SS’s speed in our slalom test and returned the same 17-mpg average during our 700-mile road trip. Recognizing the importance of such figures to owners, Dodge includes a nifty performance meter in the Charger’s cluster, as well as cup-holder-like recesses in the underhood plastic for lengthy driveway debates about pushrods and engine-block paint.
The big Dodge looks the bruiser, too, particularly with our 392’s black accents and darkened 20-inch wheels. A numbered badge on the console lends some exclusivity, even though the black roof and rollers are available on all SRT-fettled Chargers. Combined with the beat of a large-displacement V-8, the SRT8 channels the old-timey vibe of the Pentastar’s Nixon-era classics.
But with 19 points separating it and the SS, along with higher base and as-tested prices, the Charger would need to actually transport us back to Woodward Avenue in its heyday to be considered the winner. At 4371 pounds, the Dodge is 440 pounds heavier than the Chevy and feels every ounce of it. Its dashboard is as wide as a Ram pickup’s, and the pinched windows and high cowl amplify the sense of corpulence.
An overly stiff suspension carries the bulk. Body roll is tolerable and the adjustable dampers give tight control with auto, sport, and track settings, but all the choices are excessively firm. The stiff legs unsettle the chassis over sections of road that didn’t faze the Chevrolet. Along with hydraulically assisted steering that’s somehow less communicative than the SS’s electric setup, the Charger is a blunt weapon that feels large and detached in rough use.
The Dodge Charger SRT8 offers drivers a plain-spoken layout, easy-to-understand infotainment, and seats of purest butterscotch.
2014 Chevrolet SS
Largely inspired by the 1997–2003 E39 BMW 5-series, the SS’s Holden chassis is a monument to sports-sedan fundamentals. Whereas the Charger bucks about and struggles for grip on rough, twisty pavement, the Chevrolet’s nonadjustable, one-size-fits-all suspension keeps it compliant yet planted on sticky Bridgestones. The accelerator pedal can adjust the car’s cornering attitude as effectively as the precise steering, which progressively builds in feedback and effort despite some numbness on-center. With plenty of confidence, the SS’s lateral grip bests not only that from GM’s last Cadillac CTS-V, but the current Audi S6 and BMW M5 as well.
Much of the SS’s poise is due to good front-rear distribution of its 3931 pounds, barely 100 more than the latest front-drive Impala sedan with a V-6. The firm brakes feel more responsive managing the lower mass, and the car changes direction more assertively than Dodge’s freighter does.
Although the 6.2-liter small-block is down 55 horsepower to the big Hemi, the Chevy’s lighter weight and better traction make it easier to launch at the test track and just as quick as its rival out in the real world. The 12.9-second quarter-mile pass is a solid performance. A superior transmission helps to hurry things, with the six-speed shifting smoothly and never hunting for the proper ratio. The SS still deserves a true manual, but the 6L80’s “sport” setting wakes up the car without being annoying, and the wheel-mounted paddles click off rev-matched downshifts that the Charger’s smaller, slipperier spoke toggles can’t.
The Chevrolet is more pleasant to cruise in, too, with great seats all around and premium-looking details. The SS doesn’t have the supercharged pull or the premium price tag of the burly CTS-V, but it feels like the Caddy’s equal in refinement and overall quality. Chevy’s latest MyLink interface works well in the SS’s sensible layout, which no longer includes the odd, foreign-market quirks found in the old G8 and GTO.
The Chevy’s interior is commensurate with its greater chassis and engine refinement. It looks the business, because it is the business.
While the LS3 gently rocks the car at idle and emits a rowdy snarl from its pipes, the SS lacks the Charger’s outright swagger on the street. It’s classier and more reserved in its athleticism, despite its purposeful stance. Having to correct the unacquainted that this is not a fancy Malibu is one of the SS driver’s few irritants, along with the car’s limited availability. We expect that Chevy will import only a couple thousand examples each year, priced higher than the G8 ever was. After our time in both comparo cars, though, the SS’s 45 grand feels completely justified.
The SS is a rare gem whose name underscores its well-deserved place in Chevy’s heritage. It may not be made in America, but the SS is perfectly at home here.
2014 Chevrolet SS and 2013 Dodge Charger SRT8 392
VEHICLE | 2014 Chevrolet SS | 2013 Dodge Charger SRT8 392 |
BASE PRICE | $45,770 | $47,475 |
PRICE AS TESTED | $45,770 | $55,150 |
DIMENSIONS | ||
LENGTH | ||
WIDTH | ||
HEIGHT | ||
WHEELBASE | ||
FRONT TRACK | ||
REAR TRACK | ||
INTERIOR VOLUME | F: F: | F: F: |
TRUNK |
POWERTRAIN | ||
ENGINE | pushrod 16-valve V-8 376 cu in (6162 cc) | pushrod 16-valve V-8 391 cu in (6410 cc) |
POWER HP @ RPM | 415 @ 5900 | 470 @ 6000 |
TORQUE LB-FT @ RPM | 415 @ 4600 | 470 @ 4300 |
REDLINE | 6000 rpm | 6250 rpm |
LB PER HP | 9.5 | 9.3 |
DRIVELINE | ||
TRANSMISSION | 6-speed automatic | 5-speed automatic |
DRIVEN WHEELS | rear | rear |
GEAR RATIO:1/ MPH PER 1000 RPM/ MAX MPH |  4.03/5.8/35 2.36/9.9/59 1.53/15.3/92 1.15/20.3/122 0.85/27.5/160 0.67/34.9/160 | 3.59/7.5/47 2.19/12.3/77 1.41/19.1/119 1.00/26.9/168 0.83/32.4/178 |
AXLE RATIO:1 | 3.27 | 3.06 |
CHASSIS | ||
SUSPENSION | F: struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar R: multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar | F: multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar R: multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar |
BRAKES | F: 14.0-inch vented disc R: 12.7-inch disc | F: 14.2-inch vented, grooved disc R: 13.8-inch vented, grooved disc |
STABILITY CONTROL | fully defeatable, traction off, competition mode | fully defeatable, traction off, launch control |
TIRES | Bridgestone Potenza RE050A F: 245/40R-19 98Y R: 275/35R-19 100Y | Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar F: 245/45ZR-20 99Y R: 245/45ZR-20 99Y |
C/D TEST RESULTS | ||
ACCELERATION | ||
0–30 MPH | 1.8 sec | 1.7 sec |
0–60 MPH | 4.5 sec | 4.2 sec |
0–100 MPH | 10.5 sec | 9.9 sec |
0–150 MPH | 28.6 sec | 25.3 sec |
¼-MILE @ MPH | 12.9 sec @ 111 | 12.6 sec @ 114 |
ROLLING START, 5–60 MPH | 5.1 sec | 4.7 sec |
TOP GEAR, 30–50 MPH | 2.6 sec | 2.6 sec |
TOP GEAR, 50–70 MPH | 3.1 sec | 2.6 sec |
TOP SPEED | 178 mph (drag ltd) | |
CHASSIS | ||
BRAKING 70–0 MPH | ||
ROADHOLDING, 300-FT-DIA SKIDPAD | ||
610-FT SLALOM | ||
WEIGHT | ||
CURB | ||
%FRONT/%REAR | 52.6/47.4 | 54.0/46.0 |
CG HEIGHT | ||
FUEL | ||
TANK | ||
RATING | 91 octane | 91 octane |
EPA CITY/HWY | 14/21 mpg | 14/23 mpg |
C/D 700-MILE TRIP | 17 mpg | 17 mpg |
SOUND LEVEL | ||
IDLE | 45 dBA | 46 dBA |
FULL THROTTLE | 82 dBA | 81 dBA |
70-MPH CRUISE | 71 dBA | 71 dBA |
Final Results
VEHICLE | Max Pts. Available | 2014 Chevrolet SS | 2013 Dodge Charger SRT8 392 | |
DRIVER COMFORT | 10 | 10 | 9 | |
ERGONOMICS | 10 | 9 | 9 | |
REAR-SEAT COMFORT | 5 | 5 | 4 | |
REAR-SEAT SPACE* | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
TRUNK SPACE* | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
FEATURES/AMENITIES* | 10 | 5 | 10 | |
FIT AND FINISH | 10 | 9 | 8 | |
INTERIOR STYLING | 10 | 9 | 8 | |
EXTERIOR STYLING | 10 | 10 | 7 | |
REBATES/EXTRAS* | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
AS-TESTED PRICE* | 20 | 20 | 16 | |
SUBTOTAL | 100 | 87 | 81 | |
POWERTRAIN | ||||
1/4-MILE ACCELERATION* | 20 | 19 | 20 | |
FLEXIBILITY* | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
FUEL ECONOMY* | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
ENGINE NVH | 10 | 9 | 9 | |
TRANSMISSION | 10 | 9 | 7 | |
SUBTOTAL | 55 | 51 | 50 | |
CHASSIS | ||||
PERFORMANCE* | 20 | 20 | 19 | |
STEERING FEEL | 10 | 8 | 6 | |
BRAKE FEEL | 10 | 9 | 7 | |
HANDLING | 10 | 9 | 8 | |
RIDE | 10 | 9 | 7 | |
SUBTOTAL | 60 | 55 | 47 | |
EXPERIENCE | ||||
FUN TO DRIVE | 25 | 23 | 19 | |
GRAND TOTAL | 240 | 216 | 197 | |