The console compartment is decent sized, with two levels, the upper stamped with recesses for holding sundry items, and contains practical coin holders. There's also a sunglasses holder within the driver's reach. And speaking of specialized holders, the optional cargo organizer keeps grocery bags from topping over and incorporates a nook designed for holding a one-gallon milk jug.

The Magnum takes an innovative approach to placement of the entertainment system's video screen. In lieu of suspending it from the ceiling or planting it in the backside of the front seat head restraints, Dodge pivots the Magnum's up out of the front center console. This positions it for viewing between the front seats at just above knee level. We're not sure what this will do for passengers susceptible to motion sickness, but it does preserve the driver's view out the back window. Speaking of things in the way, don't pop for the upgraded sound system that parks a monster subwoofer in the cargo area right behind the rear seat if your Magnum is to be used to haul stuff.

Driving Impressions

The Dodge Magnum is a car we enjoy driving, especially the SRT8, though we like all the different models. All that horsepower, all that torque, predictable handling, and a solid, comfortable ride.

The five-speed automatic transmission upshifts smoothly. Even in AutoStick mode, however, it sometimes upshifted before we wanted it to. Gear engagement often lacked the crispness we believe should be the norm in a car with the SRT8's credentials. The shift lever moves through a slotted gate, with AutoStick actions managed with sideways movements at the bottom end of the gate.

Power in the SE with its 2.7-liter V6 is barely adequate for a car weighing close to two tons, and the base, four-speed automatic is basic.

The SXT is better, with some 30 percent more horsepower and torque on tap, plus a five-speed automatic, in a car weighing barely 50 pounds more than the base SE. The SXT's 3.5-liter V6 makes 250 horsepower and, in these days of high horsepower V8s, that number might have lost its meaning, but 250 horsepower is a lot, and it's especially effective with the 250 pound-feet of torque this engine offers. The SXT is more fully featured for the money, too, including sharper wheels and tires more befitting the car's abilities. It's rated to tow 2000 pounds and gets an EPA-estimated City/Highway 19/27 mpg. The SXT uses a five-speed automatic with AutoStick for manual gear selection.

The R/T is our favorite with its 5.7-liter V8 Hemi, although even with all that power and torque, the acceleration isn't neck-snapping; the R/T has a tall final drive ratio of 2.82 in the rear-wheel-drive version and 3.07 with all-wheel drive, which may be great for gas mileage and quiet running, but tempers acceleration. There were times it felt like it had 340 horsepower, and times it didn't. There were more times that it didn't feel like it had 390 pound-feet of torque, which might be because the torque peaks at a relatively high level, 4000 rpm. With horsepower peaking at 5000 rpm, that's a relatively narrow stretch of maximum happy performance for such a big engine.

The R/T engine's Multi-Displacement System, or MDS, cuts out half of the eight cylinders whenever horsepower is not needed. At a steady 60 miles per hour or less on a flat highway, it only uses four cylinders and gets about 30 miles per gallon. With a response time of 0.04 seconds, we couldn't feel when it went from a V4 back to a V8 when we hit the throttle to speed back up again. The R/T is rated by the EPA at 17/25 mpg. Although technically capable of towing 3800 pounds with the optional tow package, Dodge does not recommend using the R/T as a tow vehicle. The R/T uses a five-speed automatic transmission with AutoStick.

The R/T longs for grippier tires. It comes with Continental Touring all-season tires, P225/60R18, which were the likely cause of the Electronic Stability Program's occasional intrusion into our hard but not overboard driving. As the tires lost their limited bite, the ESP feathered the throttle. With stickier tires, it's unlikely that intrusion would occur. A good idea is to add the 20-inch wheels available this year with their high-performance rubber, even though they may not last as long or work as well in the winter. We also felt the front wheels bouncing at times, which was the only blemish on an otherwise great ride, tested in a variety of road conditions.

The brakes are fully up to the task. The front vented rotors measure 13.6 inches, an inch larger than the SE and SXT, and the rear vented rotors are 12.6; additionally, the front brakes use dual piston calipers. Couple that mechanical strength with ABS with Brake Assist, which balances the braking between front and rear and, no worries, you're going to get stopped when you need to. On twisty mountain roads we repeatedly hammered the brakes into downhill curves, and the pedal never once showed any sign of stress or distress, or brake fade, an impressive feat given the weight of the Magnum.