Who has switched from the Dodge Challenger to the Mustang

Zimm - thanks for the info. The scat packs are starting to show up on the used market now. They are not too out of line with the used GT's. I guess I will have to drive and see for myself.

ForTheHordeKT said:

Power-wise I'd rank my GT about level with my stepfather's R/T. For me it just depends on what car you have more of a taste for. I will say more info with each other.

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The GT definitely has the power to weight advantage over the standard R/T.

I digress best Camaro pic

15GTBEN said:

The GT definitely has the power to weight advantage over the standard R/T.

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That's an important point. Dollar for dollar, you can get a much more capable performance car out of the ford. The base GT lines up with the 5.7L R/T and in this comparison, unless you really love the looks of the Challenger, the Mustang blows the Dodge out of the water. The R/T engine isn't bad...Lots of folks on this forum have anger and vitriol for the 5.7L motor (which is idiotic, IMO) but I will agree that the R/T is simply not up to modern muscle car/pony car engine standards. It's strong, sounds amazing, it's torquey and accessible (you don't have to rev the hell out of it)...but if you've been driving a Coyote for any length of time, it will leave you flat.

So we're left to compare well equipped GT to base Scat Pack...each of which can be had in the high 30s...and here, the Scat Pack is a much more impressive machine to drive. Yes, the Challenger will lose badly on a road course (or a winding back road)...but it's a monster at the strip (or from a stop light). I really enjoyed every mile I've spent in 392 powered Challengers.

IMO, you absolutely cannot go wrong with either one. They're each amazing, beautiful, enjoyable cars...but I'm also interested in hearing from the folks who switched and what convinced them.

I have already tried fitting a S550 Mustang in my car port.. it fits... Charger fits.... Challenger almost cannot fit... so I had to cross the 392 Challenger off my list. But what I do not understand is the S550 is actually wider than a current year Charger? Charger still seemed wider to me, when trying to park, but of course the Challenger does feel wide! and as others have said, S550 has less blind spots than a Challenger. Insurance is also higher for a 392 with me vs a 5.0

Mustangpursuit said:

But what I do not understand is the S550 is actually wider than a current year Charger? Charger still seemed wider to me, when trying to park, but of course the Challenger does feel wide!

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That's a good question, lol. Next time I'm over at my parents' I'll have to see which is actually physically wider. It did feel like I was driving a boat trying to park their Challenger over parking mine under the covered awning at the old house. But I can't decide if that was just the way you sit in it and the visibility, and me not being as comfortable in the dimensions of that car vs. my own car.

You should see my stepfather trying to park under those things. Nothing like watching an old man spend like 15 minutes creeping forward about a foot then braking... then a short pause, then creep forward another foot and sudden stop. Rinse, wash, repeat for bloody ages. :lol:I love giving him shit over it, but I get it haha. I'll blow a damn gasket just as easily as he does over every potential tiny mark or blemish on my car.

recently went from a 2015 Challenger RT Plus with Classic Package to a 2015 GT PP. I bought the Challenger in 2016 as a left over at a super price.
At the time, the Scat Pack was out of reach/willing to spend or optioned the way I wanted. The Challenger had every option except the highest level audio and A8 trans.

There have been posts that a Scat Pack can be had for same price as a GT but from what I have seen, they are lacking options. If not having all the options is not a deal breaker and you want the bigger motor in the Scat Pack, that is ones preference. I will say that in my experience the blind spot monitoring does make a huge difference and would not advise getting a Challenger without it.

I was drawn to the Challenger for the retro muscle car look. As mentioned earlier, budget and options were a factor. The 5.0 Mustang and 5.7 Challenger are two different animals all together. I have been a Mustang guy for years and deviated. Once owned, I was not impressed with the 5.7 Challenger power after convincing myself I was (after 7 test drives) and to me it really did feel heavy and more like a luxury car in a muscle car exterior. Everyone is different and has different opinions. I was just not happy with it after 9 months.

My only recommendation to you is that if you are considering Challenger, go for the Scat Pack and not the RT Plus. I think overall the Scat and 5.0 will have a close level of performance. The 5.7 will not. Again, budget may come into play depending on your must have options.

Everyone will have their own opinion. Go and test drive all and that will guide you.

I should have gone Mustang from the get go. Even though going to the Mustang now did cost me some cash, I could not find a Scat in the price range I was comfortable with including the options I want and low mileage. For that reason did not want to test drive a Scat knowing It was out of my budget.

That is my story. Live and learn

ForTheHordeKT said:

That's a good question, lol. Next time I'm over at my parents' I'll have to see which is actually physically wider.

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I think the Challenger for sure is wider w/o mirrors, at 75.7" while S550 is 75.4" which seems oddly close, but someone did measure the Challenger with mirrors at like 85.5" S550 mirrors are much smaller and closer to the frame.

Charger has similar mirrors to the S550 being close and level to frame, not giant sprout stalks like the challenger. Challenger mirrors fold inward, which is not as easy to fix, but I do not want to be having to fold mirrors in a car port, that means it is not wide enough and something would happen later on.

I did the opposite of the OP question and went from an S550 to a Challenger Scat Pack. I have nothing at all bad to say about my Mustang. I really liked it a lot. I've always liked the look of the Challenger, think the 2015 changes are all good and the torque sealed the deal. Went from a base PP car to a loaded Scat Pack Shaker with a sticker nearly $20K higher. Not regretting it a bit.

Overall body width is really close. I think the Challenger is more square so it looks wider. Mirrors do stick out more. It's 9" longer than a Mustang. It fits in the same space in my 2 car garage, but I need to do some rearranging to make it more comfortable.

I have both and I am keeping both of them. :bolt:

mvfjet said:

I told my wife the other day I could get a new base Challenger scat pack for about $37k otd (9.5% sales tax and .98% to the DMV) and she said "I rather have you get a 5.0 if you're getting a coupe"

I guess she made my decision.

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We can almost hear the whip-cracking sound effects through that post! :lol:

I'm a Mopar guy but I can't justify ~$10k more for a similarly equipped Scat Pack or T/A. Plus the lack of overall aftermarket support for the LX platform in comparison to the Mustang is another big reason why I am getting a 18 S550.

MRGTX said:

That's an important point. Dollar for dollar, you can get a much more capable performance car out of the ford. The base GT lines up with the 5.7L R/T and in this comparison, unless you really love the looks of the Challenger, the Mustang blows the Dodge out of the water. The R/T engine isn't bad...Lots of folks on this forum have anger and vitriol for the 5.7L motor (which is idiotic, IMO) but I will agree that the R/T is simply not up to modern muscle car/pony car engine standards. It's strong, sounds amazing, it's torquey and accessible (you don't have to rev the hell out of it)...but if you've been driving a Coyote for any length of time, it will leave you flat.

So we're left to compare well equipped GT to base Scat Pack...each of which can be had in the high 30s...and here, the Scat Pack is a much more impressive machine to drive. Yes, the Challenger will lose badly on a road course (or a winding back road)...but it's a monster at the strip (or from a stop light). I really enjoyed every mile I've spent in 392 powered Challengers.

IMO, you absolutely cannot go wrong with either one. They're each amazing, beautiful, enjoyable cars...but I'm also interested in hearing from the folks who switched and what convinced them.

Click to expand...

I just went from a 16 GT PP to a 16 Scat Pack a few weeks ago, was lucky to find a left over on a dealer lot and got it for ~8k below MSRP.

The Mustang was a nice car, I liked it alot, but it didnt have the "specialness" of the Challenger (more specifically the 392) to me. The Mustang was so refined, and in some ways feels more German than American. That is props to Ford, but I think for me I wanted more of a pure Muscle Car. Looks wise, they are both superb, stunning in their own ways. But when I started to look at how much an exhuast/springs/tune were going to cost me on the Stang to make it more of what I wanted, it would have been about the same as what I lost on the trade in.

The biggest factor for me was the 392 is significantly more fun to drive on the street than the Coyote is. Its just a monster. You put the pedal down anywhere in the RPM band and it will put a smile on your face. It also may have one of the best stock exhausts ever put on a car (outside the GT350 :ford. I would probably choose the GT PP if I was on a road course, but the Scat Pack (and even more the SRT 392) is no slouch. Not a ton of body roll and GREAT brakes. Id say they are a notch below the PP's, but I think the PP's brakes are overpowering for daily driving, while the Scats are tuned perfectly to the car. People who come on here and say "oh the challenger weighs 4200 so it sucks" I truly believe have never driven one. The LX platform may be old now, but Chrysler has really dialed in and perfected the tuning of it and it shows in the driving.

Everyone has a different opinion on this, but in owning both I have found the Challenger to be the more enjoyable daily driver. I will say though I liked Sync 3 better than Uconnect, both are very good though. I think if I was an autocrosser or a weekend warrior at the track I would still be in the Mustang. I can say though I am glad I made the jump and have zero regrets with my decision.

I work at dodge and am fortunate to drive both on a regular basis. As most are saying, stock for stock the scatpack takes the cake. Base scatpacks here in socal are around 35k. I chose the stang because it looks better in my opinion and i got a good deal on mine. Tough decision, go drive them thangs!

New to the forum. I'm still trying to decide between the Mustang and the Challenger so I've been doing as much research as I can before making my decision. I've driven an SRT & a Scat Pack as well as a base GT and a PP GT. I feel like the Challenger suits me best but it's hard to justify the price difference between the challenger & the GT. Especially the SRT which I prefer over the Scat Pack due to the leather seats and adjustable suspension. A loaded out Premium PP GT is still around $10k cheaper than the SRT challenger. IDK....I may just wait until the 2018 GT hits the market and see how it shakes out.