2015 Dodge Challenger vs. Its Competition

Bengt Halvorson Senior Editor

The 2015 Dodge Challenger is newly equipped to fight the continuing muscle-car battle with its traditional rivals, the Chevrolet Camaro and this year, an all-new Ford Mustang.

The Camaro is tighter inside and headroom is limited, but it drives well and the 580-hp ZL1 model tears up the pavement and thrills the driver.

The Mustang too has shockingly quick models, and the all-new version this year finally adopts independent rear suspension--as the other two have had for years.

Both the Nissan 370Z and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe are completely different kinds of vehicles, but we're including them here as alternatives because like the Challenger, they provide a lot of performance, on a budget, while largely eschewing luxury pretense.

You'll find sharper driving dynamics and better handling in the much lighter and rawer Nissan 370Z coupe, while you probably wouldn't ever call the Hyundai Genesis Coupe a pony car, it too offers rear-wheel drive, and its V-6 model, while again a different kind of car completely, does face off in pricing against the Challenger.

Finally, one wild-card alternative versus the Challenger is the Honda Accord V-6 Coupe; it's a very different, polar-opposite take on the idea of a mid-size coupe.