I have debated posting this because I think I know all the answers. Regardless, here I go...

I have a pristine and wonderful 2004 Red Coupe with 7K miles (6 SPD) (see my gallery). I have owned it about 4 months and have loved it. My only mod has been the brake pads which I replaced with Akebono ceramics (mostly for dust reduction, but there is no noticeable stopping performance)(I felt the ceramics were better, performance wise than the Rotex).

The recent availability of new SRT-6s (2005) at un-godly inexpensive prices (for what you get) has put me back on the market. I have not pulled the trigger yet, but have a friend who is the GM at a dealership selling Chryslers and he is offering me an outstanding deal (I won’t get into specifics, but it is a much better (several thousand) deal than the other “new” 2005 SRTs being posted on this forum as available at dealerships. He is willing to find the color (I'm leaning Black and maybe Aero Blue) and options that I want.

I have driven (within the past week) a “new” 2005 SRT-6 and therefore obviously compared it to my 2004 coupe. My overall experience/comparison is that the SRT-6 is a very different car. It feels much heavier, less tossable, yet incredibly more powerful and frankly smoother. It seemed much more of a boulevard cruiser than my 2004 which always seems to be light and ready to be pushed to the limit. Notwithstanding this, when the SRT-6 was pushed it responded incredibly well, almost like you have awaken a sleeping giant. The last tidbit of concern is the very debated (on this forum) manual vs. automatic conundrum. I enthusiastically love the 6-spd (although it is clearly bulky and not the smoothest tranny around) and ripping through gears, holding gears, deciding when to shift etc. Conversely, it is nice sometimes to “wedge” a starbucks in the cupholder (wow, who designed that & yes I know some like the cupholder design?) and simply drive a car without having to shift. Also, with the exception of DSG, the auto was one of the best “auto-sticks” I have driven...but its still an auto.

BTW, the comparo written up by pelked1 (Crossfire SRT to non-SRT comparison) was invaluable, great job and my test drives have divulged little, if any differences than he identified.

I am debating all of the issues that any Xfire fan would if considering a move from up to an SRT from a manual “normal” Xfire.

I’m not even sure there is a question in here...any thoughts?

 

I pulled the trigger already. Went from my '04 cpe 8,000 miles to an '05 roadster SRT6. 18 miles. It is definitely worth it. Mine was an auto to auto swap though. The autostick is just as good in my opinion, I am getting to old for that clutch pedal crap.

 

Like you, I also own an '04 Blaze Red Limited (see my cardomain.com below) and has been a member of this forum even before I bought my XFIREX in 01/2004 for 35k.

I love my XFIREX and I have significantly personalized the looks of it but my crave for more speed made me sell my Limited to my niece. As I was still looking for a replacement (first choice is the Lotus Exige), I later on decided that among the cars out there...the SRT-6 seemed to match their level of performance with a much more unique design and style at a very low price! Heck, I can use another extra 25k for more mods to play with this car coming from the difference of price between a Lotus Exige!

Like you, it's primarily the price for something we know it's worth more than what it's been selling now. Secondly, it's the uniqueness of the style and design (you'll probably gonna need therapy that whenever you drive your SRT-6 you won't still be imagining your rear wing go up)!

2005 Aero Blue SRT-6
19" Front 20" Rear Lowenhart LD-5 black centered wheels
35% tint
Sprint Booster

 

I could not disagree more. The autostick is nothing like a true stick. You can't compare the two.

It is a nice automatic but it is an automatic and the manual shift option is a poor substitute for a stick.

 

I did the same thing two years ago; the handwriting was already on the wall at that point. I paid more than the current going price, but I also got a higher price for my '04 as a trade-in, plus I've had the fun of the SRT6 for two years now. If you can live without the stick, then go for it, particularly with the deal that you mentioned in the first post.

 

I pulled the trigger and purchased a sapphire silver/blue SRT-6. Only $760 more then my 2006 limited.

I got a great deal on my 06' (lucky me and Thank-You FP) so the difference was minimal (I only had the 06' for two months) and far less then any performance upgrade.

I say pull the trigger now - every minute you wait the new SRT-6's will be gone and the value on your '04 will be less.

 

i would say it is entirely up to you and just how much you value the stick... me personally I would not want the stick option on my srt-6 at all... I have a motorcycle if I want to do clutch work and that is more than enough for me... the SRT-6 is more of a grand touring car than a sports car... I think the autostick option very much fits the car...

But as mentioned before there is less and less new srt-6s out there and each day the value of your n/a goes down... At this point the difference in price between the N/A and the SRT-6 is so small that I would clearly opt for the SRT-6...

It all comes down to just how much you value the stick... some members refused to purchase the SRT-6 just because it did not offer that option... are you one of them? ask yourself that...

 

I wouldn't get ride of my roadster. Love it too much, plus I got a good one. No troubles, KNOCK ON WOOD. But am considering an SRT6 coupe to have the pair. It will have to be an SSB, just would have to remove the wing for my taste.

 

The Limited Roadster will actually look good with the SRT-6 wing! Why not swap them?

I think the SRT-6 wing was built intentionally for the SRT-6 Roadster and not the Coupe!

 

I would like the SRT with a whale tail like to older 911s.