The styling of the Dodge Magnum is so distinctive that a picture will say far more than words can. It's a long, low, beefy station wagon on a wide track, with a big bold grille and a chopped top. It would be an understatement to say the Magnum has presence.

However, it's not called a station wagon, at least not officially. The EPA classifies it as a sport utility. Dodge calls it a sport tourer. We call it a station wagon. But that doesn't accurately describe it. Some call it a sport wagon, and that's really what it is, a cross between muscle car and station wagon, a hot rod hauler for grown-ups who haven't grown up, or haven't needed to.

For 2008, the grille has been lowered and stretched horizontally to reduce the truck influence. The grille is clearly from the Dodge Ram truck family, but it's smaller, softer and classier. The headlamp units are a nice integrated wedge shape. We like them better than those on the Chrysler 300, a Magnum sibling, which try harder to be retro. The air dam/bumper cover wraps up under the headlamps and grille, and looks impressively beefy and functional. The SRT8 gets a mesh grille insert surrounded by a blockier fascia with a more aggressive air dam and enlarged, brake-cooling ducts.

From the side, the Magnum looks like it could be rolled onto the floor of a custom rod show. The wheel cutouts are profound, especially imposing with the 18-inch, 10-spoke wheels on the R/T and borderline brutish with the SRT8's 20-inchers and ultra-low profile rubber. Thick, slablike sides, tinted glass, and a roofline that slopes back to pinch the rear window all contribute to the custom-like chopped look. The one-piece liftgate is hinged about two feet up into the roof, providing a vast and liberating opening to the cargo area. It requires little ducking to reach things in there, and will be easy on lower backs of all ages.

The SRT8's roof-mounted wake diffuser is deeper, and its rear bumper mirrors the front's blockiness, with cutouts for the two, oversized, chromed exhaust tips.