The base 2011 Dodge Charger SE makes sense for people who want a hot-looking, decently performing car without being seared by high fuel prices. Improvements in materials and craftsmanship now make it a good choice for shoppers seeking full-size family sedans.

CORNWALL, N.Y. — I drove here at 70 mph — five miles north of legal on Interstate 87. I was driving the 2011 Dodge Charger SE, a relatively tame version of the Chrysler Group’s lineup of full-size, rear-wheel-drive Dodge Charger sedans.

The Charger SE, also marketed as “Charger Base,” came with Chrysler’s new 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine — 292 horsepower, 260 foot-pounds of torque. It is “tame” in comparison with Chrysler’s optional 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 — 370 horsepower, 395 foot-pounds of torque. And therein is the story of our times, the root cause of much of our current dysfunction.

We’re the victims of our own competing interests. We say we want fuel economy. But we also want to get from one point to another as quickly as possible. Chrysler’s new 292-horsepower V-6 delivers adequate highway acceleration and nearly 27 miles per gallon using regular gasoline.

But for so many of us, 292 horsepower isn’t power enough. The spectator put-downs of the base Charger in my possession were legion. “Hot-looking car,” said one observer at the Sloatsburg rest stop near here. “But that’s not the real Charger, is it? It’s not a Hemi?”

I could’ve sworn I had heard the same fellow complaining about the price of gasoline at a nearby pump.

“No,” I told him. “It’s just a V-6.”

Imagine that! “It’s just a V-6” — just a 292-horsepower V-6 that can move you nicely along the road at 70 mph, five miles above the legal speed limit, consuming gasoline at 27 miles per gallon. And it is just an ordinary car.

Somewhere, the late Russian writer Ilya Ehrenburg must be laughing, or maybe he’s crying or just shaking his head in bewilderment.

Back in 1929, the prolific Ehrenburg published a book, “The Life of the Automobile,” in which he bemoaned the proliferation of automobiles with 10 horsepower or more — a book published when oil seemed a forever thing, when gasoline was cheap, even in Europe.

Ehrenburg’s lament was that the world was in a rush to go faster and faster but was all too often winding up stuck in the same place. It’s doubtful he could have foreseen a certain traffic jam on northbound Interstate 87 near Exit 16, where neither a Pentastar V-6 nor a Hemi V-8 would have gotten me through traffic slammed by a huge collection of slow-moving 18-wheelers.

The backup lasted long enough to allow reflection. It had been a good drive in the base Charger from my home in Virginia. It is a considerably better car than the Charger that Chrysler first brought to us in 2005. Interior materials and craftsmanship are far superior to that in the predecessor model. Handling and acceleration are better. It’s a darn good car.

But that’s a relative assessment in a world that always wants more, even while passionately involved in debate about whether, or how, we should learn to live with less. It’s a darn good car. But it’s not a Hemi V-8.

Bottom line: The base Charger makes sense for people who want a hot-looking, decently performing car without being seared by high fuel prices. Huge improvements in materials and craftsmanship now make it a good choice for shoppers seeking full-size family sedans.

Head-turning quotient: Macho muscle beauty, Detroit vs. Ivy League. It’s not designed for people who would really rather have a 3-Series BMW.

Capacities: Seats five. Cargo capacity is 15.4 cubic feet with both 60/40-split rear seats raised. The fuel tank holds 19.1 gallons of regular gasoline.

Safety: Standard equipment includes front and rear ventilated disc brakes, four-wheel anti-lock brake protection, electronic brake-force distribution, electronic stability and traction control, and side and head air bags.

2011 Dodge Charger

Base price: $25,395

As tested: $26,220

Type: Full-size, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sedan available in a series of iterations, including Rallye and R/T

Engine: The base Charger comes with a new 3.6-liter, 24-valve Pentastar V-6 (292 horsepower, 260 foot-pounds of torque). A 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 is available (370 horsepower, 395 foot-pounds of torque). Both engines take a five-speed automatic transmission that can also be shifted manually.

Mileage: 25 mpg highway