Sea Ray’s New Sporty 182 SRX



With hot new color graphics and sporty trim, Sea Ray’s new SRX series is expected to appeal to the newest boat buyers: Young professionals whose sense of style is more colorful than previous nautical generations. The 182 SRX is essentially the company’s popular 182 Bow Rider with a bold color scheme for the hull and flashy detailing in the interior.

The layout is similar to the standard Bow Rider. Forward seating includes a back rest cushion across the bow and convenient hand-holds on port and starboard. The hinged center section of the wrap-around windshield allows easy passage from the bow. One of the upgrades that denote the SRX line is the graphite colored dash that features chrome bezeled instruments for speed, RPM, fuel level, oil pressure, water temperature, volts, engine trim, and engine hours. Seating aft of the windshield can be either twin swiveling bucket seats or optional back-to-back loungers that fold out flat for sunbathing. Aft seating is either the standard bench seat with a sun pad over the engine compartment or bucket style jump seats on either side of a fiberglass engine cowling.

Storage includes a large ski locker in the cockpit sole, under gunnel storage to port and starboard, under seat storage in the bow, and cargo net under the port console. The glove box in the port console conceals a stereo/CD player. The swim platform, integral to the hull, includes a stainless steel telescoping ladder and ski tow eye.

The boat we tested, powered with the standard 190 horsepower Mercruiser 4.3 liter MCM engine, topped out at 47.4 miles-per-hour burning 17.2 gallons-per-hour. At 3500 RPM she made 32.8 miles-per-hour, consuming 6.6 gallons-per-hour, making 5.0 miles-per-gallon. On 26 gallons of fuel, the 182 SRX can cruise for 117 miles. She planed in just 2.9 seconds and hit thirty miles-per-hour in an impressive 6.4 seconds. For speed demons, the boat can be equipped with an optional 220 horsepower Mercruiser engine.

The 182 SRX is a bit faster and offers a few more options than her smaller sibling, the 176 SRX. And like a modern day Henry Ford, Sea Ray offers the boat in any color you wish, as long as it is bold red or bright yellow, with two-tone racing stripe graphics.

By Capt. Vince Daniello

Test Captain

Speeds measured with Stalker ProSports radar gun. Fuel consumption (gallons per hour) measured with Floscan digital fuel-flow meter on gas inboards, sterndrives, and outboards, TechMate electronic scan tool on gas EFI inboards, Caterpillar digital fuel-flow meter on diesel engines, or permanently installed fuel-monitoring equipment. Range is based on 90% of published fuel capacity. Sound levels determined using Radio Shack digital decibel meter on A scale. 68 dBA is the level of normal conversation.

Performance Chart

Test Conditions