What is a muscle car? Historically, muscle cars were intermediate coupes with massive lumps of V8 power shoehorned into their unsuspecting engine bays. They were astoundingly fast, but usually only in a straight line, and frightened insurance agencies to the point where a flagship muscle car owner would nearly pay half the value of their car in premiums every year. Dodge was one of the brands that kept that spirit alive in the 21st century with somewhat affordable Chargers and Challengers that were locked and loaded with V8s, making cataclysmic levels of power. Now, we’re entering a new generation of muscle, one where power levels are still high, but the V8s have retired in favor of boosted straight-sixes. That’s the new Dodge Charger Sixpack, the internal-combustion version of a car that began life as an EV.
Does Dodge still have the muscle touch? I drove both the 2026 Dodge Charger R/T and the 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack to find out, and there’s great news and some weird news.
I tested Dodge’s Hurricane-powered muscle cars in a unique environment, the snowy and icy roads of northern rural Vermont and New Hampshire. Normally, this would be just about the worst place to test a traditional muscle car. Where are you going to put down all of that power in the land of moose, syrup, and orange signs warning of frost heaves?
Dodge’s team was pretty clever here. The internal combustion Chargers ship only with all-wheel drive. The new Chargers bring an opportunity for Dodge to spread its demographics further. A lot of Challenger and Charger owners live in places that might get a dusting of snow at best. But Vermont? Oh, Vermont is not that. Snow out there is measured in feet, and people talk about days with temperatures below zero like they’re nothing. Vermont is, at least you’d think, one of the last places you’d expect to see a Charger thundering down a valley.
As you’re about to read, the addition of AWD now makes the Charger a much more serious snow car. But it’s not just about being safe in the snow, either. I crossed the border into New Hampshire to pay a visit to the wizards of the Team O’Neil Rally School. While there, I took these Chargers to their absolute limits. In one instance, I performed a full throttle, rev limiter-banging circular drift for so long that I got dizzy and the engine got pegged right at the hot mark. Oh yeah, it’s fun, alright. This won’t be my full review, but it will focus more on just driving the Charger.
(Full Disclosure: Dodge invited me out to Stowe, Vermont, to participate in the first media drives of the Dodge Charger R/T and the Dodge Charger four-door. Dodge paid for my flights, cozy lodging, and excellent meals.)
Rock You Like A Hurricane
Back in 2024, Dodge rocked the car enthusiast world when it launched an all-new Dodge Charger Daytona that weighed as much as the state of Texas and replaced the roaring V8 with batteries, electric motors, and a speaker “exhaust” system. It was a controversial car among reviewers and fans alike.
Now, the new Charger comes with a gas engine. This is thanks to the vehicle’s platform, the STLA Large, which was designed as a native BEV platform with the ability to also burn gas. This causes some oddities, which you’ll read about soon.
Dodge sells that internal combustion Charger in two main flavors. The line opens with the R/T, which sports a three-liter twin-turbo Hurricane straight-six good for 420 horsepower and 468 lb-ft of torque. The current flagship is the Scat Pack, which sports the Hurricane cranked up to 550 horsepower and 531 lb-ft of torque. Dodge calls this engine the Sixpack, and officially, the R/T dispatches 60 mph in 4.6 seconds while the Scat Pack does the same deed in 3.9 seconds. The gassers come with a ZF-designed eight-speed automatic transmission.
Dodge compares the standard output Sixpack to the outgoing 5.7 Hemi, saying that it makes 50 more horses and 73 more lb.-ft. of torque for a 60 mph time that’s half a second quicker than the old Charger. Dodge says the new gas-powered Scat Pack sedan is the most powerful sedan under $60,000.
Dodge offers more details about the Hurricane in the new R/T:
Twin 50mm, low-inertia turbochargers spool up rapidly for near-instant boost, and counter-rotating turbine assemblies help cut lag and balance airflow for crisp throttle response. Up to 22 psi of boost, and full peak torque by 2,500 rpm, put effortless low-end punch right under the driver’s right foot. Precision direct fuel injection at 5,075 psi (350 bar) pairs with centrally mounted injectors for clean, controlled combustion. Oil-jet-cooled, cast-aluminum pistons, with an anodized top ring and DLC-coated pins, reduce friction and enhance durability when the revs and temps climb.
Dual overhead cams and wide-range, fully independent variable-valve timing optimizes power and efficiency across the rev range. The engine-mounted, water-to-air, charge-air cooler and its own dedicated cooling circuit keeps intake temps in check through repeated acceleration runs. The plasma transfer wire arc cylinder-bore coating creates an ultra-thin, robust, low-friction surface for long-term performance.
For comparison, the Scat Pack’s Garrett GT2054 turbos boost up to 30 psi.
Both the two-door and four-door Chargers stretch 206.5 inches long. That’s a skosh more than 8 inches longer than the old Charger and nearly 9 inches longer than the old Challenger. It’s also 79.8 inches wide, or 1.5 inches wider than a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Wide Body. At 59 inches, it’s also 1.5 inches taller than the outgoing Dodge muscle cars. To put that into perspective, the new Charger is only four inches shorter than a Chevrolet Tahoe. This is a mammoth vehicle.
It’s a heavy one, too. The electric Charger punishes the scale at 5,838 pounds, or roughly the weight of the state of Alaska. Going on the Sixpack diet helps the Charger dramatically. At roughly 4,816 pounds, the gas model weighs only about as much as the state of Ohio. For comparison, that’s about what a Ram 1500 Quad Cab with a 6’4″ bed weighs.
The mass is hard to hide. The floor sits so high that the footwell forces you into a sort of go-kart-like seating position. The door sills are tall, and the side skirts say “No Step” on them, so you don’t try getting in a Charger like you would a crossover.
Is Six Better Than Eight?
Dodge brought us to the ski town of Stowe, Vermont, to test these cars. Stowe was the perfect environment to test a new AWD car. Snow had fallen a couple of days before the drive, and a few days before that, it was -17 degrees Fahrenheit outside. The snow piles on the side of the road were several feet high, and ice covered the road in patches. This would be nasty for a rear-wheel drive car on summer tires or even some all-seasons.
On that crisp winter morning, the Hurricane roared into life and then remained loud as it idled high, thrumming away angrily like it didn’t like waiting to be hooned. That exhaust system has two modes, with the Sport mode opening up the exhaust into a more straight pipe configuration. The car’s speaker system plays engine noise, too. Thankfully, the noise emitted by the speakers is not totally fake like you’d find in a Toyota Tundra, but is the same as the actual noise outside. Clearly, this is Dodge’s way of getting around the fact that the car is pretty well sealed from the outside.
Setting out onto the road, the Dodges stuck out. If I had to wager a guess, the official vehicle of Vermont has to be a Subaru or an old Volvo, because you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing a Forester or some Volvo wagon. Others were rolling in 4×4 trucks and SUVs. I saw zero sports cars and only two previous-generation Chargers. Notably, those cars were parked under piles of snow, not on the road. Honestly, our group of Chargers looked like a club of Dodge owners who got lost on the way to warmer climes.
But that was the great part about the Charger. It doesn’t look like a capable AWD vehicle, but it was. It handled snow with the same kind of grace that you would expect from something like a Subaru. Dodge didn’t even bother giving these cars winter tires, as it believed the traction from the factory all-seasons would be more than enough. They were right. There was never a moment, even when the pavement went over ice, when I felt I wasn’t in total control.
I even had plenty of traction for shenanigans. The Charger has no problem scampering to 60 mph in the dead of winter, and you’ll even get a little drama as the tires skip, and the straight-six fires off nasally, raspy shots like a pissed-off BMW. Fans of the V8 might hate that BMW comparison, but I quite like it. I won’t say that it’s better or worse than a V8, just different. The sound of a hopped-up straight-six is great in its own way, and I think Dodge did a good job at preserving the Charger’s rowdy image without having a V8.
If you’re looking for a traditional muscle car, Dodge nailed the assignment. The new Charger has plenty of heart-skipping thrills in a straight line. If AWD launches aren’t your thing, you can even tell the AWD system to buzz off for 100 percent RWD fun, including as many burnouts, donuts, and drifts as you want. You can even tell traction control and stability control to take a hike and use your brain’s computer to keep the tires spinning and the front end in the direction you want it. There are videos out there of Dodge Badassadors doing donuts in icy parking lots in these things, and it’s just as fun as it looks.
On the road, the 550 HP of the Scat Pack hits like a sledgehammer. The power comes on hot and hard and doesn’t stop until you hit the engine’s somewhat low 6200 RPM redline. Then you get to do it all over again. I think the Scat Pack meets the oft-repeated auto journo standard of “groundswell of power.” The power is always there and always ready to rock.
The 420 HP of the R/T isn’t as dramatic and doesn’t kick your head into the seat as hard, but it is plenty healthy. If the Scat Pack feels 10/10, the R/T is closer to 7/10. But that’s not too surprising since it does take nearly a second longer to hit 60 mph. Otherwise, the experiences between the Hurricanes feel largely similar. I suspect the R/T will be fine for most people and will be the volume model, because to get the most out of the Scat Pack requires you to drive fast enough to find yourself on the wrong side of the law. The R/T is the better daily driver.
My only complaint about the forward thrust is throttle tip-in. If you drive around town with a light foot as I do, you’ll sometimes feel like the vehicle snaps off the line a little hard, and sometimes, the car bucks a little if the snap causes your foot to lift slightly before coming back onto the throttle.
Built Like A Steakhouse, Handles…Like A Steakhouse
Things also change when you try to turn this beast. All of that weight is somewhat resistant to changing direction, and if you try to turn it right near the limit, the front end tries to plow forward. It will turn, but it will also make you work with finesse to do it. In a way, that makes the new Charger even more faithful to the muscle cars of old.
The standard “performance suspension” of the Charger R/T and Scat Pack is also interesting. Both vehicles rock a multi-link with forged aluminum link setup in front and an independent four-link configuration in the rear.
The suspension is on the stiffer side, which means that the body is controlled enough as you wrestle the brute through a corner. There’s some dive and some roll as it’s hard to beat physics, but I thought it kept its poise. Take this to the Tail of the Dragon like Car and Driver did, and your Charger will probably surprise the drivers of lighter vehicles. It’s no Miata, of course, but not exactly a boat, either.
Conversely, when you’re just cruising, the Charger’s reactions to bumps felt similar to riding in a half-ton pickup truck. By that, I mean you feel the full weight of the vehicle roll through the bumps. Hit a frost heave, and you feel the whole mass of the car lift up and then come back down. MotorWeek says that the Sixpack feels as though you’re sitting on the car rather than in it, and I think that is pretty accurate.
The good news is that even though the Charger never lets you forget how much it weighs, I think its mass comes at an advantage when you’re touring. The Charger is largely unbothered by potholes, and it feels calm and steady on the highway. Winds don’t make a difference, and the Charger doesn’t even seem to notice the turbulence coming off a semi-tractor. You could drive a Charger all day across the country and still feel fresh when you step out of the other side. It’s a great cruiser for sure.
Fuel economy is about what you’d expect. I scored 17 mpg during my testing in both the R/T and Scat Pack, but I was actively driving them hard. Combined EPA fuel economy is 23 mpg for the R/T and 19 mpg for the Scat Pack. I performed a short, 20-mile-long hypermiling test and scored 31 mpg by barely breathing on the throttle in an R/T.
The Low-Key Snow King
A big part of the new Charger’s advertising is its AWD system. In snow mode, the vehicle splits power 50/50 to both axles. In Normal mode, 60 percent of the sauce reaches the rear. In Sport mode, 70 percent of the power is dispatched to the rear. Then, of course, you can tell the system to send it all to the rear. The system uses a clutch-based transfer case from Magna to divert power.
To demonstrate just how good the Charger is in snow now, Dodge took us into New Hampshire, where we paid a visit to Team O’Neil. There, we got to absolutely send it in different Chargers with a rally coach in the passenger seat. There was also a Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak on deck for comparison, too. Team O’Neil set up three exercises: a skid pad, a slalom, and a short snow road course.
If you’ve read my content for long enough, you know that I live by a full-send mentality. That was no exception here. I started in the Scat Pack and showed the car no mercy. All of the Chargers at the track were equipped with studless winter tires.
I entered the skid pad at full throttle and kept it pinned. The brilliance of the Charger’s AWD system is that it’s happy to do its thing while you’re completely sideways in the mush with countersteer locked in and the tires kicking up tails of snow. The tires had just enough traction in the slush that if I started a drift just right and kept steering to a minimum, I was able to sustain a circular four-wheel drift that lasted the full 360 degrees of the skid pad. Then, I kept it locked in and kept going.
I also played with the options, including fully disabling stability control and going RWD for the most “manual” experience I could achieve. Staying in the drift in RWD mode with stability control fully turned off was actually pretty difficult. The skid pad wasn’t a perfect surface of snowy slush, but there were patches of snow, ice, and bare dirt. So, in RWD mode, I’d find that the surfaces changed, and I didn’t react quite quickly enough to correct. Often, I’d end up with the rear end swapping sides with the front. Flipping back on AWD mode in Sport mode but with stability off was the cure. When all four wheels were doing business, the car just didn’t care about the pad’s conditions. It was so happy to slide.
The slalom was another blast. It was here that I learned some new skills. I’m used to performance driving in the dirt and mud, but snow and ice have even less traction than a somewhat muddy rallycross track. Keeping the Charger out of the snowbanks required thinking ahead of the vehicle. I would give the engine a dose of throttle, break the rear end out to slide around the first set of cones, give another dab of throttle as the rear end begins to swing around again, and then use that momentum to carry me around the first turn and to get me started swinging around the hairpin at the end of the slalom.
The biggest lesson I learned from the Team O’Neil drivers was to keep looking forward toward where I wanted the vehicle to go next.
At first, I focused on the cones that were right in front of me and the turn I was working on. By looking ahead, I found that the car largely went where I was looking. I use this concept when on a rallycross track, when riding motorcycles, and when flying. But for whatever reason, on this snow course, I was fixated on not hitting the cones. When I stopped worrying about the cones, my drifts got so much better!
The road course was extraordinarily short, just about three turns. Most of it was really icy, so we spent the turns going slowly. But it was still fun as it was nice to get the rear end out through those few turns. The road course was closed very early in the day when one of the only other journalists at the event stuffed their Charger deep into a snowbank. It was decided that it just wasn’t worth it to keep the course open.
Drifts So Good I Got It Hot
After I got my fill of the Scat Pack, I got into an R/T sedan. This car was even better at the skid pad than the Scat Pack. While the Scat Pack made enough power that I had to sometimes feather the throttle to keep my drift correct, the R/T made just enough power that I was able to keep the throttle pinned for the entirety of the time that I was in the skid pad.
I’m not exaggerating, either. I buried the throttle going into the pad, got the rear end out, and just kept the throttle embedded. I then proceeded to do what felt like seven full laps of the skid pad while completely sideways. I felt like I was in a washing machine on a spin cycle. I got properly dizzy, too. But I’m a bit mad, so I kept going. Well, that was until a warning popped up on the instrument cluster warning about the engine being hot, which was immediately followed by a low power mode.
I looked down and, sure enough, the coolant temperature was right below the hot mark. I thought it was rather smart that the engine has an overheat protection mode like that. I’m used to seeing that kind of feature in heavy diesels. But in most of the passenger cars I’ve driven, they’d happily let you nuke the engine. Not the Dodge Charger.
So, I pulled over, and within about a minute, the engine cooled down enough and automatically restored full power. In fairness to the Hurricane, I had the throttle pinned right at redline for seven full drift laps, and the vehicle wasn’t moving fast enough to get much air through the grille. It was as much of a drift as it was a cooling system torture test.
I also noticed some differences between the R/T and Scat Pack on the slalom course, too. The Scat Pack was quick to kick its rear end out with only a dab of throttle, but I had to be more deliberate to get the R/T to do the same. I’m not sure if it was the horsepower difference, a difference in tip-in, or just that I had been drifting almost non-stop for a couple of hours and was probably tired by that point.
My only real complaint from the track was that the Charger’s shift paddles are so tiny and have the same kind of tactile feel as the keys of a laptop keyboard. They’re fine. They get the job done, but I feel like Dodge missed an opportunity to make them more dramatic. Half of the time, I tried to grab another gear and turned up the radio. Oops. In the end, I just left the vehicle in auto mode.
My grand finale at Team O’Neil was the Durango Hellcat Jailbreak, and that thing was just a cartoon. Unlike the Chargers at the track, this was still wearing its stock all-seasons. The Hellcat just struggled to find any traction. I ended up going into manual mode, locking the transmission into second gear, and using the throttle to turn. It was hilarious from start to finish, making the big ol’ SUV pirouette around Team O’Neil with that supercharger whining. I probably spun out about a hundred times in the Durango, and I was laughing all the way through.
An Imperfect, But Fun Successor
As I stated earlier, this isn’t my full review. I completely skipped over the interior, the tech, and the bizarre malfunction that took my tester’s infotainment screen out for 30 minutes. That will come later.
The big question surrounding the new Charger is whether it’s a real muscle car. Sure, the electric one doesn’t have an engine at all, and the gas-powered model has a twin-turbo straight-six. These things are also nearly as big as a full-size SUV while weighing as much as a studio apartment. On the surface, they don’t really fit the definition of a muscle car by old-school standards. As I said, the car never lets you forget how heavy it is, and you cannot ignore the fact that it is a gas car based on an EV platform.
Yet, at the same time, these Chargers feel like they capture the essence of the muscle car. They’re fast, they’re dramatic, they’re loud, and they’re stylish. These cars love to drift, live for burnouts, and are down to clown whenever you are. The V8 might be gone — and you never know when Dodge will bring it back — but the Charger hasn’t strayed from its heritage.
The Charger has even remained within reach of normal people. It starts at $49,995 for the R/T, while the Scat Pack opens at $55,690. Sadly, neither price includes the required $1,995 destination fee. As we’ve already written, dealers are already discounting these things, too. That’s a lot of horsepower for the dollar!
After I got to rip around in the Chargers for a day, I finally understand why people buy Chargers. These cars are for people who find a Toyota Camry too boring and a Ford Mustang not practical enough. They’re cars for people who spend their lives a pair of rear tires at a time and communicate via smoke signals. Only now, they’ll be able to continue their shenanigans in the snow, too.
Overheating a car prepared for a press event?
And in cold temps?
WTF?
Does not make me have any confidence that Dodge can build a decent car.
Again.
Not that I have much faith in a Stellantis product, but ambient temp doesn’t make as much difference as you’d think when there’s a lack of airflow. I can speak to this phenomenon in much less powerful cars with generally robust cooling systems in similar situations.
Yup. I’ve had modded cars with oil/trans coolers that would run nice and cool at speed in the summer. Stop at a light though, and it doesn’t matter if it is 30 or 80 outside. If no air is passing those radiators, the heat ain’t going anywhere and the gauge is going up.
Also, Mercedes did say she had it pegged at redline for quite a bit before this happened, so it’s hard to say if Stellantis deserves to be ragged on just yet.
Correct, I had it pegged at redline for about seven laps of the skid pad. There just wasn’t a lot of airflow into the engine bay during those laps. I don’t blame the overheating event on the car!
I gotta disagree here – if they designed a true muscle car, it should handle spirited driving.
This wasn’t exactly “spirited driving.” This was pegging a twin-turbo engine at its rev limit for something like 5 or 7 minutes straight while moving at a slow, sideways speed. There was very little airflow into that engine bay. I can’t think of a stock passenger vehicle that wouldn’t get hot under that kind of abuse. I wouldn’t even trust my Miata to handle that.
I wonder what car wouldn’t have that happen in the same circumstances. Certainly, it wouldn’t be something with anywhere near this level of power pushing that much weight. This is even turbocharged, so add that extra heat under the hood, that’s about as brutal a test of a cooling system that you could devise.
What car would you recommend that can spend several minutes at redline, with zero airflow, without overheating? Because outside of specifically designed drift cars, I can’t think of anything.
Not here to recommend.
Just my 2 cents worth re: Dodge.
Not here to start a fuss with anyone.
I actually prefer the styling of this new Charger. I’m sure making it a hatch added a little weight, but I still think it was a smart decision. Shame about the lack of a stick, but then again the Charger hasn’t offered one in a long time and the higher end Challengers didn’t offer one either, so that’s probably a non-issue for the Mopar faithful.
Perhaps I’ll buy a used one (definitely with an extended warranty!) in a couple years. This car is so damned big that my entire monster drum kit would probably fit and still have room for a front seat passenger.
I agree, this one looks better than either the previous Charger or the Challenger, in both 2 and 4 door configurations. The EV looks the best, but these pictures make the gas versions look better than I previously thought.
I also think my brain is assuming this is 3/4 to 7/8 the real size, though, so I’ll have to get up close to one in person to really decide what I think. It’s just so damn big.
I have to make the comparison – big boy, AWD, six cylinders, four doors, two turbos, one hatch… and comes in a oddly-familiar shade of orange. How does this seem to stack up against my 6-year old Kia that I bought used for half the price of an R/T?
The R/T has over 50 more horses and nearly 100 more twisty units. But, it also weighs a staggering 1,000 more lbs, so 0-60 is essentially the same. MPG is the same. It is uglier inside and out. And did I mention it costs twice as much as a gently used example of the Stinger, which will always be more rare yet likely more reliable?
I just see absolutely no reason to even consider one of these unless you’re a diehard Mopar guy from birth. Fat, ugly, slow, and thirsty for a brand new 2026 car.
Previous generation has the styling I love, and even if you tie a hemi around it’s neck I don’t love the new generation. It’s a no for me.
Looking forward to driving one of these off the rental car lot. The last Charger/300 was my go to at National. This sounds like a fun rental car, but I’m not interested in owning another Stellantis product
Honestly the only Dodge muscle car I cared about was the V6 Challenger, because you could get it with AWD. I didn’t buy one of the previous gen because anything ‘sporty’ with an automatic feels like sacrilege to me.
So the new Charger coming with a I6 is not a problem to me, if anything having a balanced and fuel efficient turbocharged engine makes me more likely to buy it than the V8, and where previously the Charger (4 Door) lost it’s looks the new 4 Door keeps them and adds a hatch!
There are just 2 things keeping me from buying one:
1.) The Electric door handles, which they should be working on replacing due to the Safe Exit Act likely becoming law in the near future.
2.) I want a manual transmission.
Right now the Challenger seems like a practical touring car that has speed and handling when you need it, with comfort and practicality when you don’t. In an era where basically no ICE cars can compete with BEVs when it comes to acceleration at road legal speeds I think making a practical ICE touring car makes a ton of sense. I wouldn’t say the new Charger isn’t a Muscle car, it’s not Just a Muscle Car. It’s a family hauler hatchback touring car that looks cool and comes in cool colors!
Thank you for the article Mercedes, honestly I didn’t appreciate the new Charger as much as I should have. If they get rid of my 2 deal breakers I’d happily buy one (though I don’t need all the horsepower and torque of the Scat Pack variant).
Also just googled it: 7200lbs of TOWING! THAT’S AWESOME!
“The Charger doesn’t even seem to notice the turbulence coming off a semi-tractor”
Did you ask the semi driver if he felt the turbulence coming off of the Charger?
I stopped for a moment at the note about the Charger weighing 4816lbs…That’s 2 Miatas folks. One with another stacked on it. In my experience, modern cars are just not as fun to drive as much as older ones since they are so heavy. Mass and curves don’t play well together. To get a heavy vehicle to corner and stop, compromises must be made.
Mercedes: You should have told us you were visiting New England. I would have drive from Maine to say “Hi”. Also, we had been ice drifting and racing up here a lot this winter since we had good thick ice on the lakes. You’d have had a blast.
It’s damn near the combined weight of my ’95 Miata and my ’24 Integra.
It’s 1,000 lbs more than my Stinger. 16″ longer. It’s a boat.
Right about my 23 Corolla GR and 92 Miata. Oof.
We’ve got a 22 Civic Si and a 2006 NC1 Miata. Similar to the Integra and the NA Miata (except ours are slightly less nice).
That these things can corner remotely competently is almost all in the expensive tires that you’d be replacing frequently, but competent doesn’t mean fun.
Exactly. SavageGeese was ranting about heavy and modern cars being fun with high HP for about 6 minutes. Then it’s just heavy and working hard. Those tires will be an expensive wear item along with brake pads. Yikes. The new Audi wagon and BMW M5 are also huge in weight and power. I know I’d take a 30 year old one over them as well. My work truck weighs 4700lbs and my Miata is 2400. One of them is fun and engaging.
Honestly, it sounds a lot like Dodge was shooting for “muscle car,” missed the mark, and accidentally hit “pretty decent grand tourer” by accident.
Everything that’s been called out as a drawback here and elsewhere, from the car’s high weight to the high seating position to the huge size, are all things that don’t matter _as_ much to a GT car in the old-school sense.
That’s another term that, like “muscle car,” has basically lost all meaning and typically just means “sport-ish car” nowadays, but I hew to the stricter, older definition, to wit: a Grand Tourer is a comfortable but sporting coupe with a stylish exterior, two doors, a powerful engine, suspension that allows for spirited backroads driving but does not punish the driver on rough surfaces, and enough room for you and an Italian woman whom you’ve only recently met and who has an outside-but-non-zero chance of being a spy to comfortably take for a weekend vacation in the mountains.
By that definition, I really think it’s a bullseye, just not on the bale they were aiming at.
I started to write a comment about how I’ve always had a soft spot for the Bentley Continental GT and how it’s also massive, but powerful and comfortable and this sort of gives me a similar GT vibe but on a totally different budget.
But then I looked up the actual dimensions and the Charger is still a full 15 inches longer than the Continental GT. Man, it really is just a whale of a car.
Anyway, I don’t think there are many previous Charger owners that appreciate this moving closer to the Continental and I know for a fact there are no Continental owners who are enthused about the new Charger.
Seems more like a fast cruiser to me, “cruiser” in the Naval sense. It doesn’t seem like it would be fun on twisting dry roads even if it’s competent enough and, at some point, the rapid ablative nature of the tires doing so much work has to temper any enthusiasm that might be found.
Meh. The styling is fine, the power sounds good, but the car is simply way too big. Just way, way too large. I just hope this one isn’t like the last gen Charger where the interior room is smaller than the exterior dimensions suggest.
The interior is cavernous, in the EV at least. I have never had this much leg room in a car before. Of course the 2door model makes the back seat tough for adults to use but my dogs love it. Rear cargo area measues over 40″ x 40″ behind the seats so it handles a Costco run easily… until you goose it at a stoplight and throw everything around.
Personally I think the size is fine.
The real problem is waaaay too much shit is standard and it’s waaay overpowered in base form.
That in turn makes the base price way more than what many want to pay.
And having the choice between ‘too much power’ and ‘way too much power’ is gonna guarantee that insurance will be expensive on these in a lot of places.
There is no version to appeal to someone who just wants an affordable and efficient daily driver.
I suspect the power is almost necessary to hit their performance targets because the car is the size and weight of a Tahoe. Outside of the baroque styling of the 1970s, there is no reason a two-door vehicle should be the size and mass of a full size SUV. If they made the new Charger a more reasonable size the weight would go down, which would at least partially negate the need for 400+HP in the base model. It is simply way too large and everything else about it is trying to work around that fact.
Man, Dodge can just not catch a break.
Dodge: Here’s our new electric car!
The new regime has decided electric cars are no longer favorable.
Dodge: Uh, okay then, here’s gas version!
Gas prices shoot up to $6/gallon.
Most people run out of spoons but Dodge cannot seem to run out of rakes.
Uh oh, I would rather not see a new Dart if that is what you are thinking. Gas and okay fuel efficiancy.
If that happens, EVs will become en vogue again and gas prices will drop to $2/gallon.
“This is a mammoth vehicle.” And at 5K pounds, it doesn’t interest me much. But overall it doesn’t sound like a bad time.
I’m curious about visibility inside. Is it like the Camaro and driving a tank through the tiny slit?
The rear visibility is limited, so it helps that the backup camera is very clear and responsive. Forward and side views are great, but the rearview mirror and pod around it make you lower your head for some right hand turns.
I usually hate Dodge and everything about them. This is interesting though, decent interior, good specs, okay price. They look a bit odd to me though and how about the reliability though :/
I’ve seen a few in person, they are really large vehicles, like surprisingly so. So yeah they do look odd for sure. Reliability is an unknown for now.
Saw the 2 door in traffic this past Fall, it was big but did seem as large as its measurements. I suppose it could be that all its dimensions were increased proportionally, while also sitting in sea of 4 door pickups.
did not seem as large as its measurements
What’s the boost of the r/t I think the boost of the scat pack is crazy high for a daily driver no?
Can you turn off the engine sound through the speakers?
What takes place of the batteries in the gas version?
What would be a good alternative for a personal luxury coupe?
Is the 2 door as long as the 4 door?
They should definitely get rid of the fake sound.
I’ll take a quite engine over faux vroom vroom noises
*insert South Park Harley gif*
Rich Corinthian leather.
CGI Ricardo Montalban, drifting the Charger, on the beach, while holding a pina colada in one hand, shit eating grin across his face, dressed like Khan, hair and all. CGI Herve Villechaize up on the steps leading to the beach, yelling over and over in total exasperation, ‘Hey boss, de plane, de plane”.
I’ve owned 3 Chargers and a Durango, 3 of the 4 V8 AWD models. It’s the only way to fly . . . Tons of power, traction when and where you need it.
The snow pedigree is not new – I remember driving my 1st R/T (a 2008) around in an ice storm after being stuck at work – just me and the plows, and I remember having a blast sliding the 2nd R/T (a 2013) around a slushy, muddy road a few times.
I have two co-workers who are starting to really like these new Chargers and they are not Dodge guys. lol. I do like them a lot and love the hatchback but it’s going to be a tough argue for a replacement for my Mustang.
“I performed a short, 20-mile-long hypermiling test and scored 31 mpg by barely breathing on the throttle in an R/T.”
You did it. You ACTUALLY did it!!
You are a glorious madwoman, Mercedes. I will forever be a fan.
Davis Dam test? Not anymore, introducing Mercedes Buried Throttle, the autopain way.
Imagine an automaker engineering a car to sit pegged at redline at slow speeds for 7 laps of a skid pad. lol
I look forward to your review of the first compact crossover with a grille opening the size of a heavy duty truck. 😉
The entire chevy lineup has been waiting for this day!!!!
“Why are there so many radiators on the side?”
“Well that’s where the (limited) airflow is coming from”
WHY are these so heavy? Did they forget to remove the batteries…?
They were designed to support heavy batteries.
When you think about. That might be nice in the long run, suspension, frame, etc can take a beating. Might last a while.
You can enjoy your solid frame while the rest of the vehicle slowly disintegrates around you.
hahaah.. I was going to say too. More than likely the electronics.
Big assumption it will run long enough for the frame to rust.
You say that like Stellantis did a good job engineering the structure of the BEV version, which might be jumping to conclusions.
Yeah I know. We’ll see, I think these cars are going to be sleeper cars and end up being pretty popular.
They are built tough. I got rear ended by a Camry in Dec. driving a Daytona EV. The toyota was totalled, airbags deployed and radiator on the street. My car was fine except for the bumper and fake noise system.
When you have that level of power and shit like AWD and a bunch of other stuff as standard equipment, it makes a vehicle heavy.
…I feel like if there’s a recent analogue to this, it’s the most recent Taurus SHO. But rowdy. Big, tall sedan-shaped-thing, with lots of power but it rides weirdly tall because of its platform. (The Taurus was on an SUV platform iirc)
Other way around. The Ford D3 platform was adapted to unibody SUV/Crossover duty, becoming the D4.
Ah, got it.
I think you’re underlying point is what’s important. Automakers seem to think that people want sedan’s that are actually just SUV’s with a trunk.
Or at least, at this point, that’s the only avenue left they have to make them.
People do want sedans that are actually just SUV’s with a trunk. They’re just called half-ton pickups with tonneau covers.
Any pics of the doors open or the back open showing the loading floor/access?
Yes! I’m publishing those later this week (tomorrow?) as my full review. I originally wrote 6,000 words and then cut it in half.
Edit: I just added the loading floor photo to this post, too!
Thank you!
Floor does look high. What’s in the battery compartment in the ICE version, then?
I continue to be impressed, and a little confused as to how this thing can be so large. It’s the same width, and even slightly longer than the Pacifica! Which is an 8 passenger van! That just seems wild to me. It’s also heavier… lol.
I like the premise of a family car with style, something for someone who wants something extra, but doesn’t really see the need for a big lump of a crossover. But it seems a little out there for it to have a larger footprint than the crossover or van that it’s intended to be an alternative to.
It’s more than 14″ longer than the new Subaru Outback!!! Holy Smokes!! Dodge truly deserves to fail.
I’m fairly certain it’s as, or longer than the Ambiguously Gay Duo’s car.
Determining which is longer sounds like a Torch post.
“what’s everybody looking at?”
I remember when the previous-gen Charger/Challenger launched, they were considered very large cars (because they were), but that was essentially by necessity: Daimler didn’t allow enough development money to design an all-new platform, so Dodge used a heavily modified Mercedes-Benz C-class platform. Hence the final product was larger than what people were used to from muscle cars.
This time, Stellantis had a true clean-sheet design opportunity, which they took advantage of by…creating an even larger car than before?!? Did they really think this is what people wanted or needed? Or was the size dictated strictly by the need to fit in a large enough battery pack for the EV version?
Can’t wait for CarSized to update and include it in there so I can do easy visual comparisons of the Charger vs a regular car.
More and more, I think this is a cool idea for an underserved market (large sedans and coupes) that is going to be held back by its name in two ways:
-The traditional Charger buyer will be turned off by the AWD and I6.
-The kind of buyer who would jump at the chance for a reasonably priced modern large AWD sedan will stay away because of associations with the old Charger buyer demographics, behavior, and reputation.
I honestly believe this would have sold better under a different nameplate.
Tough though, because I’m not sure what other nameplate would make sense for such an enormous car.
In theory, these are going to cost the same or similar to large crossovers with all the bells and whistles. So in my mind, the only way they can make this a success is to bring back some of the buying public (let’s get real, mostly dads) who are currently commuting and schlepping around their family in a Highlander, that this thing is a big, stylish and cool way to achieve family car duties. I get that these sorts of semi-aspirational purchases sometimes require spinning a fantasy for buyers, but that fantasy to most buyers seems to be “driving like a total asshole” and has chased a lot of people away.
I’d be very much interested in this as a dad car but I’m quite wary of the reputation the old ones (correctly) earned in my area and the fuel economy is a tough pill to swallow as well. I’d love if they made a new 300 with the same mechanicals but it seems like a long shot.
Coulda been a Chrysler.
300H for Hurricane and 300E for EV have a nice ring to them.
Maybe they could call it a Cordoba?
“-The traditional Charger buyer will be turned off by the AWD and I6.”
I disagree. On the last generation Charger, the biggest selling engine was actually the base 3.6L V6.
https://www.thedrive.com/car-reviews/2026-dodge-charger-r-t-first-drive-review-options-specs-road-test
The Drive liked the RT more than the Scat Pack, which I find interesting. The author said it sounds better (which is odd considering the Scat Pack gets a dual mode exhaust) and that the power band is a bit more usable at daily driving speeds. I also think 420 horsepower and a 4.6 second 0-60 is more than adequate.
It does seem like they really, really want to upsell you to the Scat Pack though, because the cost delta is kind of negligible if you’re financing. For what it’s worth the RT is also a little bit lighter. I do wonder if it’ll ultimately be the sweet spot, but woof…the fuel economy is just horrendous.
I wasn’t expecting it to be a mild hybridized B58 or anything, but 17 city and 20 combined out of a 3 liter turbo straight 6 is awful. It’s barely any better than a RAM 1500….
Might be yet another example of extremely bad timing from Stellantis, considering gas prices shot up .40$/gal over the weekend around here…
I get this thing is big and heavy, but yeah, anything that’s shaped like a sedan should be able to get 30mpg on the highway in 2026.
What’s fascinating is that Andrew’s tester also had that strong smell of plastic, something my car did not have. Instead, it had an infotainment system that overheated and died for 30 minutes. My time in the backseat was also a bit easier, but that’s also because I’m a bit shorter than him.
I prefer the Scat Pack of the two, but that’s because I’m crazy. I also thought the Scat Pack sounded better, but opinions about sound are subjective, so it’s neat that he liked the R/T’s soundtrack more. The R/T still hits the right notes without going overkill, and I suspect it will be the volume model.
I really don’t waste my time worrying about whether or not people 6 feet or taller are cozy in a backseat. I use my backseat for my toddler and the dog and rarely on any trips longer than 30 minutes or so. I’m more worried about legroom because it’s the difference between a car seat fitting or not and these have more than enough.
This does seem like it would make a fine dad car, prohibitive fuel costs aside.
Same engine, same-ish weight as the Ram 1500, same fuel economy. The shape of the vehicle doesn’t realistically change the mpg in city driving. On the highway the Charger should be much higher, rather than actually being worse than the Ram.
I wonder if the engine is too small (!) for this architectural monument so that it has to be running under boost too often to see a mileage benefit from the downsizing.
Yes, why not a bigger six?