The Dodge brand has been in dire straits since the death of the HEMI and the introduction of the Charger Daytona, an electric “muscle car” that makes fake noises, costs a lot, weighs a lot, doesn’t shift, and seems to have some teething issues. But now the gas Dodge Charger is here to save the day, turning fossil fuels into exhaust noise and burnt rubber — but not at the hands of a V8. No, the new Charger is getting two versions of the twin-turbocharged inline-six engine found in other Stellantis products, and if I’m honest: The specs look good. Like, 550 horsepower for under 55 grand-good. But it’s quite a departure from the old Scat Pack we all know and love.
The fallout from the Charger Daytona EV is largely a result of the brand building its entire image on burnouts, donuts, and growling internal combustion engines. Building a brand around a powertrain in this transition era is playing with fire (just ask Rivian and Lucid); add so-so execution and a weaker-than-expected EV market to this whole brand-identity crisis and you end up with brand new Charger Daytonas that are basically having to be given away.
The discounts here are madness:
But now, after many months of vitriolic anti-Daytona EV comments from Dodge petrol-heads who bought into the whole “brotherhood of muscle” marketing, finally there is salvation in the form of a gas Charger, and it looks to offer good performance at a reasonable price, even if it strays quite a bit from the old formula.
Back in 2016 I drove the old Dodge Charger Scat Pack, and my mind was blown. This was a 485 horsepower, 475 lb-ft 6.4-liter V8 beast for only about $40 grand (its two-door Challenger sibling was only about $38,000). It was a growling, tire-burning, tomfoolery-enabling menace, to the point where my review was titled: “The Dodge Charger Scat Pack Brought Out My Inner Asshole.” And based on the photo below, you know I wasn’t kidding:
The Charger and Challenger Scat Packs both kept those same 485 HP, 475 lb-ft figures until their discontinuation in 2023, by which point they cost about $53,000 and $49,000, respectively. Since then, the world has had to go on without a Scat Pack, and indeed without a gas Dodge Charger or Challenger at all.
But now comes the return of the gas Charger, which comes as either a two-door (replacing the Challenger) our four-door, and can be had with one of two gasoline engine options: a 420 horsepower, 468 lb-ft twin-turbo “Hurricane” inline-six in the R/T trim or a high-output version of that engine making 550 horsepower and 531 lb-ft of torque in the Scat Pack.
The latter engine, which Dodge calls the “Sixpack H.O.” (as opposed to the other engine’s Sixpack S.O.) is essentially the same as the motor in the slightly less powerful (540 HP) Ram RHO I drove recently. I didn’t find it to be a particularly interesting engine to operate, but it was good, and Dodge notes that the high output Sixpack makes 88% of its peak torque at 2,500 RPM and 90% of peak torque from 3,000 to 6,000 RPM. Thanks largely to twin 54mm Garrett GT2054 turbochargers making up to 30 psi of boost and being spun up to 185,000 RPM by Inconel turbines; that’s a pretty flat torque curve, and though I’m not sure 2,500 is quite “low end,” it’s low enough to help get the Charger Scat Pack from 0-60 MPH in just 3.9 seconds, per Dodge.
The old 485 horsepower Scat Pack Charger and Challenger saw 0-60 times in the low to mid-4s, and the delta is largely a product of the new gas Charger — whether the 420 horsepower R/T or the 550 horsepower Scat Pack — coming standard with all-wheel drive.
If you’re a diehard, there may be part of you that just vomited a little. “What? Standard all-wheel drive? This thing is going to be heavy, and I can’t do burnouts anymore!” you might exclaim.
On the first point, you are correct. Though I don’t know what the R/T model weighs, the new Charger Scat Pack tips the scales at 4,800 pounds — that’s over 500 pounds more than the old Challenger Scat Pack and 400 pounds more than the old Charger R/T. On the latter point about burnouts, though, Dodge has you covered, because drive to the front wheels can be completely defeated, and you can lock only the front brakes thanks to a Line Lock” feature. Per Dodge:
The new 2026 Dodge Charger SIXPACK-powered models are the world’s only AWD muscle cars with rear-wheel-drive capability. The robust 880RE TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission features a multi-disc wet clutch system that opens at the push of a button to enable on-demand RWD functionality, capable of sending 100% of torque to the rear wheels.
From street to strip, the Charger’s AWD system enhances capability in inclement weather and on various road surfaces, as well as delivering when it comes time to launch at the drag strip. The Charger Scat Pack can be put in Line Lock or rear-wheel drive to perform a burnout to clean and heat the tires before a pass down the strip. When ready to launch, the driver can switch back to AWD and reap the benefits of launching off the line with all four tires, providing extra grip in the rear.
Charger’s standard AWD system also includes a Front-Axle Disconnect feature to provide improved fuel economy. This system uses sensors throughout the vehicle to determine the optimal parameters to disconnect the front axle to reduce parasitic driveline losses.
Being able to choose between an optimal launch — thanks again to AWD, but also Launch Control and a standard limited-slip rear diff — or a big, nasty burnout is, one could argue, the American dream. Or at least it is to people who buy Dodge Chargers.
Disc brakes up front are 380mm pizzas squeezed by six-piston fixed 36 mm Brembo calipers, and in the back, the 360 mm flapjacks have brake pads squished against them courtesy of floating 52 mm-piston calipers. Dodge mentions a “Brake by Wire eBoost intelligent braking system,” a multi-link front suspension, and a four-link fully independent suspension out back. The results, per Dodge?:
-
10% improvement in steady-state response for faster and more confident cornering
-
15% improvement in lateral response time or how quickly the vehicle reacts to rapidsteering inputs, such as high-performance driving or accident-avoidance maneuvers
-
An impressive 25% improvement in steady-state limit handling balance, significantly reducing understeer and delivering a more neutral, planted feel through corners
I’ll have to reserve full judgement until I get to drive this thing, but my initial impressions are mixed. I think the car looks great, and having sat in the EV that shares the same STLA Large platform, it’s really spacious and looks great on the inside.
550 horsepower and all-wheel drive for under $55 grand seems like a decent deal, too, and the R/T’s 420 ponies for under $50 grand isn’t horrible either. Sure, you can get a 480-horsepower Mustang for about $47,000, but good luck fitting anyone in the back. As for cars that can fit folks in the back, I suppose you could look at a BMW 3 Series or 4 Series or maybe a Mercedes C-Class, but to get similar performance figures that either Charger offers, you’d have to drop over $60 big-ones. Is anyone really cross-shopping a German luxury sedan/coupe with a Charger? I don’t know; then what kind of person does want a Charger? I’d guess the same people who liked the old Charger/Challenger.
But the outgoing Challenger cost over $5,000 less, and while it lacked all-wheel drive and was 65 horsepower poorer, its power to weight ratio was actually higher, it had a monstrous V8 engine whose sound made the car, and what’s more: It could be had with a stickshift. It was old, it wasn’t particularly refined, but it was an automotive sledgehammer that could excite you with its yell, and I liked that.
Do I anticipate the new Charger to be better in almost every measurable way? Sure. But I’m not sure the Charger and Challenger twins were ever really about raw figures. They were about soul. I’m excited to see how much this new Charger Scat Pack has in it.
Of course, not all old Chargers/Challengers had growly V8s; there was the Pentastar V6 option, too, but that started in the low to mid 30K range. Is there going to be an equivalently affordable new gas Charger? I sure hope so.
Top graphic image: Dodge
I look forward to the Hertz used sale lot of 2028 and the police auctions of 2029. These are gonna be a steal.
How do you think they wound up at the police auctions? 🙂
Dude, they are gonna be cooked. I bet every plastic coolant and vacuum hose not to mention the wiring is cracked. Not to mention this thing probably has enough body control modules and airbags to keep the dash board lights on forever!
I actually rather like the look of the new Charger, and love that it’s a lift back. I’ve been quite curious to see how the ICE engines pan out as I love a straight 6 too. It was clear to anyone with a brain the EV was gonna be a bust from the moment they announced it. So I’m hoping the gas car is good and fun. But I’d still never own a Stephanie’s product. Except maybe an Alfa…
I would snag one of their Citroens and maybe even a Peugeot, saw the dodge EV at the Chicago show in Feb and in Orange it was striking. Also I would def buy a used Fiat 500 for the fun of it
Ok yeah a cheap used 500 would be fun too
The 4-door looks better. Are they going to call the 4-door the Charger and the 2-door the Challenged? Will they put the Challenger name back in hybernation and have 2 and 4-door Chargers?
Do they have any idea WTF they’re doing?
No, I don’t think they do! They’re just scrambling because they have no product for sale besides Jeeps. This is not even a company any more, it’s a bonfire of stupidity.
LOL! Bonfire of stupidity. Fucking nailed it
It really is. They so clearly have no plan, and every decision they make is basically just an emergency band-aid fix to a problem that any idiot could’ve seen coming from miles away.
Their EVs were rushed, and now ICE Charger was rushed, and V8 Chraged will be rushed even more.
I don’t really want those since apparently corners were cut on every Charged they since 2024ish
Kind of a bummer there won’t be a manual option, but given Stellantis’s struggles, I suppose I understand why. Aside from that, a 5 door Charger would be perfect for me in that it would give me the power I like with the usefulness of a hatch and an actual back seat. I genuinely like the looks of this car. It’s both retro and futuristic without being over-styled. Given my general antipathy towards everything Dodge, this surprises me.
Not that I can afford a $50K car right now.
Wait. In a few weeks it will be 40’s
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS NEWS FOR MONTHS! Alrighty, where do we start…the price is acceptable. Not GREAT, but acceptable. The actual numbers The Drive and R&T are reporting are a starting price of $51,900 for the RT and $56,990 for the Poo Pack.
For 420 and 550 horsepower in a car that’s as practical as this is in sedan form that seems fine to me. Really the only reference point I can think of is the Stinger and loaded V6 Stingers were $50,000-ish. Throw inflation into the mix and well….yeah. These will also wind up being discounted sooner rather than later.
I’d be interested to get the performance figures for the RT, but I’d imagine 0-60 in the mid 4s and they’re reporting a top speed of 168, which seems more than adequate to me. I’d personally be a bit concerned about the long term viability of 200 Stellantis horsepower per liter from an engine with serious teething issues, but with the cost delta only being 5 grand for more than 100 extra horsepower it seems clear that they’re trying to influence you to say “fuck it” and opt for MO POWA BABY!!
The exterior styling is nice and the color options are decent. That green, which they’re calling Green Machine, looks like the one to get until they offer a purple. With all that out of the weigh, the weight of this thing is fucking absurd and the RT will probably weigh the exact same as the Scat Pack because the only difference in the powertrains is tuning.
4,800 goddamn pounds? I get that their target demographic doesn’t really care about weight but that’s fucking ridiculous. For reference an Ioniq 5 N weighs that much. I’m also probably the only potential customer who’s interested in it but I’d be curious what the fuel economy looks like. The S/O Hurricane manages 17/24 in RAM pickups and the HO manages 15/21, so I’d assume we’ll see an improvement in a 1,000+ pound lighter vehicle that isn’t a fucking brick.
Anyway…I’m intrigued. I’ve always viewed this as a cheaper, American BMW M car of sorts and this information confirms it. I’m excited to hear about how it drives and it’ll be on my shopping list in a few years.
The Stinger was also my first thought.
Hey, it’s heavy, but still not as porky as an M5!
I’ll bet it’s going to make for one hell of a grand tourer, and as an added bonus it has space for the whole family
What teething issues with the hurricane? I keep trying to see any common things and I’ve not been able to. All I see are the new electrical system in the Rams being an issue right now . I know the engine has to have some sort of issue though and I’d like to know if they are really bad or not.
Yeah, I don’t think I’d call it teething issues. The Hurricane has been pretty reliable so far; certainly better than Ford released the Ecoboost. Most issues I’ve heard of aren’t engine related really, but rather electrical. I’ve honestly been impressed with the Hurricane so far, especially considering it’s coming from Stellantis. I would have assumed way more issues, and so far, the engine seems about on par with the competitions engines (reliability wise) that have been out for far, far, far longer.
Just the engine itself uses a lot of electrical parts to run. Not running engine is good because electrical parts fail?
My dad has almost 10K on his 25 Ram. No issues with the motor. Now the Uconnect screen. That’s another story.
I’m intrigued as well — but I’m also fond of inline sixes, so of course this is more of a draw than the old Charger/Challenger. The platform seems to offer more sophistication than the old, but still allows enough straight-up hoonery to fulfil its marketing slot.
I love inline 6s too, I’m a big BMW fan…I just don’t really want to deal with the long term headaches and massive costs of owning one. This will have a roughly $10,000 cost delta over a base spec M440i or M340i…while I’m sure the Hurricane isn’t going to be like owning a Toyota V6 I can’t imagine it’ll cost as much to maintain as one from Bavaria.
All of that makes this mighty intriguing in sedan form, and I think it’ll attract a slightly different crowd than the old one because I’m positive I’m not the only one thinking this. There’s also a Kia Stinger sized hole in the market. I know it didn’t sell THAT well but the people who like them will need new cars eventually.
I didn’t understand the inference: “Building a brand around a powertrain in this transition era is playing with fire (just ask Rivian and Lucid);” Do you just mean only offering EV powertrains is a risky strategy?
I’d say it’s an equal risk to focus entirely on ICE propulsion, considering how wildly the regulation pendulum can swing in a product development cycle.
I think that’s exactly the point he was making in the article. Consumers are flocking to hybrids, which means companies that are either all-EV or all-ICE risk being left out in the cold. Dodge is basically the other side of the same troubled coin.
Both sides with the charger.
And an even greater risk to focus only on Hemis.
I always thought it was bad that they did not offer the cop spec AWD v8 Chargers in Challenger form, basically had to get a lowly NA v6 or just live with terrible traction on a lot of surfaces. I applaud the AWD, hopefully this will stay when the Hellcat motors get fit in there and we can see Jeep track hawk levels of take offs from a stop. Still too bad these will be regard as even bigger boats than previously.
I believe it will require a lot of work to slap a V8 into this car. The front clip would probably have to e changed.
If it does get a V8, I’d expect it to be a top model instead of a cheap(ish) Hellcat. They’ll have to figure out how much they can get to justify the chassis re-work.
If there were an easy way to drop in a Hemi, it would already have one.
Idk, the Hemi might be more likely than we think. I assume the Hurricane is longer and taller since it’s a straight 6, and I can’t imagine that width is the limiting factor with as big as these cars are.
The Hurricane version was announced back when the Hemi was dead, and it hasn’t been that long since they decided to bring it back. I’ll bet they’re working on the “easy way to drop in a Hemi” as we speak and will try to time the announcement to best capitalize on it.
I remember hearing that it was updating the electrical systems on the Hemi to play nice with the STLA Large platform more than making it fit.
If they didn’t need the open width to fit a Hemi, they would have likely used that space for bracing for better crash test ratings. If that’s the case, those elements are not easily reconfigured without possibly causing new problems.
I would love it if the hemi version got a tubular front clip and a clamshell hood. Make the hemi version something obviously expensive and special.
Even if you’re “not a fan”, I’m sure it’ll be the first car you’d grab from the rental lot when they begin to show up there.
Once a V6 option is available, it they bother to build it, you will certainly see these as rental cars. But I suspect the new chassis has a lot of fixed cost that makes the whole car a lot more expansive regardless of the power plant. The cheaper V6 models are what created the volume, not the top spec high HP models. They need the volume and this car will not create that volume unless they manage to put affordable versions of the car on dealer lots. Affordable = $40K. If they can’t do that then this is just a halo car and it won’t pay the bills.
Then there’s the thing about weight: A Pentastar is only about 100lbs lighter than the Hurricane. It moved ok on the previous gen but I don’t think it will perform well on a 4500+ lbs car that’s supposed to be sporty.
Why would they offer a V6 option on a platform that already has a 6 cylinder? One of the reasons for the Hurricane I6 engine was engine bay width, which is hilarious given how wide the outer dimensions of the car are.
The Hurricane is comically huge for what it is. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they still shove a Pentastar into these things despite them already having a 6. The first two releases (Scat Pack and RT) are technically performance trims and a starting price of over $50,000 isn’t going to be doable for rental fleets or your average Dodge buyer.
I think there will probably be a base trim later on to fill that gap and it’ll cost around $40,000. Maybe it’ll be the Pentastar and mild hybrid combo in the RAMs since that seems to work alright, it slightly improves emissions and fuel economy, and it can make up for the lack of low end grunt with the V6.
Not me. We used to get our pick of muscle cars on business trips. V8 Challengers, Mustangs, Camaro SS. The Mustang and Camaro were better drivers but miserable to see out of. The Challenger was better day to day but stupid loud inside. A trip from Charlotte to Raleigh and back was enough for me – I never rented a Challenger again.
My preferred rental car was a BMW 4 series, followed by a 3 series. Today I’ll take even a truck over a Mustang or Challenger.
I’ll give the new one a try but I doubt they have done much to fix the NVH problems.
The fact that it’s a massive porker should help with the NVH
It was the exhaust noise that was annoying and that was added on purpose. I doubt the new one is any different as Dodge added fake V8 noise to their electric Charger.
A 300-ish HP inline 4 will make its way into the base model eventually.
If you can disengage AWD because the people need burnouts, why couldn’t they figure out how to make the electric version a little rowdier?
Because the EV has two motors and thus roughly only half the power can go exclusively to the rear axle. It doesn’t make it nearly as impressive or ready to light up the tires when there’s 3k+ lbs sitting on those rear tires.
Oh, today I learned.
Anyone else look at this and just think the proportions are off? It seems a bit better above with the hood appearing to be raised a bit from the EV version, but still feels slightly out of whack. Images seem to make the 4 door look a bit better, but will reserve judgement until I see one of those on the road….
Plenty of people here will go on about how it’s too big and heavy or that the Mustang is far superior on the track. Listen… this car is not meant to be a track day car like the Mustang. It’s a tire-ripping grand tourer that comfortable enough for a family of four to road trip comfortably across the country in a car that’s still fun to drive and is not a soulless SUV or minivan.
As much as I love driving my Giulia as a daily, it’s not as great to take on trips as I had hoped with the truck being kind of a tight squeeze and climbing in and out of the car turning into a bit of a chore sometimes. The flat handing provides plenty of smiles, but that’s all it offers. I’ve been waiting to replace it with the Six Pack Charger four door as our next epic road trip car hopefully before our planned trip from Michigan to Washington across Route 2 next summer.
This time my son will have room for his guitar too. By comparison, my 392 Challenger ended up being a better road trip car with a bigger trunk, easier ingress/egress, and a perfect balance of ride and handling that’s just right for some road trip adventures. While I can’t fit three suit cases and a guitar in the Alfa, I can in the Challenger. With the hatchback on the new Six Pack Charger, a bigger back seat, and four doors, the new Charger checks all of the boxes for me. Especially since we like to venture far from the Eisenhower where can’t always find a place to charge (pun unintended), but we’ll always likely be able to find a gas station.
As an owner of a 440xi Gran Coupe (5-door hatchback), and formerly a Giulia Q2, I think that the gas version of this car will attract a much larger audience than the EV ever would. It’s size and overall practicality (larger than the 4-series), especially with the hatch, should make it a great daily and road-tripper. It’s not going to be nearly as rowdy as the V8 cars were, sadly, but that may make it more universally competitive. It’s not a Mustang and it never was. It does a different thing.
100% agree…..twice I’ve got a last gen rental Challenger with the v6 and, outside of visibility, was comfortable, engine was silky smooth and ate the miles up with no drama. I was completely impressed.
I expect similar here, gran touring with plenty of oomph for a little off/on ramp excitement.
Not a Dodge guy, but I think they did great with this. We know V8 something something, but V8’s were on their way out. There will be that crowd that’s pissed, but I feel the younger crowd replacing them is more open to the evolution of where cars are going and need to be. As long as it does burnouts, it’s good. I’m sure Dodge went out of their way to at least make the new sound nice. Are their posts with the sound of these? I’m not paying that close attention to know.
I am a Dodge guy and also a lifelong fan of inline sixes. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this car and so far I’m not disappointed.
Dammit. I actually really like this. Stupid sexy Stellantis product.
“It’s like I’m wearing nothing at all.
Nothing at all.
Nothing at all.”
Bound to have more soul than a gloried golf cart EV.
I much prefer an I6 to a V8, and this one is certainly delivering the goods. Shame about the screens, screens, and more screens interior and the lack of a manual, because it looks fantastic on the outside. Especially in coupe form, and it’s nice to have a usable back seat. She may be a fat bitch on the inside, but she’s even more of a looker than the previous one one the outside, and even closer to the ’60s original.
Sadly we live in a boring world and it will sell handfuls, and mostly in shiny primer colors, not that delightful orange.
I’ll take the Coyote in the Mustang instead, it’s a better package and if I want an impractical sport/ pony/ muscle car I don’t want an even heavier boat than the last Challenger and Charger. The Hurricane I6 is no Barra and isn’t even 1/4 as reliable.
I disagree with your premise, from everything I’ve just read, the new Charger will be super practical. It’s an AWD hatchback. Even with two doors, the back seats are still large enough to be fully functional. This seems to be a comfortable daily with enough room for a normal sized family and all their luggage. It competes with the Mustang only in so far as it’s an American two door with lots of HP, besides that they don’t really compete.
The whole point was it’s impractically overpowered, riddled with stellantis’ famously poor quality control and a complete pig handling wise vs the dedicated sports cars. While awd and the notch back design at least on the current two door body seem more practical than the competition and the last Challenger was larger and softer than the Mustang and Camaro it was already a heavy boat, and the new two door Charger is already heavier than that.
If they sorted the reliability problems and lost ~1000 lbs of weight while keeping the positive attributes of space utilization and optional AWD then it might be more competitive as an only car vs merely as a toy car. Having been burned by a normal FCA/ Stellantis product less than 13000 miles in but just over 3 years old where they would not cover an emissions related fault that set off due to the active grille shutters breaking I don’t want anything to do with them.
I don’t care how practical it may be if it’s not as fun, and if it’s also always broken.
The 4 door isn’t an impractical muscle car
Given that the last one had the hellcat and this one the available HO 3.0 I6 making more power than the last hemi scat pack it’s definitely impractical on a daily basis. Enjoy the power sure, but it’s not a practical car.
The USA isn’t above driving practical cars – we are all about excess.
As to weight – we buy vehicles by the pound here. Bigger is better and few buyers even know how much their vehicle weighs let alone care.
They got the scat part right.
I wonder how this will sell. If Mustang is only selling ~50k a year right now and that’s with the cheaper ecoboost taking a lot of volume. Since there won’t be a low series, dodge’s narrowly focused marketing, and with the higher starting price, I wouldn’t be surprised if this sells in the 10-15k/year range (which is CRAZY to think)
With the sedan option in there too the audience theoretically expands significantly.
I can see the blue one in the background of one pic, is it going to be available at the same time or do dealers get another several months hung out to dry?
I mean everyone knows the sedan will sell better than the coupe, and Dodge wants to make money, so they have to know they need the sedan to be available alongside the coupe, and made in better numbers.
Yeah this is Dodge. They probably will forget to make the sedan and hope the coupe will sell in big numbers, which it eventually will, when discounted to 25k.
So frustrating that the ICE sedan is the version that will sell, but they led off with an EV coupe.
Ya my comment is about the coupe only.
I’m putting in my order next week.
The old Challenger topped 60,000 units/year 5 times and was regularly over 50,000. It was sort of an anomaly, still selling in respectable numbers in a market that only wants SUVs and pickups, add in the Charger and 300 platform mates, and the volumes were more than decent
Weirdly also set sales records very late in its run, long after most other cars would have been replaced twice
That was also when the Mustang was regularly selling around 80-100k a year. I think the market for sub-100k sports coupes has just evaporated and is way smaller now. I’m sure there will be an initial surge for the first year or 2, but after that, I doubt there will be that many coupe sales.
The Mustang topped 100k in 2015 and 2016, but that was the first time that happened since 2007. The Challenger topped 60,000 in 2019 and exceeded 55,000 in 2022, its last, full, “normal” year of production before the runout in 2023 caused some weirdness in production mix and pricing
This is a bigger, more practical sedan, whereas the Mustang is a pretty spartan 2+2. The Charger fits the bill more as a cheap E-class than a big Mustang, and it has ever since its reintroduction as a 4-door. The inline 6 and AWD seem pretty squarely aimed at poaching German car buyers who didn’t believe there was a worthwhile domestic alternative. I, for one, would take the new Charger over the new 5-series on looks alone, even if you covered the price tags. Sadly, I’m not in the market for a 2.5-ton vehicle, but hopefully people who *are* in that market mirror the sentiment, because I think it’s a very pretty car and would love to see lots of them in exciting colors on my commute.
I should have specified that my comments were about the coupe in particular, not the 4 door.
The coupe really is a 2-door sedan, though. It still has a humongous liftback trunk and a roomy rear seat that’ll hold adults in comfort. Its wheelbase is a couple inches longer than a Mercedes-Benz E-class, while the Mustang’s is a bit shorter than a Civic’s, I really think the only things they have in common are styling, marketing and country of origin.
These just scream generic “muscle car” from a video game to me
Straight out of GTA V
Of all the cars Stellantis has released, this is certainly one of them.
This is exactly where I am with it. I don’t hate it, nor does it give me any excitement at all. I feel like I shouldn’t be so indifferent about it, but…meh.
On paper, and in internet pictures, this is actually the sedan I want and need, in the real world?
It’s as long as both of my Civics combined. It’s comically large, and I just can’t get past that.
Also I’m still salty about that whole “Chief Donut Maker” thing they did back when X XXXXXX XXXXX XXX XXXXXXX XXX XXXXXX. I’m not saying the last part out loud.
I have seen a couple of the electric coupes on the road, and yeah. They are insanely big. Like longer than a 90s limo big. We’re talking bigger than the ego of… certain people who shall remain nameless at this time. Ok maybe not that last one, those egos are pretty big.
Same, I see one or two every week around here, and just marvel at how large they are.
They’re really not that big, they’re almost half a foot shorter than a Crown Vic, and a Crown Vic isnt an especially big vehicle, particularly by 2020s standards. They practically disappear in the shadow of a modern pickup truck
Agree to disagree. The Crown Vic may not be the tallest thing out there, but they are quite long for a sedan. These Chargers are also 5 inches wider than a Crown Vic (barely an inch skinnier than a Silverado 1500), and 3 inches taller, with windows that are probably 3 inches shorter because of ever rising beltlines. These have a very substantial presence and are much larger than most crossovers being sold today in every dimension other than height.
But, the Charger is a full size car, its always been a full size car, nobody’s ever suggested it was anything but
Complaining about a full size car having full size dimensions is like complaining about the Corvette not having a back seat
Not trying to be argumentative, but it really is huge. I’ve seen and driven plenty of full size cars, this is exceptionally big, it’s like a reverse Tardis.
Maybe it feels bigger from behind the wheel, because the raw dimensions dont seem unusually large to me
Have you driven next to one? Maybe it’s just my existing excitations of what a Charger is size wise, but it feels like the scale is just an order of magnitude off.
Yes, they’re such a disastrous flop that you do notice when there’s one on the road. Have also seen a grand total of 3 in parking lots, which is actually a sizeable percentage of what they’ve sold. Well, one had a Michigan manufacturer plate, so they didn’t sell that one
You know this Charger is ridiculous when the Durango is the smaller, lighter option.
You do a burnout in the dark, then you drop it into Park, but meantime
The turnout at the meet is just a bunch of gawking teens
The horn is blowing Dixie just for lulz now
You feel alright, when you hear that Hemi sing
/now they’re in Dire Straits
//and they don’t give a damn about any EV-heavy brand
///it ain’t what they call heart & soul
Six pack HO? Do they even have a marketing department anymore or just letting their 14 year old kids spitball ideas?
Feel like this is gonna have issues, and disconnect will probably be a weak point, Dodge is not known to be good with transmission related fanciness.
“Six Pack” has long been a Mopar muscle term. Using it today is a callback to the past.
https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/medium/1/440-six-pack-challenger-roy-branson.jpg
It was for the three 2-barrel carbs. It’s kind of clever applying that to the cylinder count.
Yes, I’m aware, just saying the name didn’t come from nowhere.
I think the HO is raising the eyebrows. As in – give her a 6 pack and wait for the fun and games to start.
That’s grasping at straws too. HO has long stood for “High Output” in the performance vehicle world.
I know – I once owned an SHO. I’m just reading the line with a gutter mind. No wish to offend anyone.
Made me think of a NOFX song.
The “Six Pack” name goes back to three two barrel carb setup they used to offer on the 440 V8 and the Trans Am homoligated E-body 340 V8 cars from 1970.
Additionally, the name was used on the Australian Valiant Chargers with the “Hemi Six Pack”. An inline six-cylinder, not at all based on the Slant Six, but a Chrysler AU designed and engineered six-cylinder with a Hemi head that became legendary for its success in the Bathurst 500.
I’m aware of the car terms but the 14 year old in me giggles at it.
They are going to have the same problem the Camaro did and stop selling at some point and thanks to Stellantis european influence: changing the formula to compete more with the german competition. Sure it probably drives better, launch faster, better driving dynamics, having an electric option, but thats not what the american customer wants. They want raw V8 power in the cheapest form possible, period.
If its not loud or obnoxious in the same way as before, it will not sell as good. I hope I am wrong and the car sells better than the previous one since I am tired of looking at the huge amount of SUVs and pickup trucks everywhere.
They’ve already hinted at the Hemi V8 coming back in the Charger, but it will take some time to get it certified. The six-cylinder version has been in development for years already and they’re just finally getting it to market. Give it another two or three years.
This will certainly sell better than the EV, but that’s not much of an achievement when the EV sells 10s a month. It’s better, but I doubt it’ll be a hit. The old challenger/charger just had an attitude and presence this lacks, and without the sound of the V8, people won’t flock to it quite the same.
On paper, this has everything needed to be a hit.
Will it be? I have no idea but I’m pumped to find out.
I’m excited for the configurator to launch. As someone who appreciates pony cars and BMW performance cars but can’t make either work in a long term daily this really is a fascinating intersection for me personally. It has the looks and lower cost of a proper muscle car but it’s powered by a modern straight 6 with all wheel drive and available as a lift back sedan.
It checks a lot of boxes for me and the wife has basically already said it’s practical enough that she won’t protest. It has an additional 10 cubic feet of interior space over my car and the hatchback set up should make it better at hauling stuff than my Kona. For the average lover of the V8 stuff I’m sure this isn’t what they’re after but for an enthusiast weirdo like me with a family?
It’s mighty appealing. I legitimately think this has a chance to do well with my demographic of upper middle class dads. It’s basically an M440i but cheaper, better looking, and not as much of a headache to own long term. Hmm…
I hope you get one, I’d love to hear about the ownership experience.
It’s a very distinct possibility, although TBD if I’ll be able to get exactly what I want. I think the RT should be more than enough power for me but I’d want the handling/braking upgrades and active exhaust from the Scat Pack. It’s not like I want to say no to 540 horsepower but I worry about the longevity of that engine when it’s that stressed from the factory…