The Dodge Charger brand name is nearing its 60th birthday. While the current generation isn’t quite that old, the handling and ride quality of the car are helping it show its age.
The Charger hasn’t massively changed in appearance since its 2011 generational debut. It’s been tweaked here and there, as well as the interior, to help it keep up with modern equipment and appearances. As delivered, the car had the Widebody format, adding a variety of equipment and width to the model.
Scat Pack models get unique bee badging.Photo courtesy. of FCA US LLC
The tester came with a Go Mango orange paint job – a bold color matching the boldness of the car’s engine.
The Charger Scat Pack, the model the tested Charger is built on, comes with a V8 engine under its hood. The 6.4-liter HEMI gets 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque and is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The power output is robust and throttle response is proper. The engine is the best part of the car.
Dodge has given the Charger Widebody six-piston Brembo brakes, body color fender flares, a performance shift indicator, leather flat-bottom steering wheel, and the Widebody Competition Suspension with active damping, and unique wheels and tires for an additional $6,000 on top of the base price.
However, the car’s handling can’t keep up with the power. Dodge has given the sedan a beefy steering wheel, which feels appropriate for the model, but keeping the car steering safely on the road is a chore and borderline dangerous for the average driver when they give the V8 the go ahead with a full push on the throttle.
The Charger hasn’t changed too much inn the last decade.Photo courtesy. of FCA US LLC
It would be one thing if the car delivered a connected drive with responsive steering. It is quite another with a model that has numb steering, body roll, and a suspension that lets allows the car to do more gliding over the road than showing off its stick-to-itiveness.
The steering isn’t any better when it comes to parking. After a week behind the wheel, the car was no easier to park on center than it was the first day of driving.
There are no forward-facing cameras to aid in the process. Also, the car’s wide 305/35ZR20 front and rear tires, sitting on 20-inch x 11-inch Devil’s Rim aluminum wheels greatly limited the angle the car was able to turn when pulling into a backing out of a parking spot.
The car’s seats are comfortable and provide good support.Photo courtesy. of FCA US LLC
Setting aside the drive, the ride is actually quite decent with comfortable seats, enough space for four adults, and a relatively high-riding seat position that feels chair-like when adjusted for someone who doesn’t mind what grandmothers across the country would stress is proper posture.
The Uconnect infotainment system is easy to use and works as advertised. The available 8.4-inch screen feels right-sized for the spacious interior. Though the cabin’s styling doesn’t impress, nor feel like it’s worthy of the over $50,000 price tag that was on the tester, it’s straight from the Dodge DNA and that’s respectable enough.
Though the car lacks the boatload of safety tech that comes on lesser priced models from Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, the lack of them gives the car a sort of sportiness that harkens back to what could be called “the good old days.”
The Charger’s cabin is spacious.Photo courtesy. of FCA US LLC
The 2020 Dodge Charger starts at $29,895. As tested, the model came in at $50,180. For that price, I’d rather own a mid-grade used Porsche Panamera with its connected drive and potent engine, and put the extra $10,000 in a rainy day fund for when tires, an oil change, and mechanical improvements are needed.
