![]() The Charger was positioned as a more expensive and luxurious coupe aiming at the market segment represented by the Oldsmobile Toronado and Ford Thunderbird market segment instead of the other muscle cars. Mercury was successful in its execution in introducing the upscale Cougar, which was both larger and more refined than the Ford Mustang that pioneered the pony car concept in 1964. American Motors had already built a very similar vehicle in 1965, the (Rambler) Marlin, which was positioned as a personal car, an emerging market niche. The 1966 Charger was an effort by Dodge to produce an upscale, upsized pony car. In the United States, the Charger nameplate has been used on intermediate sized pony cars, muscle cars, and personal luxury coupes, as well as on subcompact hatchbacks and the current Charger is a full-size four-door sedan. The Charger has been built on three different platforms in various sizes. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. 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.The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966. The 2020 Dodge Charger starts at $29,895. 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.” 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. The available 8.4-inch screen feels right-sized for the spacious interior. The Uconnect infotainment system is easy to use and works as advertised. ![]() 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 car’s seats are comfortable and provide good support. 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. ![]() There are no forward-facing cameras to aid in the process. After a week behind the wheel, the car was no easier to park on center than it was the first day of driving. The steering isn’t any better when it comes to parking. 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. It would be one thing if the car delivered a connected drive with responsive steering. The Charger hasn’t changed too much inn the last decade. 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. However, the car’s handling can’t keep up with the power. The engine is the best part of the car.ĭodge 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. The power output is robust and throttle response is proper. ![]() The 6.4-liter HEMI gets 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque and is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Charger Scat Pack, the model the tested Charger is built on, comes with a V8 engine under its hood. The tester came with a Go Mango orange paint job – a bold color matching the boldness of the car’s engine. As delivered, the car had the Widebody format, adding a variety of equipment and width to the model. It’s been tweaked here and there, as well as the interior, to help it keep up with modern equipment and appearances. The Charger hasn’t massively changed in appearance since its 2011 generational debut. While the current generation isn’t quite that old, the handling and ride quality of the car are helping it show its age. The Dodge Charger brand name is nearing its 60th birthday. ![]()
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