PHOENIX – Dodge gave its development team a relatively simple brief for the new Charger: it had to look, drive and sound like a traditional Dodge muscle car. “If we don't make people uncomfortable, where do we go from here,” asked Matt McAleer, CEO of Dodge and SRT. And you understand what he means: customers have the choice between a battery-electric engine or, from next year, an inline-six petrol engine. For now, there's no beating V8 version, and those options are sure to make some Dodge muscle car purists a little uneasy.
But the new car certainly looks good. According to Scott Krueger, vice president of exterior design at Dodge, the stylists aimed for “heritage, not retro,” and they achieved that with a sedan shape that certainly calls to mind the classic 1968 Charger without directly copying its lines. It's a car that looks great in the metal, and features like the LED strip with daytime running lights and the so-called “R-wing” at the front make the design feel thoroughly modern and not a pastiche.
The Charger Daytona name is only for the BEV variant; when the straight-six Charger debuts next year, it won't be a Daytona.
Credit: Jonathan Gitlin
It's not exactly compact, though: at 5,248 mm (206.9 in) long, 2,028 mm (78.1 in) wide and 1,497 mm (58.9 in) high, the Charger was built with American roads in mind (and parking spaces) in mind. actually 2 inches (50mm) wider than the outgoing Charger Hellcat widebody.
The reward is a huge amount of interior space and, thanks to a 121-inch (3,074 mm) wheelbase, room for two adults in the rear seat. This should come as no surprise: next year, Dodge will introduce a four-door version of the Charger, which will retain the same dimensions as the two-door you see here.
The interior looks just as good as the outside. The doors and dashboard are illuminated via LEDs (which allow you to choose your own favorite shade from a choice of 64), enhancing the feeling of the interior space. And yet you feel wonderfully pampered from the driver's seat. As mentioned, four adults really can fit in the Charger comfortably, and its practicality is further enhanced by the hatchback giving you access to the boot.
