Dodge's Hard Charger

Roomy yet powerful, Dodge's best-selling sedan is a muscle car with a domestic side

by Matt Vella

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Looks, price, muscle power in a four door sedan

The Bad: Looks, plastic interior lacks verve

The Bottom Line: A family car that can beat up your family car

Reader Reviews

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UpFront The American muscle car's recent resurgence is due in no small part to the wistful chord that models such as Ford's (F) Mustang and Chevrolet's upcoming Camaro strike in the hearts of aging baby boomers with a penchant for nostalgia—and, more importantly, with disposable income.

But for those of us born long after Ralph Nader and OPEC dealt American muscle its final death blows, 1970s pop culture elicits anything but nostalgia. Worse yet, automakers, by way of neglect and complacency, let many once-legendary nameplates wither until they became anemic versions of their once muscular selves.

Some of these nameplates have since been resurrected, with varying degrees of success. Luckily, like the best of today's retro-inspired sedans, Dodge's HEMI-powered Charger offers enough vim, vigor, and utility to all but erase past faults, appealing on its merits to boomers and non-boomers alike.

Moreover, thanks to its size and handling, the Charger also has a domestic side—think of Vin Diesel in The Pacifier—so that it can do double duty as a family car without making Mom and Dad feel like they're complete dorks.

Dodge offers two V6 models and three V8s, with prices ranging from just above $20,000 to about $40,000. That's another strong hint that the Charger isn't intended to fill a narrow niche like some other muscle models.

A basic SE edition gets you a HEMI-deprived 190 horsepower, 2.7 liter V6 while, at the top of the line, the positively juiced, HEMI-endowed SRT8 version—which looks like a cross between a great white shark and a panzer tank—produces 425 horses from a 6.1 liter V8. I tested the conciliation R/T model, at $30,030, the natural middle ground of spousal compromise.

The range of models is proving a smart move for DaimlerChrysler (DCX). Introduced in May, 2005, the Charger is by far Dodge's best-selling car. For the first nine months of 2006 it sold 87,768 units, according to Automotive News. In fact, as of last month, the Charger is the company's only vehicle not to post declines in sales since the same time last year.

Dodge's loaner stickered at $36,450 with $675 destination charge. On top of the $30,030 base price, the car came with $440 supplemental air bags (side-curtain front and rear); $630 electronics convenience group, $535 Boston Acoustics 6-disc CD player, $950 power sunroof, and $1,495 DVD-based GPS nav. system.

The most significant option, both in terms of value for price, and performance, is the $1,695 Road/Track Performance package. That option adds tweaked steering and suspension as well as a set of performance tires wrapped around gorgeous 18-in. wheels which the Charger's solid frame just begs to brandish.

To sweeten the pot, Dodge also throws in heated power front seats, dual-zone climate controls, power pedals, and nifty suede-leather combo seats. I wouldn't consider buying the Charger without this package, which not only seems an eminently good deal for the money but makes the otherwise drab cabin a more comfortable place to spend time.

If ever a car looked the way Muddy Waters sounds, the Charger is it (think "mannn"). Even though the company has shipped nearly 90,000 models, the styling still causes rubbernecking on the street. The car looks stout, manly and even, and, well, a little mean.

But that's O.K. because ever since playing the bad guy in Bullitt, the Charger has had villain written all over it. Inwardly slanted head-lamps project aggressively across the big 'n bad cross-hair grille. The ram's head-bejeweled maw comes up high over the lower front bumper, ready to be offered sacrificial lambs or goats. The ripped haunches in the back, meanwhile, look wide enough to give birth to a last-generation Dodge Neon.