I’ve always been a fan of the Charger line up. Whether it’s a Scatpack, a Hellcat, Daytona or Brass Monkey, I love it all. The style is old school but modern and inside it’s comfy but cool. But the drive? Well, it’s American muscle.. whaddya expect? It’s time to expect more, kids because the Widebody Charger is here and it drives like stink.
I spent a few days driving it up in Sonoma, CA both at the famed raceway and on the picturesque roads. Pity me, please:
When the designer presented the vehicle to us, he said these words, “Our goal was to make a vehicle that was badass. ..We wanted it to be modern, cool and maybe even a little offensive.” Feeling like he could be describing my epitaph, I was intrigued.
Yet my previous experience with the Hellcat made me 100% skeptical that this Dodge could really deliver behind the wheel.
Then the engineer hopped up on stage and dropped a few additional golden nuggets. First wider tires (Pirelli 305/35ZR20), then competition suspension tuning with Bilstein adaptive damping and EPS—electric power steering. Now if this all sounds like Greek to you, think about it this way, more rubber on the road is the difference between running in heels and running in sneakers. Better suspension is the difference between riding your mountain bike and riding your kid’s Radio Flyer and the steering, well I dare you to tell me when enhanced steering isn’t better. With all of these new features I starting thinking, You know what, maybe today won’t be bad after all.
Turns out, it was incredible. I was 100% blown away. Here’s my video evidence:
The Good:
*incredible bang for the buck 707 horsepower for just under $70k (the 2020 BMW M5 produces 600hp and is $102k)
*performance you’d never expect from an American sedan– responsive, powerful with little to no body roll
*new colors offer new tones with a historic nod
*widebody enhancements make this the first American muscle car that will not only win the carpool drag race but will also win the getaway chase through the canyons, wow!
The Bad:
*the exterior design holds true to the original but lacks additional refinement and distinction
*wide seats make it hard for those of us who aren’t wide-bodied to keep comfortable (see what I did there?)
The WTF:
*A baffling mess of SRT Performance Pages interface in the Infotainment system makes my head spin. I much prefer my M button, though I’m sure plenty of dudes would love geeking out over this.
Overall:
This is the best American performance sedan you can buy. Hands down. With very few competitors, it will easily own this space and you should expect its little brother, the ScatPack Widebody (at $45k), to dominate a gym parking lot near you very, very soon. Well done, Dodge.