TheGentlemanRacer.com

by Anthony Fongaro

Large sedans have become few-and-far in-between. This may not surprise you, but these have been replaced by SUVs. Looking into non-premium brands, the amount of large sedans is less than 10. Most of these have an inline-four and possibly a V6. Along with these types of engines, most are either front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. Well...thank goodness for us Americans and our muscle cars! There are some large sedans you can buy from America, and these have stats that would even embarrass a sports car. The one I drove was a non-regular Dodge Charger.

“Oh look, another Dodge Charger.” That’s usually what I think when I first see a Dodge Charger. The reason isn’t that I don’t like them, but because it’s a little old. This generation of the Charger came out in 2015. The Charger has so many options that you can get a 3.6-liter V6 with all-wheel-drive with the GT model but that isn’t what I had. Oh no, I had the R/T Scat Pack with a Widebody that I’ll get into later. First things first, let’s look at the exterior.

When the Charger R/T Scat Pack came to my house, the first I thought of was “this is loud!” The second thing I thought of was I absolutely love this styling. It’s so brash and unapologetic. Starting with the front, you get a different hood than regular Chargers with a huge hood scoop. On the grille, two badges are next to each other: SCAT PACK and the Scat Pack logo, a little bee on wheels. That little bee continues on other areas and is both really cool but somewhat cute. Sorry Dodge, I know that’s not what that badge is supposed to do. The exterior is Frostbite Exterior paint.

Costing $6,000, you can get your Scat Pack with an even more muscular body. The Scat Pack Widebody package gives you the Widebody exterior with integrated fender flares which adds 3.5” of width. This package also gives upgraded brakes, a performance shift indicator, a leather flat-bottom steering wheel, competition suspension, and Pirelli tires. Is it worth it? That’s a rhetorical question, right? Yes. Do it. More badging includes 392 HEMI on the side along with CHARGER on the back and that same amazing bee. Those beautiful 20” carbon black wheels cost $1,300 but are also worth it for the menacing look.

Are the charges on the interior as much as the exterior? A little bit. My tester had the Plus Group package ($2,000) that includes a myriad of options. The notable ones include the Scat Pack Logo with Nappa and Alcantara seats are heated and ventilated, blind-spot monitoring, and blind-spot monitoring. Believe me, the Charger needs blind-spot monitoring. These seats are black and caramel and quite comfortable. As for the rest of the interior, it’s typical Dodge. The steering wheel with paddle shifters controls the central display along with music and regular cruise control. Climate control uses physical buttons that are simple to use, even on the move. To the right is the 8.4” Uconnect display that includes various apps and climate controls, navigation, and two very special apps.

This is a performance rear-wheel-drive car, so having different drive modes isn’t surprising. Regular normal and individual modes are options, but sport and race are interesting modes. What surprised me was going into sport and barely going into race mode. Sport and Race mode changes almost every parameter but shuts off the traction control. Race mode completely disables traction control. If you want to know your 0-60 MPH, quarter-mile times, and top speed, the central display can help with that along with lap times. Getting the quickest times means the Charger R/T Scat Pack has launch control and line lock to heat up your tires. Did I use any of those? I wish. What I did use was the engine.

Behind the hood is a massive, naturally aspirated 6.4-liter Hemi V8 producing 485-horsepower and 475 lb.ft. An eight-speed automatic and rear-wheel-drive get the Charger R/T Scat Pack from 0-60 MPH in 4.3 seconds. This large car is quick and loud. Starting it up gives you a large burble that will annoy your neighbors. Most of the time, I was in Normal mode since my driving was mostly traffic-jams, the whole point of this car. When I was able to open this up, the power felt smooth and quite enjoyable, even with the paddle shifters.

Funny enough, there is an eco-mode for normal mode. If you’re driving an almost 500-horsepower car getting 15 MPG, you want it. Driving in normal can utilize cylinder-deactivation which shuts down four cylinders for better fuel economy and makes sure you don’t drive like a complete hooligan. Although I didn’t really use race-mode at all, I did drive a lot in Sport which really opens up the V8. For a big sedan, the Charger felt quite planted on the road. Even with this performance, the Charger is simple to use. Dodge was smart to use physical buttons for climate control and a lot of options for the infotainment system.

This may be a fun car, but there are some negatives. The side-mirrors are way too small and there are quite big blind-spots. When you get a 485-horsepower V8, you should expect 15-20 MPG and uses premium gas. This test car didn’t have adaptive-cruise control which would have been nice to use. My biggest complaint is actually the widebody. While I would still get the widebody, driving in construction with restrictions can get you quite anxious. I’d also like a “soft-start”, or the ability to make start-up quieter. Other than those complaints, the R/T Scat Pack has way more positives than negatives.

Verdict Time! The Charger R/T is in a league of its own. You can’t get this kind of power and performance for a sedan for under $50,000. It starts around $40,000 and with options, my tester was $55,000. Is this worth it? Yes. Absolutely. There’s so much character in this Charger that the price is justified. It may be a dated car, but it has the performance and tech to make it feel updated. If you’re looking for a four-door muscle car, the Charger R/T Scat Pack is the way to go.