As it turns out, the modern Charger is a great car. I spent about four hours driving in torrential downpour up and down the Willamette Valley on the freeway, and in traffic and walked away from my experience feeling impressed. I was very pleased how it handled the ruts filled with standing water on the freeway. How easy it was to drive even though it is a larger car. And even this base model has heated AND ventilated seats, and a heated steering wheel (my favorite). Also, in a straight line, it’s fast! The base V6 has 292hp and a 0-60 time of about 6.2 seconds. All while achieving, 31MPG in poor driving conditions. If I were to buy a Charger today, I would *gasp* get the V6. Yes, the V8 gives you the muscle car noises and bragging rights, but the V6 is more than enough. 

On the downside, all the rumors about the Charger feeling like a boat are entirely true. It felt massive driving down the freeway and I didn’t quite get used to it being almost a half-foot wider than my Mazda 3 daily driver. Around the corners, the body roll was, well, boat-like. There were several pieces of interior trim that also felt very cheap. This doesn’t bother me as much as it does others – it was just glaringly obvious that it was an inexpensive material in use. Some of the touch points, namely the turn signal, felt so cheap that I was worried it was about to break. The car almost felt like a 4000 pound conundrum with the really nice seats, infotainment screen, fancy gauges, then have such cheap plastic put together in the same car.

Nonetheless, I would very much recommend a Charger as an alternative to SUVs. Everyone is obsessed with driving a crossover and this would be great alternative. There is a ton of storage, rear passenger space is amazing, and with the V6, the fuel economy is about the same. Millions of these were made, so purchasing used is a very easy option. There were so many different trim levels and engine options available since the 2006 Charger/Challenger reboot that it’s very find the exact car that fits your needs at a very good price. And the best part about this is you won’t be stuck driving a boring cross over

The Dodge Charger is a classic name in the muscle car scene that dates back to 1966. Like many American muscle cars, the mid-1970s did not bode well for the Charger. The 4th generation, starting in 1975 weighted more (over 4000 lbs.) and had a V8 making just 152hp. Compared to a 1970 3rd generation, the upper 300hp range was easily had (more in performance models), with a weight around 3200 lbs. The Charger name was revived in 1981 as a sporty front wheel drive hatchback coupe similar to the Dodge Omni 024. Starting in 1983, Carroll Shelby produced a version that had 142hp and weighted about 2400 lbs. Modern Charger from 2006+ weigh in the 4000 lb. range but have hp numbers from the mid-200s to the low 800s!

When the Charger came back in 2006, there was a lot of hype about a rear-wheel-drive American sedan coming back to the market. This once huge market is down to just a handful cars: The Dodge Charger and some Cadillac models. Modern Mopars have a reputation (both good and bad) for being loud and fast muscle cars, but the V6 models don’t get the hype they deserve for being strong contender as a well-rounded SUV alternative.