Dodge Charger — A Real Sport Sedan

During the seventies, when someone mentioned muscle cars there was a good chance they were referring to the Dodge Charger. Then during the eighties the model hit a few design stumbling blocks and was dropped from Dodge’s lineup. Well, as you know, the Dodge Charger is back. And, although it has not been around long in its modern version, this car has already earned a place at number nine on the top ten used car list.

The Trick: Make a four door look like a two door!

Although the original charger was a two door coupe, its modern counterpart is a four door sedan styled to hold on to that sports coupe appeal. The Charger is built on the same platform as the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge magnum and fits into the same overall style. From any view you get the feeling that this car is ready to take to the road. With its near vertical rear end and forward tilting front the car actually looks as if its leaning forward in a sprinters start. The near fastback silhouette also helps to disguise that this car is in actuality a sedan, helping it to hold on to its sporty legacy.

Listen to the hum of this Hemi!

And sportiness is what the Charger has always been about. The modern reincarnation of the car actually offers a number of engine options so you can likely find a used model with the right amount of power for you. At base the Charger derives it power from a 250-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 engine and five-speed AutoStick automatic transmission. For those interested in upgrading the power there is also the R/T version with its 340-horsepower 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 or even a limited-production Daytona R/T variant featuring a 350-horsepower HEMI V-8. Still not satisfied? Well in some cases you may be able to find the SRT8 version sporting a specially modified 6.1-liter HEMI V-8 that produces an thunderous 425 horsepower though, being such a new car, there aren’t many on the used car market.

Go Ahead push the Pedal to the Medal….feels goog doesn’t?

Of course, I’m sure you expect all that power to come at a price. Well, you may be pleasantly surprised. Although the Charger does offer the power of a sports car the fuel economy is surprisingly competitive with other four door sedans. The Charger actually logs an admirable 19 city 27 highway with its standard engine package. Of course the STR8 model sees that drop to 14/20, but that is to be expected when adding nearly two hundred horsepower.

The Dash is sooooo…Hot

The dash and instruments will be immediately familiar to anyone who has see the Dodge Magnum. The predominate features are, as they should be, a large tach and speedometer, which reads up to 160 mph in the higher performance models. Seats are firm and supportive and can be upgraded to performance models for more secure seating. Some used models can be found with a number of options including 8 way power adjustable passenger seat, sport wheels, and a navigation and even rear seat entertainment system.

Firm Comfortable Seats.

With any car with this much power safety is also a key factor. The Dodge Charger takes saftey seriously by providing as standard features antilock brakes, all-speed traction control and electronic stability control with brake assist on all Chargers. Rear seats are also fitted with child safety anchors and an advanced airbag system is standard as well. These features combine to give the cahrger five star safety ratings for both the driver and front passenger in frontal crash tests as well as four stars for front seat and five starts for rear seat occupants in side crash tests.

The Charger is a Fun car to Drive.

Though the Dodge Charger is no longer a sports coupe it looks to have retained enough of its historically performance to still provide an exhilorating driving experience. it also provides great safety and comfort and enough economy to make it a nicely desirable family sedan. Anyone interested in having the best of both worlds might want to give serious thought to considering a used Dodge Charger as their next used car purchase. And after serious thought, I have given the Dodge Charger the #9 position on the Brad Your Car Guy’s used car top Ten for January of 2009.

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