Autotest: Mit dem Dodge Charger lässt Motown die Muskeln spielen

The Dodge Charger, an American muscle car, is America's answer to the Volkswagen Golf GTI. For the past 60 years, the Charger has held the title of the traditional muscle car alongside the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. While Stellantis, the parent company, keeps European subsidiaries relatively restrained and focused on reducing CO2 emissions, the American Charger continues to revel in its passion and excitement, now available at KW Auto's US import partner.

The Charger may not be as affordable as its European counterparts, with prices starting at over 66,000 Euros in the US compared to under 45,000 Euros in the US.

The Charger boasts a classic muscle car look with a long hood, wide rear end, and powerful rear end, making it a perfect family sedan for petrolheads. It features modern amenities, such as a spartan interior with deep seats, high hoods, and dark leather with contrasting stitching. However, the digital dashboard in the cabin is packed with vibrant animations and additional graphics and settings compared to many racing simulations on PlayStation.

The Charger hides an electric six-cylinder engine beneath its hood, which uses two turbochargers and sends power to all four wheels. Despite the engine's reduced size, the car still produces impressive performance, with the base R/T version offering 420 horsepower and 634 Nm of torque, and the Scat Pack variant delivering 550 horsepower and 719 Nm.

The Charger's impressive performance is evident in its 0-60 mph sprint time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 285 km/h. This makes it competitive with European sports cars like the BMW M3 or Mercedes C63. Additionally, drivers can switch to rear-wheel drive for a more traditional muscle car experience. The Charger also offers a unique feature, allowing drivers to activate rear-wheel drive with the press of a button, resuming the classic muscle car thrills.

The Charger now comes in a fully electric form, the Charger Daytona, which shares the same appearance as the standard Charger but features a fully electric drivetrain. Despite its lower top speed of 220 km/h, the electric Charger Daytona accelerates from 0-60 mph in just 4.7 seconds, making it even quicker than the six-cylinder version.

Powered by a 94 kWh battery, the Charger Daytona can travel up to 510 kilometers on a single charge with a quick half-hour top-up. The electric Charger also offers an unusual level of environmental responsibility, as it provides owners with the option to choose an electric drivetrain, demonstrating that strength and good manners can coexist.