2026 Dodge Charger SIXPACK Review // Welp

[00:05] The Dodge Charger Daytona. >> Okay, hold on. Those >> Kind of just a boat. It was supposed to be fun, but uh if you want a boat,

[00:17] >> I can't think of a single car that's worse than this one. These are problems we can maybe forgive if we actually like the thing. There will be a four-door version coming out and one with a gas version that will certainly come with

[00:31] we've liked so much. >> There's a sedan coming. There are gasoline engines coming. There's a lot more to this car we haven't seen. >> But I think where the Challenger's charm is will much better lie in the hands of

[00:45] is will much better lie in the hands of the Hurricane 6.

[01:13] Thomas. >> And I'm James.

[01:31] which means in place of batteries, there's an actual engine finally. And yet, it's still very different to the outgoing charger. For

[01:43] one thing, this Scatpack model no longer has a V8. Now we have an inline 6 aided and embedded by two turbos. That's BMW MC car stuff,

[01:58] which may not be a bad thing because in high output form, which this one is, it high output form, which this one is, it produces a BMW M3 beating 550 horsepower and most [music] of its 531 lb feet of torque is available at just 2500 [music]

[02:16] RPM. Considering that when it comes to Dodge Chargers, Daddy Traction went out for a smoke a long time ago. Those are some scary numbers. Except [music] they aren't now because in a move that's sacrilege for some and a result for

[02:33] others, the gas powered Dodge Charger now has all-wheel drive.

[02:49] started rolling the cameras to get this thing to actually >> No, but we're in it now. >> We are. Here we go. >> I didn't press activate. >> Ah, right. There it is. Okay.

[03:15] >> That's a bit different to the uh the old one which would basically stay >> Okay, that's good. That's good. Hello jeez. >> So, what we got? We got 4.1 seconds to 60 and 12.3 and the quarter.

[03:31] >> Uh, it's pretty quick and not a spin to a wheel to be seen. Um, yeah, that's very different. That's very different to every other Challenger Charger I've ever

[03:43] been in. Okay, let's hit the road. Yeah. [music] >> And as we know, it's a controversial car.

[03:55] >> Uh we weren't particularly kind to the electric version of it. electric version of it. >> Why are my feet almost by my ears? >> Because this was not ever built to be just a petrol car. There are compromises

[04:08] >> where the batteries would normally go. >> I like it. It feels like you're in one where you're like, >> "Oh, you're to kneel and the board and >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Arriato,

[04:21] >> correct? [music] You seem so white." [laughter] >> Now, how much does this weigh? the jugular immediately? >> I'm just right. I'm a lion. The answer

[04:34] electric one. >> But the electric one weighed as much as >> So, how much does this one weigh? >> 4,800. >> Yeah. That makes it 300 lb heavier [music] than the Hellcat Challenger with

[04:49] >> But we have twin turbos assisting us. We have 550 horsepower at my toe tips. And I mean at my toe tips. This car is eager. The throttle pedal and the brake top. >> Oh, they've tuned it for that. Like,

[05:03] >> It it it's like one of those cocktails you order that's not mixed yet and you >> Yeah. You got rum and then the rest but the rest is just grenadine. >> It is quick. >> Yeah. Honestly, it is very quick. It's

[05:18] >> It's so shoreooted. >> You know what it's doing? It almost It feels the same as what a BMW does where it's pulling a little bit of boost in the lower gears and so you get an extra surge of torque. It's even quicker than

[05:31] >> Well, it's it's a low red [music] line. Apparently, Dodge got everything they >> You know what? I can't know what the red line is because I can't see it. >> Still Still can't see it. >> Yeah. Look.

[05:45] >> Oh, [music] it appears I see as you Okay, transmission. >> Yeah, >> it's torquy. Look at these little little nubbins. Well, bigger than them is the

[05:58] behind. And then you've got these tiny little things. [music] >> Yeah, that's weird. Why not give us like the Julia Quadrifoglio has gigantic cool shift paddles? [music] >> Best. Some of the best shadow paddle

[06:11] >> This rearranges my brain. That's how intense this car is. But yes, these paddle shifters are tiny. And that's because

[06:23] >> It's fine. >> It's just fine. Kind of a nice on the >> It's a bit of a cacophony though. This this sound like in the morning in the the morning. I got this ready and I woke up everyone. It just goes

[06:39] >> for ages. And then this is really piped in. So, we're in sport mode here. Just in. So, we're in sport mode here. Just [music] listen. [laughter] LA.

[06:54] lb. >> Not a lot of suspension travel there. We were airborne. >> This thing is tort. And [laughter] >> in a way, it's it's really nice in the corners. It's flat, but

[07:06] in the road. You [music] feel it. >> Do you? >> Yeah. Which is a shame. >> But otherwise, I've oddly I kind of >> So far, >> I've got on with it. I've really got on

[07:20] with it. There's a lot of debate over whether this is a muscle car or not, but for me that's just noise. It sort of is a supercar, a supercar thing. What's important is that Car and Driver ranked this as the second best muscle car

[07:34] >> Just the Mustang. It's the only two. >> There's the only two of them. Yeah. [laughter] >> But here's the thing it can do, >> Yeah. >> when the car is completely stationary.

[07:46] Yes. That's the only time it worked. >> Right. It can stop sending power to the front and it [music] will send all the torque to the rear. All of it. All of torque to the rear. All of it. All of it.

[07:59] >> Oh, that buzz is ridiculous. >> Yeah, it's buzzy. It's buzzing. And if that doesn't bother you, this sound >> out here is grating. >> And I I was I was more negative, I think, than you about the electric

[08:12] sound, the fake sound. And then over time, I got more negative. They've made the sound of these very strange. Something's up here. It's There's the Something's up here. It's There's the weight. It's so heavy. I just I can't

[08:27] get it to There's just not enough torque >> to to get its big dumb body moving. >> It's only [music] a few hundred lb heavier than a Hellcat.

[08:44] cheese. >> Yeah. >> It's impossible to use the gears to figure out what [music] is everything so slushy at the top and the downshifts take three business days.

[09:04] >> Yeah. >> This car is so bad. No, no, no. [laughter] You You're mistaken. >> What's happened is is on the journey to find whether it's a sports car or a

[09:17] >> it's got lost. [laughter] >> It's like hello. >> Hello. [laughter] That's not good enough. Yeah. Oh, the That's not good enough. Yeah. Oh, the

[09:38] >> But I saw that coming. >> No, but that's only because it's a bad >> No. So, we we wanted this to be the redemption. Okay. When we drove the electric version and gave it worst car of the year 2024,

[09:51] >> we did do that. >> We thought, you know what? when they tried this engine in the wagon ear. It would be good. And it is a seriously >> and it looks good too. Like the styling is great. And there's the six. Why is it

[10:05] >> It's not. It's for the It's for the person reading it here. >> Who's ever standing in that spot? Backwards. It must be for the driver I I didn't even I wasn't paying attention. Can you sit here and read

[10:18] [laughter] >> You can't see it. You can't read it. No, >> it's just the capis. >> That's actually a great metaphor for down. >> For Stellantis to make this as an

[10:32] electric car first and make it so that it shares with the petrol engine and place may go down as one of the biggest blunders of any car manufacturer in the >> Honestly, it might. And the Okay, we just parked this recently next to a last

[10:47] generation Challenger. You'll see why soon. And it is so much taller than the Challenger because the Challenger was designed to be a gas car from the an EV first, which means that there's extra space underneath as we were

[11:01] saying. So the whole thing is taller, which is why out there trying to slide >> it can never get a hold of itself. Even a Challenger, which we considered to be >> It's a boat, but it knows it's a boat. >> It still is a boat. That it feels like

[11:14] Challenger. You could get it into a skid and it would settle and it would do a nice smooth slide. This one is nowhere near that. The gearing is all over the The red line isn't high enough. The suspension's not good enough to deal

[11:28] >> It's really nice. it's a good-look car. You got these two big doors. You can get it in a four-door, which gives you even more room in the back. And the rear

[11:41] >> is now a hatch. Do we agree that as a cruiser this is a with it. >> Yeah, as a cruiser this is a goodlooking vehicle with modern generation Stellantis technology. So if that's what

[11:56] you're looking for, buy one because it was it's nice to cruise in. But if you're looking for a performance car, maybe you're better off with something >> Yeah, get a Mustang. >> Get the the number one best muscle car

[12:09] according to Car and Driver. [laughter] Anyway, that is the Dodge Charger spashes. >> Where you getting spa from? That's a Kap

[12:24] sh. >> There you go. moment, let's ignore the weird high floor thing, the bad gearing, the low

[12:37] red line, the rubbish throttle and brake pedal calibration, the crap ride, the awful [music] piped in sound, and the fact that Stellantis may have killed any initial release of it being a dead-on arrival EV, then you know [music] what?

[12:51] arrival EV, then you know [music] what? At $57,000 and 72,000 Canadian starting, horsepower for dollar, the Scat Pack's pretty strong. Consider the all-wheel drive and the aftermarket tunability of the hurricane engine. It could be a

[13:03] menace. And it does undercut the price of the less powerful Darkhorse, [music] which feels correct because that is a superior car in almost every other way. superior car in almost every other way. But look at it. A that's pretty, isn't

[13:18] But look at it. A that's pretty, isn't it? Pretty, Thomas. Yeah. Yeah. And I guess if at least it's quicker than its rivals or even its ancestors, that could help. Find out next time on Throttle House. I'm sorry. Thanks for watching.