Reading the comments online about this car, I feel we need to review before we get started. Yes, the SRT Hellcat was an awesome machine. (We should know – we drove several of them.) We know you like the Hellcat better. Tough. This isn’t that.
The Charger Scat Pack is NOT the new Hellcat.
It’s not even an SRT performance model.
What the Charger Scat Pack IS…is the introductory model release on the new Charger platform. This is the start. This is what future performance versions of the Charger will build upon. This is only the beginning. And with a 550 hp engine under the hood that’ll repeatedly rip off 0-60mph runs in 4.0 seconds flat, this a very good beginning.
The new design is gorgeous. I would go so far as to call it iconic. You can capture the essence of the design with three strokes of a pen. Simple. Bold. Clean. It’s more faithful to the original models and we love that. Every time I looked at it, it reminded me of the hit man’s car from the old Steve McQueen film “Bullitt.” Just classic looking. The last generation Charger and Challenger looked good, but they didn’t look quite right until they muscled up in the later SRT models. The Charger Scat Pack is an immensely desirable design right out of the box. The recessed front headlights and badge give an air of mystery. The long hood and smooth clean flanks signal unruffled strength. The thick and flowing buttresses behind the side windows are classic Charger. And the recessed tail lights and badge tie together with the front ones. The roof is tinted glass from the windshield header to behind the rear seat headrests. And instead of a traditional trunk, the rear window is part of a rear hatch that opens wide to swallow luggage, groceries, bicycles, and potentially the bodies of several mob victims. It’s a big car with a big car trunk.
And a big interior. The new interior is cleaner and simpler than the old Charger. The two Demonic Red front seats were color blocked in a black interior. The TFT screen for the driver’s information is clean and simple and the center TFT screen for navigation, climate control, and performance features is angled slightly towards the driver for his ease of use. The dash before the passenger is clean and empty. A squared off steering wheel provides a sporty touch and looks great. Helping highlight the red seats is red ambient lighting that emanates from the long driver’s door up around the driver’s binnacle, across the dash, and back down the passenger side door. It glows softly in the dark and gives it a special atmosphere. The back seats are also Demonic Red. It’s a very inviting interior. The front seats are heated and ventilated, decently bolstered, and comfortable. Being relegated to the back seat is usually a claustrophobic and unsatisfying proposition, but in the Charger the backseat might just have the best view. Open the door, let the front seat slide forward, step in, and settle in. Even with a 6’ 2” driver, there’s still plenty of leg room in the backseat. That’s something the old Charger couldn’t boast. Above you is a tremendous panoramic glass roof that blends with the windshield view for a truly panoramic view. It greatly reduces the claustrophobic feeling most cars have in the back seat.
Under the hood is Dodge’s new 3.0L twin-turbo SixPack HO. It’s a straight-six engine instead of a vee, and it’s smooth and powerful. It makes a very respectable 550hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. The torque comes on strong at 2000 rpm and builds all the way to 6000 rpms. It provides V8 power in a very small but very potent package. Except that it’s not a V8 and that creates a minor issue. If this engine has a downside, it’s the sound. It sounds decent when you’re winding it out, but it sounds…”sixish” otherwise. And that’s the biggest problem with the car: when you see the Charger, your brain expects a V8 rumble. Blame history. Hearing the SixPack’s sound creates a disconnect that your brain struggles to reconcile against what your eyes are seeing. But it’s a great engine. Smooth. Powerful. Quick.
The SixPack is hitched up to Dodge’s standard 8-speed automatic. Behind the steering wheel are manual shifting buttons – not paddle shifters per se, but an upshift button and downshift button. They work okay if you have long fingers but frankly, leave it in automatic and drive it. The automatic shifts are clean and quick. In fact, several passengers remarked on how quickly it shifted when running through the gears.
All that power is transmitted through an AWD system that primarily sends power to the rear wheels unless it senses wheel slippage or the need for extra traction. Dodge recognizes that while AWD makes for superior acceleration and safe handling in lousy weather, there are times that a driver wants to have some fun. In Sport mode, the AWD can be turned off and you can drift the back end out through corners or do doughnuts. Thank you, Dodge. We hooligans appreciate you.
The Scat Pack not being an SRT model, the only performance mode offered is Sport. It turns off the traction control, but unfortunately keeps the stability control on. There are two Race functions available – Line Lock and Launch Control. Line Lock locks the front brakes but not the back ones. This allows the rear wheels to spin for a good drag race start. And Launch Control, well, you can guess what that does.
And the Charger does it well. As I mentioned, we knocked off several consistent 4.0 second 0-60mph runs. 100mph followed in another 3 seconds. The Scat Pack scoots. Even when you’re not attempting drag race runs, the Charger Scat Pack is quick. Need to pass someone? Flex your toes against the accelerator and the car instantly surges ahead another 10mph. Plant your foot and it launches. The mid-range seems to be even stronger than the low-range.
The Charger is a fast, heavy car. A fast, heavy car needs strong brakes to stop it and Dodge fitted the Charger with large Brembo rotors and calipers. They do a fantastic job of scrubbing off speed and give the driver a strong confidence in their abilities. Stop after stop, they haul the car down from speed with fade-free precision.
The suspension is a bit of a mixed bag. The ride is acceptable but harsh on bad pavement and expansion joints. We really missed the always smooth, always comfortable magnetic shocks on the old SRT models. However they’re solid through corners, keeping the chassis flat and planted as you push harder on back roads. If I were to buy a new Charger, the first thing I’d shop for is a more performance-oriented set of coil-overs that would give me a more comfortable and more composed ride. Many customers may find it fine though. I’ve always been a bit of a suspension snob.
You may have noticed in the photos that the Charger is sporting a new logo. Gone is the Ram’s head, and in it’s place is the Dodge Fratzog badge. Do you recognize it? The tri-cornered Fratzog logo first appeared in 1962 and graced all Dodge’s cars until Dodge was absorbed into the Chrysler Corp and the Plymouth pentastar took it’s place. Given that it graced Dodge’s greatest muscle cars over the years, we’re happy to see it return. Frankly the Ram’s head didn’t make much sense since Fiat-Chrysler spun Ram Trucks off as it’s own brand.
The Charger advertises 19mpg and that’s roughly what we saw too. With frequent full-throttle acceleration runs. That’s pretty decent.
We weren’t sure what to expect with the new Charger Scat Pack but we came away impressed. Enough so that we were disappointed to have to give it back. The Charger Scat Pack is a serious and impressive start to a new generation of Chargers. If this is the beginning, we’re excited to see how the boys at SRT will build on it.
Performance: 7
Handling: 7
Design: 8
Interior: 8
Infotainment: 7
Sound: 6
Fun: 8
Overall: 7
