The Dodge Charger EV is a toupee on wheels — a silent ride equipped with roaring fake engine noises so you can reassure neighbors that just because you went electric doesn't mean you lost your virility.
What they're saying: "Dodge wins when we do different things," says Dodge senior vice president Kevin Hellman, head of product for the automaker's performance SRT division.
- "While other BEVs make sounds to make sure they meet all the pedestrian requirements, no one has leaned into it as much — or maybe as obnoxiously — as we have."
Yes, but: The problem isn't the noise. It's the execution.
- Why make a good car, Dodge leadership seemed to have concluded, when you can simply make a loud one?
- The first electric Charger that Dodge sent me, a two-door entry-level version called the R/T, was a disaster.
- For all its muscle car aesthetics, it steered like a bus and accelerated like a bicycle.
- It also completely bricked early one morning when I tried muting the sound so as not to wake my sleeping family or next-door neighbors.
What they're saying: "I can promise you, on the backside, we do everything we can to ensure that experiences like yours are very unique and hopefully don't happen at all," Hellman says.
State of play: I wasn't the only one to have such problems.
Catch up quick: Dodge's media team rushed to send an upgraded four-door Charger Daytona Scat Pack to my driveway that didn't have the same software bug.
- This second draft — much to my surprise — complicated my feelings about Dodge. Or at least the electric Charger.
Zoom in: The Scat Pack at first seems to honor Dodge's long-forgotten history of pushing limits.
- But it's surprisingly practical, with oceans of room for passengers and cargo.
- "It's an action-alibi," Hellman says. "You don't have to give up driving a cool car to have kids."
Reality check: In improving the debut R/T's anemic driving experience, Dodge slashed the Charger's driving range from a respectable 308 miles to 241 miles.
- That might have been excusable in the first generation of EVs. It's difficult to justify at this premium price, let alone when three-row SUVs shaped like sub sandwiches now reach well over 300 miles.
"We could've gone for a larger battery; we could've made choices for motor sizing or voltage level," Hellman says.
- "Like any program, there's a balance of inputs and design considerations to make sure you have the appropriate pricing and competitiveness."
Bottom line: This is a bad decision I could talk myself into — maybe the clearest sign of all that Dodge, as only Dodge can, has found a way to embody America's muscle car heritage in an electric vehicle.
Driving the Charger Scat Pack
Dodge arranged for a fully-charged four-door Charger Daytona Scat Pack to be dropped off at my house outside Providence, R.I.
Why it's the BFD: I startled folks in driveways and parking lots all over town. And against my better instincts, started to like this car.
By the numbers:
- Base price: $61,995
- Price as tested: $79,360
- Range: 241 miles — the worst among any current model-year EV in the U.S., per Edmunds.
- Charge time: About 25 minutes from 20% to the recommended 80%. Roughly standard these days.
Liked:
- Wonderful retro-modern muscle car aesthetic.
- Cavernous interior and trunk.
- Assertive acceleration and handling.
Disliked
- Fake sounds aim for Daytona, deliver Dave & Buster's.
- Indefensible battery range, especially at this price.
- Dodge's fraught relationship with reliability.
Bottom line: Skip paying sticker. But if you can find a deal — for my risk-tolerance, 50% or more — it's a smile-inducing, school dropoff-bragging steal.
Parents' corner
The Charger in certain respects is one of the most usable — and fun — four-doors I've driven.
Why it matters: You can comfortably fit more in here than in some SUVs.
Plus: It's a lot more fun to look at.
Between the lines: That's good news for kids and grownups alike, especially any stiff-jointed grandparents who might be riding in the backseat.
Reality check: At the recommended 80% battery level, you're not traveling much farther than a fully charged Fiat 500e.
Diverging paths
Sales figures for the Dodge Charger EV are a puzzle.
The big picture: The vehicle last year outsold EV mainstays like the Porsche Taycan — but even with that success recorded a measly 7,421 sales.
Yes, but: Sales accelerated as the year went on — perhaps reflecting the revisions made with the four-door EV.
What they're saying: "We're pretty happy with that number," Dodge's Hellman says.
The latest: Dodge seems to be hedging its bets.
- It isn't yet discontinuing the Charger EV. It also didn't invest in many fnew features for the 2026 model year, beyond a shift to the Tesla-based NACS charging port. The company meanwhile revived the gas alternative.
- "As you look at where the EV market is and customer demand," Hellman says, "we will see how that shifts, natural demand moving forward."
What we're watching: We're keeping an eye on sales, and whether Dodge keeps the EV model around.
