yomamma219
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2017
- Threads
- 32
- Messages
- 743
- Reaction score
- 148
- Location
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Vehicle(s)
- 2016 Mustang EB Premium Pony Pack "4HORSEMEN"
- Thread starter
- #1
So for the past week I was driving a rental Dodge Charger SXT while on vacation. Since I had it for a few days and got to do some spirited driving out in the Denver area I figured I'd give my thoughts on it compared to my personal 6-speed Ecoboost.
Engine/Drivetrain: I really was not a fan of the automatic transmission in the charger. I may just be too used to picking my own gears but I found the charger transmission very unpredictable. When merging on the highway and needing that last little acceleration to get to the correct speed I found the charger would drop gears too slowly and not in a very predictable manner. After 2 days I actually ended up putting it in manual mode for when I was merging or in other sticky situations (going up/down mountains) so that I could hold it in a lower gear. Not only did the tranny feel slow to response but I had forgotten what it was like to drive a NA vehicle. I was so used to the EB torque coming on strong and so low I forgot at first that I needed to be in much higher RPM to really feel the torque. To me the charger didn't really seem to have any steam what-so-ever until I got past the 4k rpm mark. This made me really appreciate the usefulness of the EB's low end torque for DD purposes. Overall I did enjoy the power the charger had on hand but it seems just a bit lacking which wasn't helped by the transmission's laggy-ness.
Handling/Suspension: The car is pretty big and definitely feels big. I am not one to squeal tires around every curve but I had no problem making my passengers very uncomfortable with my driving. The car rides smooth I thought. Smoother than my mustang which I would expect out of sedan/sports car comparison. The power assist steering modes seem less noticeably differentiated than the mustang's. Though it seemed like the comfort mode felt less... sloppy(?)... than my mustang in comfort mode. I definitely still prefer the sport steering mode of the mustang overall. I would say the biggest difference I noticed in feeling of handling is how the charger feels like there is sooo much car behind you compared to the mustang feeling like there's a lot of car in front of you. This is self explanatory though.
Interior: The dodge felt overall equal in cosmetic build quality although I wasn't analyzing everything in detail. I will say that I like the mustang gauges better but the screen in between the gauges on the dodge feels "cooler", although it definitely felt laggy when navigating it. It also doesn't feel as organized as the mustangs but I am sure I would get to know it just fine after extended use. The infotainment screen on dodge also feels "cooler" backed up by my girlfriend's similar opinion (although she was mostly amazed by the apple car play). Though it too seems less functionally organized. Once thing I did like was that there were a total of 4 USB ports in the car, 2 in the arm rest and 2 for the back seat. Another stupid thing is that I really liked the way the trunk opened and closed. It just felt smoother and easier; overall nicer than my mustang. I will say also that the interior was roomy enough for my girlfriend's 7 foot tall brother to be willing to sit in the passenger seat for our 90min road trip to the mountains instead of us taking his truck, though he didn't look that comfortable from my perspective.
In closing I will say I like the charger a lot and considered it while I was car shopping, before settling on the mustang. It's probably one of, if not, the only american sedans I would buy as I really like the look. Would I trade my mustang for it? Not a chance, as I don't have a frequent need for 4 functional seats right now. If I had kids (or friends ) to tote around I would be reconsidering though. Would love to drive one of the more powerful versions like the scat pack someday to see how it compares to the puny V6 I had.
Engine/Drivetrain: I really was not a fan of the automatic transmission in the charger. I may just be too used to picking my own gears but I found the charger transmission very unpredictable. When merging on the highway and needing that last little acceleration to get to the correct speed I found the charger would drop gears too slowly and not in a very predictable manner. After 2 days I actually ended up putting it in manual mode for when I was merging or in other sticky situations (going up/down mountains) so that I could hold it in a lower gear. Not only did the tranny feel slow to response but I had forgotten what it was like to drive a NA vehicle. I was so used to the EB torque coming on strong and so low I forgot at first that I needed to be in much higher RPM to really feel the torque. To me the charger didn't really seem to have any steam what-so-ever until I got past the 4k rpm mark. This made me really appreciate the usefulness of the EB's low end torque for DD purposes. Overall I did enjoy the power the charger had on hand but it seems just a bit lacking which wasn't helped by the transmission's laggy-ness.
Handling/Suspension: The car is pretty big and definitely feels big. I am not one to squeal tires around every curve but I had no problem making my passengers very uncomfortable with my driving. The car rides smooth I thought. Smoother than my mustang which I would expect out of sedan/sports car comparison. The power assist steering modes seem less noticeably differentiated than the mustang's. Though it seemed like the comfort mode felt less... sloppy(?)... than my mustang in comfort mode. I definitely still prefer the sport steering mode of the mustang overall. I would say the biggest difference I noticed in feeling of handling is how the charger feels like there is sooo much car behind you compared to the mustang feeling like there's a lot of car in front of you. This is self explanatory though.
Interior: The dodge felt overall equal in cosmetic build quality although I wasn't analyzing everything in detail. I will say that I like the mustang gauges better but the screen in between the gauges on the dodge feels "cooler", although it definitely felt laggy when navigating it. It also doesn't feel as organized as the mustangs but I am sure I would get to know it just fine after extended use. The infotainment screen on dodge also feels "cooler" backed up by my girlfriend's similar opinion (although she was mostly amazed by the apple car play). Though it too seems less functionally organized. Once thing I did like was that there were a total of 4 USB ports in the car, 2 in the arm rest and 2 for the back seat. Another stupid thing is that I really liked the way the trunk opened and closed. It just felt smoother and easier; overall nicer than my mustang. I will say also that the interior was roomy enough for my girlfriend's 7 foot tall brother to be willing to sit in the passenger seat for our 90min road trip to the mountains instead of us taking his truck, though he didn't look that comfortable from my perspective.
In closing I will say I like the charger a lot and considered it while I was car shopping, before settling on the mustang. It's probably one of, if not, the only american sedans I would buy as I really like the look. Would I trade my mustang for it? Not a chance, as I don't have a frequent need for 4 functional seats right now. If I had kids (or friends ) to tote around I would be reconsidering though. Would love to drive one of the more powerful versions like the scat pack someday to see how it compares to the puny V6 I had.
Sponsored