A 292-hp, 3.6-liter V6 engine is standard in the Charger SE and SXT models, while the Charger SRT8 is equipped with a 470-hp, 6.4-liter V8. Both engines drive the car’s rear wheels, and all-wheel drive (AWD) is optional with the V6.
Charger R/T trims can also be optioned with AWD and contain a 5.7-liter V8 rated to make 370 hp at 5,250 rpm and 395 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm. Fuel Saver technology is designed to operate the engine on 4 of its 8 cylinders under low-load driving conditions in order to conserve fuel.
My Daytona Edition test car included the Road & Track Package, which adds magnesium paddle shifters for the 5-speed automatic transmission, a performance exhaust system, a 3.06 rear axle ratio and a high-speed engine controller. Additionally, the Super Track Pak includes a 3-mode traction and stability control system, heavy-duty brakes, performance steering and a performance suspension.
The first thing I noticed about the Charger Daytona is that the throttle is very sensitive right off the line, making the car leap forward if you’re not careful. Until you acclimate to this, your driving style simply serves to confirm whatever stereotypes other motorists might have about a Charger owner. Stomp on the gas, and the Daytona sounds terrific as it rushes effortlessly to speed, the transmission delivering authoritative upshifts.
According to Dodge, the Charger Daytona accelerates to 60 mph in just over 5 seconds and covers the quarter-mile in less than 14 seconds. That’s fast for a car weighing more than 4,250 pounds, and the good news is that the Charger Daytona isn’t good only in a straight line. It can handle, too.
Plenty of the credit goes to the enormous 20-inch wheels and, mounted to my test car, the sticky Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar performance tires. Grip is extraordinary, and the performance-tuned suspension nearly eliminates body roll, squat and dive. The traditional hydraulic rack-and-pinion steering is alive in the driver’s hands, thrumming and vibrating to communicate what’s happening at the front tire’s contact patches. During a long, twisty descent from 1,845 feet in elevation to sea level, the Charger Daytona’s upgraded brakes proved fade free on a hot testing day.
As accomplished as the Charger Daytona’s hardware might be, this is a big car, and it is not easy to drive fast on narrow, twisting mountain roads with blind corners and warning signs advising speeds of no more than 15 mph. The car’s bus-size steering wheel certainly doesn’t help in this regard. Rather, the Charger Daytona is more at home on higher-speed straights and sweeping turns, recalling the racetrack that is its namesake.
Around town, once you get used to the jumpy accelerator pedal, the Charger Daytona is almost docile. The stout brakes grab a little bit just as the car rolls to a stop, and the stiff suspension jiggles man boobs enough to counteract the Daytona’s testosterone-replacement side effects, but those giant wheels and tires steamroll over minor cracks and bumps in the pavement like they don’t exist.
Additionally, the Charger does a surprisingly good job of isolating occupants from noise, vibration and harshness at lower speeds, proving unexpectedly quiet unless you’re accelerating hard. Visibility is better than might be expected, too, and the car is rather nimble in parking lots thanks in part to a tight turning radius.
Out on the highway, wind noise is evident at speeds above 60 mph, but this car effortlessly cruises at 80, occupants comfortable and well isolated from most sources of road noise.