2006 Dodge Charger
Summary
The Dodge Charger is dead, long live the Dodge Charger. At least, that's how
the Dodge guys in Michigan hope fans of the Chrysler Group's performance brand
will receive the new Dodge Charger. While its namesake was a two-door hardtop,
and commonly, if not completely accurately, referred to as a coupe, the all-new
Charger is a four-door sedan, albeit styled somewhat deceptively to diminish
that fact.
Full Review 2006
The new Charger illustrates just how multi-talented and accomplished today's
high performance cars are compared to the uni-dimensional hot rods of
yesteryear. The Charger has all the pavement-ripping, gut-thumping power of the
old muscle cars, but is packaged with modern creature comforts and tempered by
startling levels of handling competency.
Trims and Styling 2006
The
2006 Dodge Charger comes in one body style, a four-door, five-passenger sedan.
Three engines are available, a 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6; a 340-hp, 5.7-liter
V8; and a 350-hp, 5.7-liter V8. The entry-level Charger is the SE, fitted with
the V6 ($22,320). Cloth upholstery is standard, but the SE isn't lacking in
creature and driver comforts. Among them: air conditioning; cruise control;
tilt-and-telescope steering wheel; soft-finish urethane-wrapped steering wheel
and shift knob; floor mats; power door locks, outside mirrors, windows and
remote trunk release; two power points; driver and passenger lumbar adjustment;
and AM/FM/CD stereo with auxiliary input jack. Steel wheels with bolt on covers
wear black sidewall, all-season, P215/65R17 tires. The Protection Group ($590)
adds front and rear side-curtain airbags, cabin air filtration and self-sealing
tires. SE option packages: The SE Convenience Group 1 adds an eight-way power
driver's seat and adjustable pedals ($505).
The Charger SXT ($25,320) comes with the V6 and upgraded features: An
eight-way power driver's seat, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob,
60/40 split folding rear seat with fold-down center armrest, Boston Acoustics
stereo with six speakers and 276-watt amplifier, fog lamps, trunk cargo net and
cast aluminum wheels. Options include leather-trimmed seats ($640), a power
sunroof ($950), power adjustable pedals ($125), six-disc CD changer and MP3
capability ($400), satellite radio with one-year subscription ($195), rear-seat
entertainment system ($1150), Bluetooth capability ($360). Also available:
18-inch polished aluminum wheels with P225/60R all-season tires coupled with a
sportier suspension ($325). In addition to the Protection Group and Smokers
Group, there's a Comfort Seating Group with heated front seats, leather-trimmed
bucket seats, power adjustable pedals and 8-way power front passenger seat
($1395).
The Charger R/T ($29,320) is a V8-powered, high-performance model. A
speedometer reading to 160 miles per hour replaces the 140-mph unit on the SXT
and SE. Front brake rotors add an inch in diameter to the SXT's and SE's 12.6
inches and spin between twin-piston calipers, and rear discs are vented. A tire
pressure monitoring system appears, and the 18-inch, polished aluminum wheels
become regular issue. Convenience Group II includes dual-zone, automatic climate
control; heated front seats; power adjustable pedals; 8-way power front
passenger seat; and one-touch, automatic up and down power windows with
anti-pinch auto-reverse ($955). The Electronics Convenience Group adds a
security alarm, programmable universal garage door opener, trip computer,
selectable vehicle information display, compass and a set of steering
wheel-mounted, redundant audio controls ($630). Behind the fun tab of the option
book is the Road/Track Performance Group, what some who remember the ultimate
stealth muscle car of the 1960s might call the Road Runner Edition, as in, more
go, less show: unique aluminum wheels with black accents, sportier steering,
self-leveling shocks, sport seats, performance suspension and, the kicker piece,
a tweaked V8 making 350 horsepower ($1600).
Exterior Design Cues
Knocked
off from the 1966 Dodge Coronet, and despite its fastback, two-door hardtop
styling, that Charger was somewhat blocky, with squared-off front end,
superficially sculpted slab sides and equally vertical backside. The 2006
Charger starts at much the same place on the automotive styling evolutionary
curve.
The same design team that parented the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum birthed
this new Charger. The Charger is built on the same platform as those two, but is
three inches longer overall. The Charger reportedly was planned all along to be
a sedan version of the Magnum.
The trademark Dodge crosshairs, chromed on the SXT and R/T, body-color in the
SE and SRT8 and flat black on the Daytona, dominate the front end. Fog lamps on
the SXT and higher models fill small, sculpted insets at the lower corners.
Hmmm. Oh, well. The rear perspective shows a tall, almost vertical backside,
with large taillights draped over the upper corners. On the SE and SXT a single
exhaust tip exits beneath the right-hand side, while the V8-powered models sport
chrome-tipped, muscle car-idiom, dual exhausts.
The Charger's styling is loosely reflected on NASCAR's Nextel Cup cars,
primarily seen in the crosshair grille and the painted-on taillights.
Interior Styling and Features
The
steering wheel, too, comes directly from the Magnum. Air conditioning registers
fill the top of the center stack, above the stereo/navigation display, with the
climate control panel properly positioned beneath that, all intuitively arrayed
and outfitted and within easy reach of the driver and front seat passenger.
Ex-navigation display center stacks have a small, horizontal cubby below the air
conditioning knobs and buttons.
Headlight switch and dash light rheostat are located in the dash next to the
driver's door, with the remote trunk release below. Thankfully, Dodge has not
adopted the Mercedes-Benz practice of parking the power seat adjustments high up
in the door panel but has placed them, much more intuitively, on the outboard
side of the seat bottom. The standard, fabric-covered seats are comfortable,
with adequate thigh support and side bolstering. Thanks to the sedan-spec
wheelbase, there's plenty of rear seat room, too, even with front seats at their
rearmost positions. No head restraint for the rear center seat is provided,
however, making this car better for four adults than five.
Visibility from the driver's seat is good, but suffers a bit from safety
measures and styling dictates. (The A-pillars are the posts between the
windshield and front side windows: the C-pillars are the posts between the rear
windscreen and rear side windows.)
The screen hides beneath a cover on the front center console when not in use,
then pivots up between the front seats for viewing. The 2006 Dodge Charger is a
fun drive, especially considering its size. It's a big, heavy, full-size sedan.
First Drive '06
All three engines deliver power smoothly. The Charger is quiet at that speed,
with very little wind or road noise. The Charger handled well along the winding,
two-lane back roads around Virginia International Raceway in southern Virginia
even when carrying speeds substantially in excess of the posted limits. The
Performance Group comes with fatter, stickier tires (P235/55R18 Michelin MXM4s)
and suspension tweaks that combine to reduce body lean in corners and quicken
turn-in response. The AutoStick transmission works equally well in either
Automatic or Manual mode. The Charger's brake hardware is shared with
Mercedes-Benz, but the software code for the stability program, brake assist and
traction control systems is written by and for Dodge. Mercedes engineers could
learn something from Dodge.
2006 Conclusions
The
2006 Dodge Charger is the latest in a remarkably long line of certain hits from
the Chrysler Group. For specs on the Charger, photos, and news go to
Dodge.com The new Charger has all the necessary ingredients, from
an impressive line of engines to state-of-the-art electronic technology to the
right mix of suspension and wheel-and-tire componentry to stand-out styling. So
what if it isn't a two-door coupe? We like it and think Dodge will sell everyone
it can build.