New Dodge Charger 2026 review: real US muscle makes some UK sense

Verdict

As well as being one of the most famous American muscle cars, the Charger is also one of the last. Only the Ford Mustang remains as a direct competitor, and the Dodge differentiates itself by being bigger, more practical and available with a choice of EV and petrol power. 

Its roominess is a plus but its sheer size holds it back on European roads; at more than 2m wide, it’s a big beast, and its weight has an impact on its dynamics, too. Nonetheless, this is a characterful car and a likeable one. In left-hand drive only, without availability in mainstream dealers, it’s a purchase for those who really want something out of the ordinary. They’ll find there’s plenty to like about the Charger but it’s likely to remain a rare sight on British roads. 

One of the USA’s most famous muscle cars, the Dodge Charger, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. It’s a timely birthday as it also marks the latest eighth-generation model’s introduction to Europe, including the UK, via official importers - with a choice of petrol or all-electric power. 

Choice is very much the word for this latest Charger, as it’s available with two or four doors, and its line-up from launch in Europe includes four different variants: two petrol and two electric. On the petrol side, the range kicks off with the 3.0-litre twin-turbo Charger R/T, with 420bhp and eight-speed auto transmission. Then there’s a more powerful Scat Pack version, which uses the same engine and gearbox but with various mechanical tweaks to up power to 550bhp. Electric Chargers are badged Daytona, with two electric motors and a 100.5kWh battery. The Daytona R/T has the equivalent of 536bhp and the Daytona Scat Pack 670bhp, making it the most powerful muscle car on sale today. It’s not necessarily been a car traditionalists have embraced, however. It has been a slow seller in the USA, where it’s been available for nearly two years. The pure petrol Charger has been introduced Stateside in the last few months, badged as the Sixpack, since it has six cylinders. 

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It sounds an awful lot like a V8, however. The new in-line six engine (which is shared with other Jeep and RAM models in parent company Stellantis’s stable) is more efficient and cleaner than the V8 engines in the previous Charger for emissions regulations, but Dodge has been at pains to give it some of the same character. Its sound is partially enhanced by the interior speakers and the majority of its ample torque is available from low revs, giving it a similar lazy and smooth but potent and brawny feel. 

All versions are all-wheel drive but can be switched into a pure rear-wheel-drive mode, a little like in some of BMW’s M cars. We sample the car on Stellantis’s test track at Balocco in Italy, as well as on the surrounding public roads. On track, it’s impressively quick in a straight line and nicely balanced in corners. You need to bear the weight in mind (around 2,100kg) but the long wheelbase gives predictable handling, and in RWD mode the Charger is an intuitive and enjoyable car. 

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On the road, too, the Charger handles well and is a smooth, comfortable drive - although its sheer size makes it a little unwieldy on narrow country roads. It’s been given a wide body for presence as well as a broad footprint for grippy handling, and is more than 2m wide and 5.2m long. If you can find a space big enough, camera displays on the big central touchscreen make parking relatively straightforward. 

All European cars get the largest digital instrument package (optional in the States) with configurable displays. There’s also configurable interior lighting with a choice of 64 colours. The interior has been designed to be much closer to European cars in appearance and quality than the old Charger’s more dated cabin, but there are still a lot of hard plastics and it won’t give Audi designers too many sleepless nights. 

It is certainly roomy, however, with more space in the back than the discontinued Challenger model it indirectly replaces and the new option of rear doors. Although the Charger looks like it has a traditional saloon shape its boot is actually accessed by a hinged, hatchback-style tailgate, which Dodge dubs a ‘hidden hatch’. The rear seats can be folded near-flat and there’s 1,064 litres of space when they’re dropped. 

Curiously, the electric Daytona version sounds an awful lot like a V8, too. It uses a system Dodge calls the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, with speakers and passive radiators to produce an artificial sound aping a rumbly V8. It’s very loud, and also very entertaining – up to a point. 

You may find you wish to switch it off after a while but it does help give some context to how quickly you’re going. This can be very quickly indeed in the most powerful Scat Pack version, which delivers impressive straight-line speed performance. 

We sampled its Drag Strip mode on Balocco’s test track, and its Drift Mode on the skid pan, where it proves intuitive and entertaining to drive, though less natural in feel than the petrol car. 

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It’s an easy car to drive smoothly on the road, however, avoiding the hair-trigger acceleration of some other performance EVs. The paddles used for manual-mode gearchanges in the Sixpack cars can be used to change the level of regenerative braking in the Daytona as per many other EVs, and it’s an intuitive system to get used to.   

The Charger is not being sold in Europe through the normal Stellantis dealer network but instead distributed through importer partner KW Automotive. It will be available at two retailers in the UK, in Essex and Oxford respectively, but there won’t be a right-hand-drive version. 

Prices, excluding local registration and taxes, will start at £62,688 for the two-door Sixpack R/T. The equivalent electric Daytona will start at £77,067. Scatpack variants of all will cost around £4,000 more and four-door versions will likewise cost a small amount more.

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