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Cars

Chrysler flexes its muscle

By ANN M. JOB, Associated Press
Published August 5, 2005

Dodge officials hope that American sedan buyers are hankering for some muscle.

Sure, the 2006 Dodge Charger features five seats in a decently roomy, four-door interior.

But what's distinctive is the Charger's muscle-car heritage, bold exterior styling and rear-wheel-drive configuration. And, yes, it has a Hemi V8 in some up-level versions.

With a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $22,995, the just-introduced Charger competes with other domestic family cars such as the 2005 Chevrolet Impala, which starts at $23,010, and the 2005 Ford Five Hundred, which starts at $26,965.

But note that the Impala and Five Hundred come with V6s only, while Dodge expects more than half the Chargers sold to have the company's 5.7-liter Hemi V8, which supplies at least 340 horsepower for the new sedan.

The Charger's Hemi engine and platform are already used by the hot-selling Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum cars and came to Dodge's parent company, DaimlerChrysler, from the luxury Mercedes brand. But the Charger is the first new Dodge-branded sedan in years. It's needed, the company says, because Dodge has become known for its bold trucks, SUVs and minivans, not for sedans.

The base Charger, the SE, and the mid-level SXT are powered by a standard, 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter, high-output, single overhead cam V6 that can generate 250 foot-pounds of torque at 3,800 rpm. Models with this engine post the best fuel economy rating of the Charger lineup - 19 miles per gallon in city driving and 27 mpg on the highway.

But even these ratings are lower than many competitors'. For example, the 2005 Impala with base V6 is rated at 21/32 mpg for city and highway driving, respectively.

Moving up to the Hemi V8 in the up-level Charger R/T and Daytona R/T doesn't help save gas.

Still, the sounds from the V8 - especially with the optional Road/Track performance group added on - are low and impressive, and the power is satisfying, just as expected in a modern day muscle car.

The test Charger, an R/T with Road/Track performance group option, rushed forward quickly, no matter if I was starting up from a traffic light or merging onto a freeway. Actually, I could get up to highway speeds while still on the entrance ramps. There's only one transmission for all Chargers: a five-speed automatic. But it includes a shift-it-yourself AutoStick for driving enthusiasts who'd prefer a manual.

In the test R/T, the AutoStick worked well to help me manage the V8 power, especially in congested traffic. And I appreciated that I didn't have to work a clutch pedal.

The R/T tester had a sport-tuned suspension, so I readily felt road bumps, including manhole covers. But they came through mostly as vibrations beneath me.

The exception: Pothole impacts at city speeds seemed to wriggle through the Charger.

The big, 18-inch, Michelin performance tires and shiny wheels conveyed noticeable weight at the corners, and the more than 4,000-pound Charger R/T sort of heaved heavily over speed bumps.

Overall, the Charger drove rather easily, and seats in the R/T were comfortable.

It offers decent leg room of 41.8 inches in front and 40.2 inches in back.

The Impala's comparison is 42.2/38.4 inches, front and back, respectively. The Five Hundred boasts 41.3 inches of leg room in both front and back seats.

Watch the headroom in the Charger, though. The car's design strives to give the look of a sleek coupe, so back-seat headroom tapers down and measures 36.2 inches. And the heads of rear-seat passengers tend to be beneath the rear window glass, not the roof.

The Five Hundred provides 2.5 more inches of rear-seat headroom than the Charger, and the Impala has 0.6 inch more.

Trunk space totals 16.2 cubic feet in the Charger, but people should watch that they don't bang their heads on the trunk latch. The trunk lid on the test car didn't go back far from the trunk opening, and because so much of the trunk space is under the rear window parcel shelf, it can be tricky reaching for items deep inside.

Dodge officials have been reluctant to project Charger sales volume, though they noted that 70 percent of American car buyers are still aware of the Charger name, even today, 28 years after production ended on Dodge's legendary muscle car of the 1960s and '70s.

Officials look for Hemis to be in a majority of Chargers sold.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the Charger five out of five stars for front-passenger protection in frontal crash testing. In a side crash test, the Charger earned four out of five stars for front-seat passenger protection and five out of five stars for rear-seat passenger protection.

- Next car reviews, in this order: 2005 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, 2006 Hyundai Sonata, 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata, 2006 Cadillac DTS.

BASE PRICE: $22,320 for base SE; $25,320 for SXT; $29,320 for R/T

AS TESTED: $32,800

TYPE: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, five-passenger, large sedan

ENGINE: 5.7-liter, Hemi V8 with multi-displacement system

MILEAGE: 17 (city), 25 (highway)

TOP SPEED: NA

LENGTH: 200.1 inches

WHEELBASE: 120 inches

CURB WEIGHT: 4,031 pounds

BUILT AT: Brampton, Ontario

OPTIONS: Road/track performance group (includes 18-inch, all-season performance Michelin tires, polished aluminum wheels, self-leveling shock absorbers, special steering gear, tuned exhaust and induction system) $1,600; convenience group II (includes dual-zone climate control and power front seats) $955; Inferno Red crystal pearl exterior paint $250.

[Last modified August 4, 2005, 08:43:14]