After an 18-year run, the Dodge Charger as we have come to know it is about to go away. Corporate parent Stellantis has announced that the 2023 model year is the current version’s last. In the future, in place of the muscular-looking, Throwback Thursday-worthy gas-powered 4-door sedan, the company will produce an all-electric car based on the recently unveiled 2-door Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept that advances the company’s drive to achieve a smaller carbon footprint.
The 2023 model year marks an encore presentation for the Dodge brand’s improbable reincarnation of the 4-door muscle car. Loosely based on a late-1990s Mercedes-Benz E-Class platform, the Charger has functioned since 2006 as a critical pillar of Dodge’s performance image, offering retro Hemi V8 power and tire-smoking rear-wheel-drive (RWD) fun with ample room for five.
Aside from rejiggering option packages, new colors, and adding a handful of special-edition models, 2023’s Charger content is the same as the 2022 version. There is no new safety or driver-assistive tech or updates to the Charger’s already more-than-adequate Uconnect infotainment system.
For the 2023 model year, the Charger is available in seven trim levels: SXT, GT, R/T, R/T Scat Pack, R/T Scat Pack Widebody, SRT Hellcat Widebody Jailbreak, and SRT Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak. Rear-wheel drive is standard on all trims; the V6-powered SXT and GT are available with all-wheel drive (AWD). Pricing ranges from $34,240 for the SXT with RWD to $91,030 for the SRT Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak. Pricing includes the $1,595 destination fee.
Among the dwindling number of full-size cars from mainstream brands competing with the Charger and its corporate twin—the Chrysler 300—this year are the Kia Stinger, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Crown, and Volkswagen Arteon.
Previously, JD Power reviewed the 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody. This review focuses on the Charger’s updates for 2023 and how they potentially impact its overall appeal to consumers.
Photo: Ron Sessions
The Dodge Charger competes in the Large Car market segment. According to data collected from verified new-vehicle buyers for the JD Power 2022 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, 64 percent of new Large Car buyers are male (vs. 62 percent for the industry), and the median age of a new Large Car buyer is 65 years (vs. 54).
As part of the APEAL Study, owners rated the Large Car segment in 10 primary categories. Listed below in descending order, you’ll find their preferences, from their most favorite thing about the vehicle to their least favorite:
In the following sections, our independent expert analyzes a Charger R/T Scat Pack Widebody equipped with the following options:
The test vehicle’s price was $65,995, including the $1,595 destination charge.
Photo: Ron Sessions
The 2023 model year is more than just another trip around the sun for the Dodge brand’s bodacious fossil-fuel-swilling 4-door muscle car. Instead, it’s the end of an era, or as Dodge puts it, the “Last Call.”
So, aside from a few new colors and the swapping of content in option packages, what’s new for the 2023 Charger is a lineup of Hemi V8-powered special-edition models that commemorate the brand’s freewheeling, gas-guzzling, tire-smoking past.
All special-edition models have a brushed-aluminum underhood plaque with the Charger’s side profile. It includes notations of where Dodge designed the Charger (Auburn Hills, Michigan) and the location of its assembly (Brampton, Ontario, Canada).
So far, Dodge has announced the Charger Super Bee, Charger Swinger, and Charger King Daytona. In addition, Dodge promises more special-edition variants are on the way.
The least dear of the 2023 Dodge Charger special-edition models is the Super Bee. Based on the R/T Scat Pack trim, the Super Bee is available in standard-width and Widebody configurations. Highlights of the Super Bee include an SRT hood with heat extractors and functional air scoop, hood pins, Super Bee badges and body graphics, 20-inch knurled wheels with 275mm drag radials (standard-width body), 18-inch drag-racing wheels and 315mm radial tires (Widebody), 4-piston Brembo brakes with red calipers, and adaptive damping with drag-racing mode. Dodge prices the standard-width version at $63,400 and the Widebody version at $68,895, including destination.
Next on the special-edition Charger price ladder is the Swinger. Grabbing a name last used on mid-1970s Dodge Darts, the automaker bases the Swinger on the Charger R/T Scat Pack Widebody. Swinger content includes gold Scat Pack badging and Swinger body graphics, 20x11-inch gold-finish alloy wheels, 6-piston front and 4-piston rear Brembo brakes with black calipers, leather and Alcantara-trimmed seats with green stitching, and green interior accent stitching. The Swinger Special Edition retails for $71,285, including destination.
The priciest (so far) Charger special edition is the King Daytona. Built on the SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody, this special edition takes its inspiration from the beak-nosed, winged 1969 Charger Daytona. King Daytona content includes Go Mango paint, satin-finish black vinyl decklid graphic and spoiler, hood pins, an 807-horsepower, supercharged Hellcat Hemi V8 engine, 20x11-inch alloy wheels, 6-piston front and 4-piston rear Brembo brakes with orange calipers, leather and Alcantara-trimmed seats with orange stitching, suede headliner, Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, and carbon-fiber dash trim. The bottom line for the King Daytona is $100,015, including destination.
What all of the Last Call special editions have in common is Hemi V8 power. For nearly two decades, Dodge has tethered its brand image to its tire-smoking, Hemi-roaring, bad-boy muscle cars.
Although the majority of current- and recent-issue Dodge Chargers you see on the road are the more basic V6-powered models or police cruisers and other government-service fleet vehicles, the ones that grab your eye (and ear) are the R/T, Scat Pack, Hellcat, and other raucous Hemi V8-powered muscle sedans.
The formula is simple: big cubic inches, rear-wheel drive, and fat rubber. Poor-weather traction? A 4-wheel-drive SUV or pickup parked next to the Charger is for that.
Here’s a quick summary of what V8 power is available in the 2023 Charger. Each Hemi V8 teams with a beefed-up 8-speed automatic transmission; Dodge doesn’t offer a manual gearbox in any Charger.
Dodge equips the Charger R/T with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8. That’s 345 cubic inches in vintage muscle car parlance. It produces an ample 370 hp and 395 pound-feet of torque. While the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 in the Charger SXT and GT comes close with as much as 300 hp, it can’t match the V8’s lusty, muscle-car rumble and abundant, easily accessible torque. Moreover, the 5.7-liter Hemi is the only one that can run on less-expensive regular unleaded fuel, although Dodge recommends midgrade unleaded for best performance. EPA-estimated combined city/highway fuel economy is a lackluster 19 mpg, the best among the Hemi V8 offerings, but few Charger R/T buyers will likely notice.
Next up on the Hemi hit parade and standard with the R/T Scat Pack is the 6.4-liter (392 cubic-inch) V8 with 485 hp and 475 pound-feet of torque. That’s Corvette Stingray LT2 territory, and with the Widebody configuration, the Scat Pack grips the pavement with Corvette-worthy 305mm section-width rubber. The Charger Scat Pack can launch from rest to 60 mph by my stopwatch in just under 4 seconds. Of course, the 392 and all higher-output Hemi engines require premium unleaded fuel.
Since the 2015 model year, the Charger has been available with the potent, supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi, affectionately known as the Hellcat V8. For 2023, it has three iterations, one producing 717 hp and 650 pound-feet of torque in the SRT Hellcat Widebody Jailbreak, another punching out 797 hp and 707 pound-feet in the SRT Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak, and a recalibrated Redeye version for the six-figure King Daytona Special Edition rated at 807 hp. One more thing: the Hellcat V8’s supercharger adds a ballistic, high-pitched whine to the raucous exhaust note under full song to the Charger’s performance drama.
Photo: Ron Sessions
After 18 years, one would think that Dodge had already rolled out every possible color, trim, and equipment variation for the current version of the Charger. But in a year with no new mechanical changes, the brand is offering multiple paths to creating someone’s one-of-a-kind muscle car with Widebody and Daytona packages, stripes, graphics, and more.
On the top-of-the-line Hellcat Jailbreak models, Dodge is opening the order guide to add exclusive bespoke interior and exterior color and trim combinations, including “Brass Funky” and “Old School.”
New colors channeling the Dodge brand’s late 1960s and early 1970s past include B5 Blue, Plum Crazy, and Sublime. The wordplay is an intentional wink to a 2023 Charger color palette that also includes Go Mango, Triple Nickel, Octane Red, TorRed, Sinamon Stick, Destroyer Gray, Pitch Black, White Knuckle, and more— 14 in all.
The 2023 Charger in the photos and the one I drove for a week is an R/T Scat Pack Widebody with a base price before options of $54,835, plus the $1,595 destination charge. For someone looking to add a significant legacy muscle car to their collection, it’s a hell of a bargain.
With a minimally muffled 6.4-liter naturally aspirated Hemi under its hood and close to 500 hp on tap, the Scat Pack Widebody hints at the flavor of late 1960s and early 1970s 4-door muscle cars. Still, it is so much better in every conceivable way. Not only is it quick down the quarter-mile like those vintage muscle cars, but it also turns and stops with the best modern sport sedans and offers supportive seating in the right places and all-day comfort.
Looking at it another way, for little more than half the price of a full-boat Charger Hellcat Redeye but with the majority of the Hellcat’s go-fast hardware such as the Widebody chassis, massive 305mm tires, 6-piston front Brembo brakes, and drag-racing tech such as Line lock, Launch Assist, Launch Control, and more, the Charger R/T Scat Pack Widebody offers a genuine big-inch Hemi V8 experience with under-4-second zero-to-60-mph capability.
When provoked, the R/T Scat Pack is a raging bull, full of sound and fury. But also, when equipped with adaptive damping as included with the Widebody package, the car offers a pleasantly compliant ride quality when just cruising around. The Corvette-size 305mm Pirelli Zero performance tires provide plenty of grip, and the electric power steering is reasonably quick, although road feedback is lacking.
If there’s one area the Scat Pack Widebody could improve, it’s in driver assistance. Adaptive cruise control is unavailable on the Scat Pack Widebody or the Hellcat cars, which can be a real drag on long interstate slogs. Also, a front park-assist system, unavailable on any Charger model, would be a big help because the front spoiler tends to snag parking-lot dividers and curbs, and the bulging hood prevents the driver from seeing how close that low-hanging nose is to other vehicles and walls. These are likely all things Dodge will address when it introduces an all-new electric Charger next year.
Photo: Ron Sessions
How do you summarize the last version of a well-sorted fossil-fueled muscle car? Well, it’s been a great ride. With stompin’ available Hemi V8 power and lots of attitude, the 2023 Dodge Charger goes out with a roar.
Dodge has already revealed the next chapter in the 2-door Dodge Charger Daytona SRT electric vehicle (EV) concept. From a sheer design standpoint, it’s a home run with design cues inspired by the 1968-70 Dodge Charger fastback coupe.
Dodge promises the next-gen Charger will be even quicker than the current Hellcat. That’s not too surprising, as many EVs offer quick acceleration due to the instantly available torque from their electric motors. How will the electric Charger handle carrying another 1,000 pounds of battery weight? And how will the Charger EV feel or sound? Dodge is already ahead of that question with a proposed multi-speed transmission that will give the sensation of shifting gears and an innovative, pipe-organ-like sound generator at the rear to mimic the gas-powered version’s exhaust. So, we’ll see if the piped-in sound and shifting-gears sensation of tomorrow’s electric Charger is convincing or necessary as we move to a lower-carbon future.
Ron Sessions is a seasoned vehicle evaluator with more than three decades of experience. He has penned hundreds of road tests for automotive and consumer websites, enthusiast magazines, newsletters, technical journals, and newspapers.
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