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Road Test: 2014 Dodge Charger SRT
Car Reviews

Road Test: 2014 Dodge Charger SRT

·
July 24,2013
·
7 min read

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For the history buff, an icon would bring to mind George Washington. For the foodie, an icon would bring to mind Michelin Stars. For automobile fanatics like ourselves, an icon would be no less than a spectacular muscle car.  If you thought of anything except American muscle, shame on you. We had managed to get our hands on one of America’s most loved muscle cars, the 2013 Dodge Charger SRT and it was time to put this beast through some real tests. 

Firstly, for all those readers who may be unaware or uncertain of what exactly SRT means, it is an abbreviation used by the Chrysler Group and stands for “Street and Racing Technology”. Apart from the Dodge Charger, you can expect to find SRT versions of the luxurious Chrysler 300, the monstrous Dodge Challenger and the mighty Jeep Grand Cherokee. 

So what had we just got? We just got a beefy muscle car that was further tuned to offer optimum street and racing performance. I think it’s clear now as to why I was so excited to spend an entire weekend with the Dodge Charger SRT.

Style

From the exterior, the Charger SRT looks significantly different from the standard Charger. For starters the SRT wears a massive gloss black grille upfront, a performance sculpted hood with air vents to aid engine cooling, 6.4 litre HEMI badges on the fenders and finally a scattering of SRT badges both on the exterior and interior – just a constant reminder that you’re seated in a SRT. 

The Charger SRT is, in its simplest form, a very handsome car. With ample swoops and lines running through the body, coupled with a neat rear spoiler and stunning 20” lightweight aluminum wheels, the Charger SRT is the perfect recipe for a head turner. Take a walk to the rear though and you’ll notice the signature “racetrack” tail lamp comprising of a whopping 164 LED’s. Did I like the design? No, and quite frankly you either love it or hate it, there’s no middle ground. 

Interior Features

Unlock the door and feast your eyes on the stereotypical sports car red leather interior. Both driver and front passenger receive large well bolstered ventilated seats covered in a combination of Nappa leather and Axis perforated suede while proudly flaunting SRT embroidered badges on the seat backs. Rear leg room is enough to seat two adults comfortably. 

The leather wrapped steering wheel is well weighted, just the right size, flattened on the bottom, contoured in the 9-3 position and housed a chrome section featuring the SRT badge. On the back of the steering wheel, there’s a button party going on. Apart from 2 rather small paddle shifters, there are 6 buttons to control the radio! That’s nearly as many buttons as there are on the front of the steering wheel. Except that since they are on the back, you can’t see them and need to memorize them and that’s something I didn’t have the time or patience for. 

The centre console houses the segments largest 8.4” colour touch screen that displays a variety of information ranging from vehicle statistics to radio stations and the map. Since this was an SRT, we could view a ton of interesting information such as 0 – 100 km/h sprint times, braking distances, lateral and longitudinal G – forces, horsepower and torque outputs and steering angles! I spent a fair amount of time and over a quarter tank of fuel trying time and time again to improve my 0 – 100 km/h and 0 – 200 km/h time. The Charger SRT also comes fitted with a banging Alpine sound system with 19 speakers and 12 channel surround 900 watt amplifier that truly sounds iconic and is sure to satisfy the music buffs. 

You’d also be disappointed to find the spare tire placed above the boot floor as this means the Charger SRT is incapable of holding a lot more than a couple of tissue boxes in its boot. Compare that to the Jaguar XFR and you'll find more 'junk in the trunk' credentials.

Safety Features

In terms of safety, the Charger SRT packs a whole bunch of tricks up its sleeves. For starters, it possesses segment exclusive Ready Alert Braking and Rain Brake Support. The Ready Alert Braking system anticipates when the driver quickly releases the accelerator pedal and may initiate an emergency brake stop. The electronic stability control pump then engages to set the brake pads against the rotors, speeding up the time required for full brake application. In addition to standard active head restraints for the driver and front seat passenger, the Charger is equipped with full-length side-curtain air bags, driver’s knee air bag and standard front seat-mounted side-thorax air bags. Additionally the SRT comes with Rear Camera and Rear Park Assist. Though the Rain Brake Support may be used just once during the year in the UAE, it’s good to know that come rain or shine; you’re in safe hands with the Charger SRT. 

Drive Performance

Moving on to the most anticipated part of the review, the performance frontier. The Charger SRT is fitted with a massive 6.4 litre HEMI V8 that is good for a tire shredding 470 horsepower and 637 Nm of torque. All those horses working together gave us test figures for 0 – 100 km/h time of 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 280 km/h. 

With the current trend of manufacturers racing to provide more gears than seats in their cars, I was a little surprised to discover the Charger SRT came equipped with only a 5 speed transmission. However, it wasn’t long before I figured out the benefits of this. Since there were only 5 gears, each gear provided a significant amount of speed before the need to change arose. Also, unlike cars that are fitted with 7 or 8 speed transmissions, you don’t find yourself having to downshift five times before you’re capable of receiving some head pinning acceleration. 

Speaking of head pinning acceleration, I came across something rather interesting while waiting at a traffic light as well. Little did I know that switching the traction control off and back on would enable launch control. However, after this discovery, there was no stopping me. Here is one of our rough test clips: 

In case for any strange reason you considered how practical this car was to live with while reading this review, you’d be delighted to know the Charger SRT offers cruise control. However, you must be warned that it is a little wonky. I noticed it always does 2km/h extra on top of what you set it at. Keep that in mind because I’m sure you don’t want to feel like a celebrity with cameras flashing at you on the highway.

Adaptive Damping Suspension (ADS) also makes its way into the 2013 Charger SRT. The ADS offers the driver 3 suspension settings and accordingly adjusts the car to offer a comfortable or more enthusiastic drive. Drivers can choose from Normal, Sport or Track modes. Although Sport just adjusts the firmness of the suspension, Track mode firms up the suspension further and also adds a gear “holding” feature which allows the driver complete control over the gearshifts even when the engine is screaming at 6,000 RPM! With absolutely brilliant cornering capabilities and quick gear shifts in track mode, I was a tad disappointed with how bouncy and unstable the Charger SRT was when travelling in a straight line at speeds in excess of 220 km/h. I must admit those speeds are rarely reached in regular driving but for the sake of testing, the driver in me had to find out. 

Verdict

As the weekend came to a close and my time with the Charger was up, I couldn't help but reminisce on my time with one of the best cars I have driven in 2013, the Nissan 370z. Though the Charger had an engine nearly twice the size of the 370z and packed in an extra 142 horsepower, the 370z provided something the Charger lacked, a fun personality.

In terms of drive, I felt the 370z provided a more engaging and fun drive. The Charger is strong and silent with a "don't mess with me" persona. It was fascinating to discover the 370z's Nissan Sport brakes felt stronger than the Charger's Brembos and the 370z could do a 0-100km/h sprint in 5.9 seconds, a shade lower than the mighty 6.4L Charger SRT at 5.3 seconds. 

End of the day, the Dodge Charger SRT is the best muscle car in its price range. It offers a lot more performance and 3 more seats of practicality than its rivals for a few thousands more. Having said that, for AED 40,000 less, the 370z is a fun bargain worth considering too. 

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