Hello BITOG. Rented a 2016 Dodge Charger RT with the 5.7 Hemi a few weeks ago. Thought I'd do a short review.
Some specs on the car:
5.7 liter V8, 16 valve OHV~370hp, 395 lb/ft torque
8 speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters
I believe the curb weight on the RT to be around 4,400 pounds (can't find exact number anymore)
20" wheels wrapped with BFG 245/45ZR20 all the way around
Those are just of the main details of the car. I rented this car from Hertz. I put exactly 1,945 miles on this vehicle while I had it over the course of 7 days. When I picked up the Charger, it had right around 10,000 miles on the clock. I traveled to Nashville, Atlanta, VA Beach, so quite a bunch of hills the whole trip. For the most part, I had a good experience with this car.
The Charger had many high points in my book. The engine, for me was the greatest part of the car. It sounded amazing, had plenty of power to move the boat it is strapped into, and when driven around conservatively, it achieved great fuel mileage for its size. The 5.7 liter V8 has plenty of low end grunt, and it makes power, seemingly, to redline. I will say that I did have to leave a set of 11s at my favorite little spot on some back roads. Traction control is fully defeatable, so that made it easy to light 'em up. I was surprised at the fuel economy, my best run on one tank of fuel was 31.7 MPG. Strictly interstate, cruise control set at 65 and with the help of the multi displacement system cutting out a few of the cylinders until all 8 are needed again. In 8th gear, at 65, the engine was only turning over roughly 1300rpm. I did notice that the MDS does not work in manual mode in top gear, or any gear or speed for that matter. Around town, fuel economy was relatively poor. I did not measure just around town mpg, but I suspect it to be very low. Maybe, low teens. Although, driving like a 16 year old from light to light didn't help! The 8 speed auto also was a positive for me. A little slow to shift in manual mode, and some hard shifts, but I wasn't too upset about it. Also, the cloth interior was large, and for the most part, pretty darn comfortable. The Sirius radio, and Uconnect Bluetooth worked well. The car also had plenty of USB ports for the whole family to keep their devices charged on a long trek. There is also plenty of space to fold down the rear seats and carry a lot of gear. I filled the back of the car with a small kitchen table, toaster over, two chairs, two totes, a printer, and some other small stuff. Like I said, plenty of room.
The Charger had plenty of high points, but I was also disappointed with a few things. The Charger had been smoked in. I thought for sure that there was no smoking permitted in rental cars, but oh well. It didn't bother me too much but it did bother some of my various passengers. Hertz said the only thing they could do for me was swap it out for a Volkswagen Beetle, so I passed on that. Another thing that was disappointing was that the car had a tire out of balance, or one that was irregularly worn. At least that is what I think. Also, right before I turned it in, I noticed a howling like sound, maybe a wheel bearing? The car also needed brakes. From any speed, really, the car would vibrate when applying the brakes. It was worse coming down from interstate speeds. It was pretty annoying to say the least. The car also needed an oil change. When I picked it up, it was down to 5% oil life. It drove me crazy the whole time, but I kept telling myself it wasn't my car. Poor car, I pointed it out to the attendant when I turned it back in though. The road noise was pretty loud in the car too, but not in anyway that would make it hard to have a conversation though. I'm sure the tires didn't help. I was pretty disappointed in the handling of the car, but it is a boat, so, yeah. Last thing, although the interior was comfortable, the interior plastics were pretty typical FCA stuff. Cheap looking and feeling, and starting to develop rattles...at 10,000 miles.
Overall impression of the Charger is good. It's a great highway cruiser. It's comfortable, and powerful. Would I buy one? No, but I wouldn't personally be caught shopping for a large sedan currently. Would I pick one over other domestic full size choices such as the Impala or Taurus? Yes, except a Taurus SHO, I like those a lot
Thanks for reading!
Some specs on the car:
5.7 liter V8, 16 valve OHV~370hp, 395 lb/ft torque
8 speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters
I believe the curb weight on the RT to be around 4,400 pounds (can't find exact number anymore)
20" wheels wrapped with BFG 245/45ZR20 all the way around
Those are just of the main details of the car. I rented this car from Hertz. I put exactly 1,945 miles on this vehicle while I had it over the course of 7 days. When I picked up the Charger, it had right around 10,000 miles on the clock. I traveled to Nashville, Atlanta, VA Beach, so quite a bunch of hills the whole trip. For the most part, I had a good experience with this car.
The Charger had many high points in my book. The engine, for me was the greatest part of the car. It sounded amazing, had plenty of power to move the boat it is strapped into, and when driven around conservatively, it achieved great fuel mileage for its size. The 5.7 liter V8 has plenty of low end grunt, and it makes power, seemingly, to redline. I will say that I did have to leave a set of 11s at my favorite little spot on some back roads. Traction control is fully defeatable, so that made it easy to light 'em up. I was surprised at the fuel economy, my best run on one tank of fuel was 31.7 MPG. Strictly interstate, cruise control set at 65 and with the help of the multi displacement system cutting out a few of the cylinders until all 8 are needed again. In 8th gear, at 65, the engine was only turning over roughly 1300rpm. I did notice that the MDS does not work in manual mode in top gear, or any gear or speed for that matter. Around town, fuel economy was relatively poor. I did not measure just around town mpg, but I suspect it to be very low. Maybe, low teens. Although, driving like a 16 year old from light to light didn't help! The 8 speed auto also was a positive for me. A little slow to shift in manual mode, and some hard shifts, but I wasn't too upset about it. Also, the cloth interior was large, and for the most part, pretty darn comfortable. The Sirius radio, and Uconnect Bluetooth worked well. The car also had plenty of USB ports for the whole family to keep their devices charged on a long trek. There is also plenty of space to fold down the rear seats and carry a lot of gear. I filled the back of the car with a small kitchen table, toaster over, two chairs, two totes, a printer, and some other small stuff. Like I said, plenty of room.
The Charger had plenty of high points, but I was also disappointed with a few things. The Charger had been smoked in. I thought for sure that there was no smoking permitted in rental cars, but oh well. It didn't bother me too much but it did bother some of my various passengers. Hertz said the only thing they could do for me was swap it out for a Volkswagen Beetle, so I passed on that. Another thing that was disappointing was that the car had a tire out of balance, or one that was irregularly worn. At least that is what I think. Also, right before I turned it in, I noticed a howling like sound, maybe a wheel bearing? The car also needed brakes. From any speed, really, the car would vibrate when applying the brakes. It was worse coming down from interstate speeds. It was pretty annoying to say the least. The car also needed an oil change. When I picked it up, it was down to 5% oil life. It drove me crazy the whole time, but I kept telling myself it wasn't my car. Poor car, I pointed it out to the attendant when I turned it back in though. The road noise was pretty loud in the car too, but not in anyway that would make it hard to have a conversation though. I'm sure the tires didn't help. I was pretty disappointed in the handling of the car, but it is a boat, so, yeah. Last thing, although the interior was comfortable, the interior plastics were pretty typical FCA stuff. Cheap looking and feeling, and starting to develop rattles...at 10,000 miles.
Overall impression of the Charger is good. It's a great highway cruiser. It's comfortable, and powerful. Would I buy one? No, but I wouldn't personally be caught shopping for a large sedan currently. Would I pick one over other domestic full size choices such as the Impala or Taurus? Yes, except a Taurus SHO, I like those a lot
Thanks for reading!