Not stuck in the middle

2015 Dodge Charger SXT Plus

My tester this week would be the Jan Brady of the car world. To continue this analogy, the Chrysler family of vehicles is like the Brady Bunch. And in this comparison the Chrysler 300 would be Marcia, the beautiful and popular one, and the Dodge Challenger would be Cindy, the attention-grabbing sibling. That leaves my tester as the poor, misunderstood middle child. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!!

My tester is the 2015 Dodge Charger which is comparable, and just as nice (in some ways) to its sisterly stablemates, the Challenger and the 300. When I was driving the Charger, several times people called it the Challenger and I quickly corrected them and said, “This is the Charger, which has four doors.” However, the sibling rivalry is understandable as there is a familiar appearance between these two muscle cars.

The Charger diffs from the Challenger in more ways than just number of doors. This full-size sedan has an equally bold but retro look. So that Brady comparison was apropos, given the Charger’s combination of retro and modern touches. For 2015 more exterior refinement was added, which actually helps distinguish it more from the Challenger and even more so from the 300.

Make no mistake, the Charger deserves the muscle car label with a variety of powertrains that go from the fun to the wild to the out of control. There are four different engines available. A 3.6-liter V6 engine makes 292 horsepower. This is the “standard” engine and what was in my tester, the SXT Plus trim. However, there are also three V8 engines available. For the R/T trim there’s the 5.7-liter engine with 370 horses. A 6.4-liter engine powers the R/T Scat Pack and SRT trims and that makes 485 hp and 475 lbs.-ft. of torque. Lastly, there’s the Hellcat trim, which is new to this model year. As the name insinuates this thing is blazing fast with a turbocharged 6.2-liter engine that makes an ungodly 707 horses.

The Charger is a full-size sedan that can be whatever you want it to be. But let’s look closer at my tester, which serves well as a family car, and a daily driver that is still fast and fun. New for this model year is an eight-speed automatic transmission. This was a much-needed upgrade for the Charger and the transmission works well with the engine, keeping it under control. All-wheel drive options are available for the Charger this year, although I drove the rear-wheel drive one, and most of the muscle car purists will appreciate the RWD and scoff at any talk of AWD.

Inside, the Charger compares well to the Chrysler 300, which is a great combination of space and comfort. The Charger seems to feel a little smaller than the 300, but the interior space, especially in the back seat, feels significantly bigger than the Challenger - there’s that middle child comparison again.

With an improved overall interior and upgraded materials, the Charger feels more luxurious than it has in the past. The UConnect infotainment system is intuitive and runs through a phenomenal 8.4-inch touchscreen. The virtual buttons are a modern update and add to the overall quality of the cabin. It’s one of my favorite infotainment systems around.

Rear passengers have ample leg room and shoulder room. With the aggressive roofline, headroom can be a little lacking for those same rear passengers, but overall it’s comfortable for road trips. The trunk’s cargo space is 16.5 cubic feet. This is average for the segment. For a full-size sedan, I’d expect a little more room in the trunk.

With four engines and numerous trims, it can be difficult for the consumer to price and build a Charger. But on the flip side, it also makes it easy to choose the packages, trims and engine that best suits you. My tester was the SXT Plus with a base price of $29,995. It came with optional equipment like the ventilated seats, park assist, leather racing seats as well as blind spot detection, collision alert and advanced navigation. Additionally, my tester had the Rallye group package added which adds a little more horsepower (bringing it to 300 hp), performance suspension, paddle shifters and 20-inch wheels. With a final MSRP of $36,970, the Charger still came out less than an equally built Chrysler 300. Take that, Marcia.

Nobody buys a Charger, or any full-size sedan, for the fuel economy. But, with the V6 engine, at least you can avoid the gas guzzler penalty, which you get with Hellcat version. My tester had an EPA rating of 19 mpg/city and 31 mpg/hwy. This is a wide range and means that the V6 Charger actually is reasonable on fuel economy. In a week’s worth of heavy-footed driving I averaged 21 mpg.

The Brady Bunch analogy aside, the Dodge Charger is its own vehicle. There aren’t a lot of full-size sedans left. It’s a dying breed of cars. It’s unfortunate for the Charger that within this segment there are two other Chrysler (FCA) vehicles to compete against. The Charger has its own merit and for 2015 is much improved with a lot more personality, customizable options and more modern upgrades. Mr. and Mrs. Brady would be so proud, and Alice, too.

Jimmy Dinsmore is a freelance automotive journalist. Email him at jimmydinsmore@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @driversside