Best Car Models & All About Cars: 2012 Dodge Charger

2012 Dodge Charger

A massive family sedan within the classic Detroit mould, the 2012 Dodge Charger keeps obtaining higher with each new model year. Revamped with a ton additional aptitude and features last year, this year's Charger adds a brand new eight-speed automatic to boost gas mileage over the thirty-mpg mark, while it additionally blows the doors off hot domestics and seeks out initials like M, AMG, and RS with the spectacular SRT8 package.

Neat and notable when it was reintroduced in 2005, this Charger's gone overboard to play up its American bona fides. The body's currently inspired by nothing but a Coca-Cola bottle, with a classic crosshaired Dodge grille grafted on the front finish and lots of LED bulbs glowing around its rear finish. The Charger's flares and filligrees pop on camera and in person, placing a masculine nerve. It is a commanding form that looks as prepared to attack the road as any supersedan--particularly when it's an SRT8, when the grille turns into a gaping maw, when the body add-ons drop as low to the bottom as attainable. Inside, the treatment's less flamboyant, with big dials hashed with red markings, and the previous dash reshaped into a rounded, driver-oriented piece. The dash is roofed with metallic-printed plastic with some wide, unused stretches, that offers it the look of a brisk remake, however the match and end are a lot of improved.

Most Chargers are powered by Chrysler's new 3.half dozen-liter V-half-dozen, with 292 horsepower, and base versions have a 5-speed automatic. A respectable performer in that kind, the Charger gets a lot of higher this year with a newly offered eight-speed ZF automatic. Offered with paddle shift controls, the automatic clicks off clean gearchanges, maxes out the Pentastar engine's power higher than different Chryslers with six-speed automatic do, and pushes the Charger's highway gas mileage ratings to thirty one mpg. Entirely completely different priorities can be happy with the Charger R/T's 5.seven-liter HEMI V-8. With 370 horsepower and a five-speed automatic--and an earthy, metallic exhaust note--it pushes zero-sixty times below seven seconds and dramatically ups the Charger's engagement factor. The kingpin of the lineup is the vi.four-liter HEMI V-8, with 475 horsepower and a 5-speed automatic, sensible for 0-sixty mph times of below five seconds and with its own lascivious V-eight mating decision.

Handling ranges from mildly entertaining in the bottom rear- and all-wheel-drive Charger to muscular within the R/T and SRT8 models. The Charger's steering is fast however in most versions, pretty light to the bit. The upgrades to shocks and bushings last year were tidy clean-ups to the Charger's classic massive-automobile handling. Body roll nearly disappears as you progress from base cars to the SRT8 and its new adaptive suspension, and ride quality on the lineup progresses from comfort-tuned to aggressively firm. Still, despite its size, the rear-driver Charger models feel more agile than a Taurus or Maxima, due to frisky manner it responds to a nudge of the gas.

The emotional styling of the Charger doesn't compromise its utility terribly a lot of. The roofline's tall, the front seats are wide and gently bolstered (thick, firm sport seats are offered on HEMI cars), and also the doors are cut widely to create the Charger as purposeful as doable. It meets police-duty standards for tucking in perps, a minimum of, and that is something to remind tall rear-seat passengers of after they squawk regarding tight head space and the rumble of HEMI exhaust.

The Charger's been named an IIHS Top Safety Pick, and high-tech safety grafts like a rearview camera, active cruise management, and blind-spot monitors are obtainable.

Normal features include air con; cruise management; power windows, locks and mirrors; a power driver seat; pushbutton begin; and an AM/FM/CD player with a four.3-inch touchscreen management. Options like a sunroof, Bluetooth, and leather upholstery are joined by additional exotic offerings like in-car wireless Internet, via a 3G data dongle; a navigation system and real-time traffic information; and voice control for audio and navigation. Appearance packages add splashes of classic musclecar color to the Charger, while a Road & Track package tightens the suspension and adds twenty-in. wheels.

2012 Dodge Charger Front View