Auto Buyers Guide | Alex on Autos

2026 Dodge Charger Daytona Review | What Hellcat Fans Never Asked For (and that's a pity)

The Dodge Charger EV: It's a great landing, at the RIGHT airport... but... nobody is waiting to board. Or to put it another way: It's the "most Dodge" thing Dodge has built since the original Hellcat. Hear me out for a moment. The Dodge Charger is actually a pretty decent EV, and it's also a muscle car. The 3.3-second 0-60 isn't Lucid Air quick, but it's faster than the old Hellcat charger, and thanks to insane tires (305/35R20 front, 325/35R20 rear), it actually manages to grip better in the skidpad and figure-eight than the old wide-body Charger Hellcat. OR a BMW M5... It does donuts, it burns out, it drifts, it makes insanely loud noises, it "revs" in parking garages and tunnels, and it's HUGE. It's also a conspicuous consumer. If there were a gas guzzler tax on EVs, this baby would get the same slap on the window sticker as a Hummer. We averaged basically the same economy this week as the last Hummer EV we tested. There's just one problem: it's electric. And there's the problem. I'm sure that there is some overlap in the Venn Diagram that is Dodge owners vs EV intenders, but it's the smallest sliver ever. And yet... It makes sense. Say what? Well, hear me out. If the market is transitioning to EVs (at some undetermined date in the future), then the market will need EVs that aren't shaped like efficient jellybeans. We'll need.... "dumb" EVs. Yep, I said it. We'll need EVs that make no sense and yet make you smile and giggle. We need the insane muscle EV, the Hummer EV, the badass truck EV, etc. But also: don't be surprised that it doesn't sell. Finally, back to that plane analogy. I'm also not sure how many people are at the adjacent gate waiting to board the 6-cylinder turbo Charger, however good it might be. Here's why we don't talk about reliability much: https://youtu.be/WicesuUvTXo And resale value? Same thing: https://youtu.be/635cX7A3E_Y Join this channel to get access to perks! https://www.youtube.com/@AAutoBuyersGuide/membership Support on Patreon: patreon.com/autobuyersguide Buy Merch! http://aoamerch.com The Pod: https://www.youtube.com/c/AutoBuyersGuidePodcast EV Buyers Guide: https://www.youtube.com/c/evbuyersguide The Mountain Garden: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheMountainGarden Follow us on Facebook: http://fb.me/theautobuyersguide/ 0:00 - Introduction 0:43 - My unvarnished thoughts 4:47 - How big is it? 7:23 - Silly noises 10:49 - Seat comfort 15:09 - Cargo space 17:33 - Interior 26:44 - 0-60 acceleration, braking, handling 37:35 - Pricing and comparisons 41:00 - Conclusion