The Hemi V-8 makes a stir everywhere it goes, with a distinctive roar that turns heads and a loud exhaust that has a way of disturbing the peace. Subtlety is not the Charger's strong suit. Both cars were fitted with summer tires, with the Charger shod with aggressive 275-width Pirelli P Zero rubber all around, and the Stinger sporting a staggered Michelin Pilot Sport 4 setup with 225-width tires in the front and 255s in the rear. The Dodge's extra weight also makes it feel more planted and buttoned-down than the Kia, which lacks a measure of wheel control on bumpier roads that sometimes can make it feel skittish.Īt the test track, the burly Dodge surprised us by beating the Stinger in both lateral grip (0.95 g to the Kia's 0.92 g) and in 70-to-zero-mph braking the Dodge came to a halt in a short 150 feet, while the Stinger stopped from 70 mph in 159 feet. It's fun to drive in its own special way, with satisfyingly heavy steering and a high grip threshold. But that's not to say the Charger doesn't know how to dance. This makes it somewhat less eager to change direction than the Stinger, which exhibits sharp turn-in responses and a nice sense of balance. The Dodge feels twice as wide on narrow twisty roads, even though it's only 1.4 inches wider in actuality. Where the Charger is big and brutish, the Stinger is agile and nimble. The difference in size between these two cars is the single biggest factor in how they drive. Its big muscle advantage is offset somewhat by its mass, as it weighs in at a whopping 473 pounds heavier than the Kia. Like the Kia, it's also rear-wheel drive (all the better for smoky burnouts) and routes power through an eight-speed automatic transmission. This $45,930 example also came equipped with performance upgrades such as adaptive dampers, more aggressive 20-inch wheels and tires, and Brembo brakes. With a massive naturally aspirated 6.4-liter V-8 underhood, the Dodge has the Kia beat on power, making 485 horses and 475 lb-ft of torque. The Charger R/T Scat Pack sounds rowdy based on its name alone, and that rings true-even if it isn't the full-bore, supercharged SRT Hellcat model. Without the optional all-wheel drive, this lightly optioned Stinger is somewhat of a featherweight, weighing 3921 pounds, or 236 pounds less than a fully loaded Stinger GT2 AWD we previously tested. The base $40,915 GT model we tested doesn't bother with extraneous features available on the GT1 and GT2 trims, focusing instead on the standard performance bits such as a limited-slip differential and Brembo brakes. It makes 365 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque, and in our experience, it feels even more powerful than those numbers suggest. We might miss a V-8 more if the Stinger GT's twin-turbocharged 3.3-liter V-6 weren't so strong. We understand getting the Hellcat if money is no object but on a budget or otherwise, we prefer the Scat Pack.Michael Simari | Car and Driver The Matchup If it were our money, we'd gladly save more than $25,000 by getting the Scat Pack Widebody. Even on a race track, it would take some long straights for the Hellcat to hold a tangible advantage and out on public roads at legal speeds, there is barely an appreciable difference in acceleration. Whereas the Hellcat lights up its rear tires with the smallest provocation, the Scat Pack is more effectively able to let you enjoy the power without worrying about crashing or going to prison. After driving a Charger with "only" 485 hp, we found it to be more than adequate and in fact, far more usable out on the road. But driving the Scat Pack has softened our opinion. We found the Hellcat to be surprisingly livable if not a bit scary when pushed hard and it is certainly worthy of dream car status. If you sit around reading reviews of the Hellcat, it may be easy to fall victim to the allure of a sub-$100,000 muscle car with more power than most mid-engine supercars. No matter which version of the Charger you get, Dodge's color palette is filled with bold hues. The Hellcat badges are finished in white or blue depending on the paint color and a unique Daytona stripe sits on the back with a small spoiler to signify it as a special edition. Most Hellcat Chargers ride on black, grey, or bronze wheels but the Daytona Edition wears unique silver ones. Our Hellcat tester was the Daytona Edition, featuring a B5 Blue paint job that is exclusive to that version for the 2020 model year. On the fenders, a 392 HEMI emblem signifies the engine size. The Scat Pack uses a variation of the original Superbee logo, which pictures a bumblebee doing a burnout. Each car comes with unique badging to designate its place in the Charger lineup. Both of these cars feature flared fenders housing 305-section tires wrapped around 20-inch wheels. Dodge used to offer the Hellcat in both of these configurations but now only offers it as a widebody. The Scat Pack is available in standard or widebody guises with the latter sent to us for testing.
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