2026 Dodge Charger Sixpack First Drive Review: The Redemption Arc Begins

• The Dodge Charger Sixpack uses the twin-turbo inline-six engine found in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
• The Sixpack is less powerful than the electric Charger Daytona, but it's around 1,000 pounds lighter.
• The Charger Sixpack Scat Pack starts at $56,990, and the four-door version costs $2,000 more. A less potent $51,990 R/T model will also join the lineup next year.

A new car with a familiar engine

The Sixpack uses a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six engine. It's a variant of the Hurricane inline-six also found in the Ram 1500 and the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Dodge equips the Charger's inline-six with a new intake system, allowing more air to flow into the engine. It also gets a valved exhaust setup enabling quiet and loud modes, an upgraded cooling system and larger turbochargers. Calling this the "same" engine as what you'll find in the Jeep and Ram sells it short, but as you'll soon learn, some roots remain. 

These updates push the Sixpack's output to 550 hp and 531 lb-ft of torque for the Scat Pack trim. (A less powerful R/T version is coming soon.) This actually surpasses the most powerful previous-generation V8-powered Scat Pack by 65 hp and 56 lb-ft. 

The Sixpack's engine may be the big story, but its weight is equally significant. While Dodge has yet to publish an official figure, it's estimated to be around 1,000 pounds lighter than the Daytona EV. For context, when we weighed our Daytona, it came in at 5,922 pounds. This new gas-powered Sixpack should come in below the 5,000-pound mark. But that would make it a few hundred pounds heavier than its predecessor.

Muscle car or sports car?

A press of a button on the Charger's center console brings its inline-six engine to life. At first listen, it's BMW M340i meets Ford F-150 Raptor. It's by no means an uninteresting note, just one I wouldn't expect from a car that looks like the Charger. The rest of the cabin is practically indistinguishable from the Daytona's. Its squared-off steering wheel remains, as do its 12-way adjustable performance seats and pistol-grip-style shifter. 

This is a double-edged sword. Despite not having a battery pack hidden beneath its floor, the Sixpack retains the EV's high seating position. And while there's still a decent amount of headroom even for the tall drivers, I'm unable to shake the feeling that I'm sitting a few inches too high — like I'm on top of the car rather than sunk down inside it. 

The similarities continue as I point the Charger's nose toward the mountains. Despite employing a different suspension setup than the electric Daytona, the Sixpack retains its excellent ride quality. It cruises smoothly on the highway, easily absorbing bumps of all sizes, and remains compliant over rough surfaces. The Sixpack's cabin stays relatively hushed in most scenarios too, a feat made possible by its active noise-cancelling system. In short, the Charger excels as a grand tourer.

As the road begins to twist, the Sixpack's weight comes to mind. It's still extremely heavy, bordering on Rolls-Royce Ghost territory. Yet its savings over the Daytona are immediately apparent. From how quickly it turns to how well it brakes between bends, there's no question that you're traveling lighter than in the EV. 

However, it also becomes clear that, while the Ford Mustang has evolved into a bona fide sports car, the Charger remains firmly rooted in its muscle car heritage. Along the Tail of the Dragon, arguably the most famous road in the Smoky Mountains, the Sixpack feels enormous, giving me the sensation that it's eating up every inch of these narrow lanes. The Charger's heft may vanish as you put your foot down on straight stretches of road, but it makes itself well known as you engage this car's large Brembo brakes and ask it to change direction. 

Picking up the pace on such a tight mountain road is made challenging by the Sixpack's steering, as it conveys no information about how much grip its front tires have or the road surface below. Dodge has certainly tried to out-tire the Charger's weight by offering massive 305-section rubber on all four corners as an optional extra. But not even these wide tires can stop the Sixpack's front end from pushing wide on tighter bends as they get overwhelmed by the car's heft.

It's here that the Sixpack Scat Pack's brakes become the stars of the show. Despite having to slow this muscle car through the Tail of the Dragon's 318 curves on the way up and down the mountain, they hold on with no loss of performance. The Charger's pedal calibration is excellent, with travel that isn't too long, giving you the stopping force you expect. 

The Sixpack's eight-speed automatic is worth raving about, too, as it changes gears smoothly while cruising around but rips through upshifts and downshifts instantly on a twisty road.

New engine, new troubles

Credit where credit is due, the Charger is absolutely rapid when it gets going. 550 hp is a lot, even in a car this heavy, and with its turbochargers delivering strong low-end torque, it never feels lacking in the acceleration department. However, it simultaneously doesn't leave me with the sense that it's well matched to the car it powers. 

For one, its redline is capped at just 6,000 rpm, meaning that you don't really get enough time to rev out this inline-six as you move through the gears. Remember the Ram 1500 and Jeep Wagoneer I mentioned earlier? This configuration is ideal for those applications, where you want smooth, low-end power. There's also a noticeable lack of responsiveness as I squeeze the throttle. The Sixpack's upsized turbochargers take a while to spool, and while there's plenty of power once they're up and running, exiting corners isn't as enjoyable when the power is delayed. 

With mixed feelings, I pull over to snap some pictures of my test car and the beautiful scenery. However, as I jump back in, a flurry of warning lights illuminates the dashboard momentarily, with a check engine light remaining. As I head back onto the road, it's clear that the car is in a protective mode. Even as I press on the accelerator, the Charger struggles to crest 45 mph. 

While this test car is a preproduction model, such a failure during a fairly regular twisty road drive is nonetheless concerning. It's also worth mentioning because it parallels the myriad issues we've had with our own Charger Daytona, leading me to further question Dodge's quality control. 

The Charger is finally in its element

The Charger Sixpack comes standard with all-wheel drive, but like in the Daytona EV, you can switch to a rear-drive-only mode — something I'm eager to do. Say what you will about the Daytona, but it executes stellar slides at the Edmunds test track, making full use of our wet skidpad. 

Out here, though, there's no water present, just inline-six power to get each slide going. Yet, while the Charger has left me with mixed feelings up to this point, it excels once fully sideways. The lag from its turbos and subsequent strong hit of torque make breaking traction easy, while this car's long wheelbase means its back end swings around slowly. Initiating, catching and holding a slide is much easier than anticipated, and the Sixpack seems more than happy to chew up its tires while leaving huge clouds of smoke in its wake. 

An upmarket push

The Sixpack arrives first in Scat Pack guise with a $56,990 base price, including a $1,995 destination fee. A less powerful R/T model comes later, costing $51,990, including the same fee, while four-door versions of both are available for an additional $2,000. Alongside the new models, the Daytona EV sees its price reduced to $61,990 as the brand hopes to stir demand.

If this lineup seems pricey despite the amount of horsepower offered, I agree. For 2026, you can't get a Charger for less than $50,000 once mandatory fees are included. It's a stark departure from the previous-generation model, which covered a wide variety of price ranges through endless trim variations. Dodge could introduce less expensive versions in the future, but for now, this places the brand further out of reach for budget-minded buyers.

Is the Sixpack enough?

At the end of my drive, mixed feelings remain. On the one hand, I'm thrilled that Dodge now offers customers a choice between powertrain types, and I'm impressed by the level of performance the company has been able to extract from this car's inline-six engine. On the highway, the Charger is a stellar grand tourer with a cabin that's surprisingly hushed. As a big two-door to drive daily, it's great. 

However, the Charger has built its fanbase by offering more. A muscle car should have a whimsical personality, and the Scat Pack only reveals its fun side once fully sideways. Through the mountains, it performs admirably for a vehicle as heavy and as large as it is, but it took shredding its tires to find some of the magic that made its predecessors so appealing. While the Sixpack is a significant improvement over the Daytona, I'm walking away mostly looking forward to the inevitable V8 models to come. The redemption arc begins, but there's still more to go.