2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV: What's It Like to Live With?

• We bought a Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack for our One-Year Road Test fleet.
• It's a muscle car. It's an EV. It's both.
• We're going to find out if that's an oxymoron.

What did we get?

We went for the more powerful Scat Pack and loaded it to the brim with options. The car’s base price is just under $65,000, and to that we added over $20,000 worth of goodies — yikes.

Starting with the aesthetic choices, we went for Redeye paint ($795). The black aluminum wheels are a no-cost add; however, they require the Carbon and Suede package, which tacks on about $3,000. This look is a mean one for the Charger with great exterior contrast and a fun interior with the carbon-fiber finish.

Then we get into the performance options, including the $3,500 Track package. This adds a ton of stuff, including adaptive dampers, Brembo brakes with red calipers, the widebody competition suspension (whatever that means), and a black spoiler. Dodge also charges $3,200 for the Stage 2 setting, which cranks up the horsepower. But even with all of these options ticked, we still have the standard all-season tires; Goodyear summer rubbers are an extra $700, and our car doesn't have 'em. (We'll fix that, don't worry.)

Finally, we have the $5,000 Plus Group that includes a serious list of add-ons like a wireless charging pad, LED interior lighting, a frunk, power-adjusting steering wheel, and memory functions for the driver’s seat and mirrors, plus a few other niceties. Throw in a $1,000 drive recorder camera and a $3,000 glass roof and audio system update and we get a rather substantial MSRP of $85,965.

Dodge offered a $5,000 discount off the price, bringing that down to just under $82,000 before taxes and fees. For what it’s worth, we're already seeing many Scat Pack Chargers for sale south of $70,000, perhaps showing that Dodge is already having trouble moving these things off dealer lots.

The Charger Daytona Scat Pack (equipped with the Stage 2 upgrade) puts out 670 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque from its dual-motor setup. There’s also a large 100-kWh battery pack with 94 kWh of usable storage, which Dodge says is enough to travel 241 miles. Our own Edmunds EV Range Test will put that to the test very soon. We've already tested a different Scat Pack model that came with more aggressive tires and it beat the EPA's range estimate handily.

In so many ways, the Charger EV feels like a pivotal moment for the Dodge brand. If the company's plan to keep enthusiasts loyal starts with this car, then we have no choice but to give it a thorough shakedown. We’re eager to use all of that horsepower over the next year, so expect to see the Charger make some appearances at Edmunds U-Drags — we already ran a race against a Ford Mustang Dark Horse with a different Daytona. Beyond that, our team will share what Dodge’s latest is like to live with on an everyday basis. Is it a good EV? Is it a good performance car? We’ll turn these questions into answers in the next 12 months.

Dodge Charger EV instrumented testing results

How's the Charger's range and efficiency?

We subjected a very similarly spec'd Dodge Charger Daytona EV to the Edmunds EV Range Test; we'll admit that we went into that test with very low expectations. Stepping up to the Scat Pack, which is the model we've got in our fleet, and adding the Track package brings the EPA-estimated range down to a paltry 216 miles. But, there's good news. 

Read the entire range test here.

Here's what we think of our Dodge Charger EV after 3,500 miles

"On a back road, the sizable Dodge fails to mask its heft. When we weighed it at our test track, it tipped the scales at 5,922 pounds. For context, that's 364 pounds more than a V12-powered Mercedes-Maybach S 680. As such, the Daytona struggles to keep body motions in check through a bend while its upsized Brembo brakes begin to struggle far sooner than they should. Factor in its all-season tires, and you get a car that writes checks in the straights that it can't cash in the corners. At least it's like a muscle car in that sense." — Gabriel Vega Cortés

Read the full story here.

Dodge Challenger vs. Charger Daytona EV

"I can't deny the new EV is quicker than any of the gas-powered Chargers or Challengers that came before it, I still found the new car lacking. The most damning thing about the new Charger Daytona is its lack of drama. To prove that, I went back to our test track with the brand-new Charger Daytona Scat Pack we bought for our One-Year Road Test program, as well as a V8-powered Dodge Challenger Scat Pack. Are my memories of the gas car correct, or have I just been remembering it through Hemi-colored glasses?" — Brian Wong

Read the full story here.

U:Drags: Dodge Challenger vs. Dodge Charger EV

Even though they're both EVs, there is a lot that separates the Tesla Model 3 Performance and the Dodge Charger Daytona EV.

The Tesla comes from an automaker with more experience with EVs than any other. It's also the latest in a lengthy line of small, relatively affordable, supercar-embarrassing electric performance sedans. It makes a total of 510 horsepower from two electric motors and is relatively light given it's an EV at "just" 4,051 pounds. The Dodge Charger EV, on the other hand, is basically a battleship for the road. It weighs almost a ton more, at 5,974 pounds, but this bruiser also makes more power. Total output (with the PowerShot mode turned on) is rated at 670 hp from its own pair of electric motors. 

Our Dodge Charger EV's curious case of unintended acceleration

"I could tell something was wrong because the car accelerated sluggishly. I got the Charger up to the speed of traffic OK, but then I noticed something was very wrong when I slightly lifted off the accelerator. First, the Charger wasn't using any regenerative braking to slow itself down like it should. (In an EV, you typically lift off the accelerator and the car decelerates without using the regular friction brakes.) It wasn't coasting, either. It was, in fact, accelerating." — Brent Romans

Read part one of the story here.

"Dodge claims this mode activates if the vehicle encounters a certain problem, such as an accelerator or gas pedal that stops working. The Drive by Brake mode applies a low level of power and constant acceleration (up to approximately 50 mph) so that the driver can continue to drive the vehicle, rather than being stuck with a disabled vehicle. The driver is expected to control the acceleration by applying the brake pedal." — Brent Romans

Read part two of the story here.