2012 Dodge Charger SXT Plus

Amid a year ago's Car of the Year rivalry, the judges invested much energy spouting about the Dodge Charger's (and Chrysler 300's) new-for-2012 eight-speed transmission and exactly the amount of an effect it had on the auto's identity. In the wake of putting the better part of a thousand miles on the 2012 Dodge Charger SXT Plus you see here through the span of two weeks, it's anything but difficult to see why.

2014 Dodge Charger SE

Buyer inclinations have everything except consigned RWD vehicles to extravagance or close extravagance brands – or if nothing else to brands asking close extravagance costs. Luckily for those not intrigued by owning another BMW or another person's issues, Dodge has the business sector secured with the Charger, the last reasonable RWD vehicle standing.

From the crosshair grille flanked by calculated headlamps, the Charger has a state of mind as just an American auto can, even in Jazz Blue. It shouts one of two things, "get the damnation out of my way" or "draw over now," and it apologizes for not one or the other. Front entryway slices develop into solid character lines that run the auto's outstanding length, joining at the back with auto width LED taillights, a return to Charger's '60s muscle auto period.

2013 Dodge Charger Review

Imagine our disappointment when a Charger SXT was delivered for us to test, rather than the SRT8 we were expecting. Instead of 470 rip-snorting horsepower and a massive dose of torque from a simply huge 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine, we were left to settle with the base 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. In fact, we were so bummed, we didn’t even drive it for two days.

 I did, and at home neighbors began dropping by to ogle the car. And these are the same folks who are used to seeing all kinds of new cars in my driveway. Friends who stopped by didn’t want to come in the house until they’d spend 15 minutes circling the Charger and gushing over the styling. Unlike the Challenger, this is no retro homage, but rather an update of the basic aggressive shape of the previous model. And it really works.