The 2026 Dodge Charger is a new version of the classic Charger nameplate. They’re saying it can be powered in different ways—either electric or a gas engine—and this one they drove uses all-wheel drive and a turbocharged straight-six.
The Dodge Spirit is an older Dodge model from the past. It’s being mentioned because it’s still around and people remember it. The conversation is likely about classic Mopar cars and why they’ve stayed interesting.
“Twin turbo” means the engine uses two turbochargers to push extra air into the cylinders. More air usually means more power, so the car can feel stronger.
A straight-six engine has six cylinders lined up in a row. People often like it because it can run very smoothly compared with some other engine designs.
This is the car’s automatic gear system with eight different gear ratios. Having more gears can help the car stay in the “right” engine speed for smoother driving and better efficiency.
A “blacktop package” is an option bundle that gives the car a darker look. It’s usually mostly styling—like black trim or wheels—rather than a new engine or drivetrain.
Term
Ludicrous paint
“Ludicrous paint” is the name of a specific paint color option. It’s basically a branded color choice that helps the car stand out visually.
The Toyota Camry is a regular, everyday car in the midsize sedan category. People like it because it’s comfortable and practical for commuting and errands. It’s often suggested when someone wants a dependable car that’s not complicated.
Suspension is what helps the car smooth out bumps. The host is saying that with certain wheel and tire sizes, you can feel the suspension working more when the road gets rough.
A “cruiser” is a car that feels made for relaxed driving, especially on longer trips. The host is saying this one is comfortable and easy to live with.
They’re talking about a specific highway drive route and saying this car works well for that kind of trip.
Place
The Dragon
“The Dragon” is a well-known curvy road where driving gets very technical. The host is basically saying this car isn’t the best choice for that kind of twisty, aggressive driving.
They’re saying the car feels like older American cars from the 1960s and 1970s. It’s described as big and relaxed—more about cruising than being super precise in technical driving.
Term
engine exhaust
“Engine exhaust” is the sound coming out of the car’s exhaust pipe. They’re saying the car is mostly quiet, but you still hear the exhaust.
The Ford Mustang GT is a sporty Mustang. The host is talking about a setting that can make the car start more quietly, because people complained about how loud it was during development.
Electric cars can be so quiet that people might not hear them coming. A pedestrian warning sound is an artificial noise the car makes at low speeds to help people notice it.
Term
parking lot mode
“Parking lot mode” means the car is behaving like it’s in a slow, low-speed situation (like starting or moving around in a lot). The host is saying the car’s initial response was loud or sudden enough to surprise people nearby.
Term
full song
“Full song” here is just a way of saying the car suddenly sounds and feels like it’s really going. The host means the response ramps up fast rather than gradually.
Power delivery is how the car’s power comes on—how quickly it feels like it accelerates when you ask for it. The host is talking about how it felt and sounded when merging onto the highway.
Eco and Sport are settings that change how the car drives. Eco usually makes it feel calmer and more efficient, while Sport makes it respond quicker when you press the gas.
Stability control is a computer-assisted safety feature that helps prevent skids. If the car starts to slide or rotate the wrong way, it can brake individual wheels and reduce power to help you stay in control.
Term
delay
Here, “delay” means the car doesn’t respond instantly when you press the gas. There’s a short pause before you feel the power or movement.
Climate controls are the car’s heating and air-conditioning settings. The host is talking about how the temperature, airflow mode, and fan speed are arranged and how easy they are to use.
It’s a climate-control strip you tap or slide on, instead of pressing individual buttons. The host is saying it’s easy to reach, but the feel and feedback don’t feel as premium as real buttons.
Brand
Chrysler Stellantis
They’re talking about Chrysler’s parent company, Stellantis. The point is that the car’s climate controls use a modern touch-style layout that Stellantis/Chrysler has been moving toward.
Tactile sensation is the physical feedback you feel when you use a control. The host prefers it because it makes it clear the car actually took your input.
Lumbar support is the part of the seat that supports your lower back. If it’s too strong, it can feel uncomfortable; if it’s right, it helps you sit better for longer.
A sedan is a car with a separate trunk and a normal passenger cabin. The host is saying they prefer this sedan shape over SUVs because it affects how the car feels and how easy it is to use.
The Toyota Crown is a Toyota car model name that has been around for a long time. It’s typically positioned as a more premium or higher-end option compared with basic models. In your podcast context, it’s being discussed as a newer direction for Toyota after the Avalon.
Marketing hyperbole is when a company uses over-the-top wording to make a product sound better than it can realistically be. In this segment, the host thinks Dodge’s claims are exaggerated and not very meaningful.
All wheel drive means power goes to all four tires. That usually helps the car grip better on slippery roads. In this segment, it’s central to Dodge’s “muscle car” marketing claim.
A muscle car is a type of American performance car built for quick acceleration. It’s usually about big power and a sporty feel. Here, the host is questioning whether adding AWD changes what “muscle car” should mean.
Headroom is how much space you have above your head when you’re sitting. If there’s “no headroom,” it usually means your head is too close to the roof, making the seat feel tight.
The hatch floor is the floor in the back cargo area. If it’s high, it’s harder to load and stack items, and it can also be a sign that the car’s underbody layout is taking up space.
An EV platform is the basic car layout designed specifically for an electric powertrain. Even when a car is built for EVs from the start, the battery and drivetrain still take up space and can make the cabin feel less roomy in certain spots.
“Compromises” here means the trade-offs designers have to make when building an electric car. The battery and drivetrain take up space, so you might lose comfort or room in the cabin even if the car is big.
Fit and finish is how neatly the car’s parts are put together—like whether trim pieces line up and whether the surfaces look clean. If it’s “hit and miss,” some areas look great and others look sloppy.
A manual transmission is a car where you shift gears yourself. You use a clutch pedal to change gears, and it’s usually more involved than an automatic.
The Plymouth Cuda is a famous 1970s muscle car. It’s the kind of car people associate with big styling and performance, and it also has a reputation from that era that can include reliability stories.
Hurst is a performance-focused brand best known for shifters and other manual-transmission accessories. In muscle-car culture, a “Hurst” shifter is often associated with the classic feel of 1970s cars—short, crisp throws and a very tactile driving experience.
Auto stop-start turns the engine off when you’re stopped and turns it back on when you’re ready to move. Some people prefer to turn it off with a button because it can feel annoying or distracting.
A wireless charger lets you charge your phone by setting it on a pad—no charging cable needed. In this car, the host is pointing out that the phone-charging setup feels incomplete for the price.
The center console is the area in the middle of the car between the seats. It often has things like storage compartments and buttons, and in this case it’s where the phone slots are.
A key fob is the remote you carry to control the car. Here, the host is saying the hatch doesn’t have an easy button on the dash or even on that remote.
Squeaks and rattles are annoying little noises from inside the car. They can get worse when it’s cold because parts shrink slightly and start moving or rubbing.
The Kia Stinger is a fastback-style hatchback (liftback) that the host compares to the Charger’s noise behavior. They’re using it as an example of how a hatchback design can be associated with squeaks and rattles, especially under certain conditions.
The cargo area is the back space where you put bags and stuff. In a hatchback, that space can be shaped in a way that makes it harder to grab items once they’re inside.
Blind spots are parts of the area around your car that you can’t see well. Thick window pillars and rear glass shape can make those areas bigger, so you may need cameras or sensors to help.
A backup camera shows you what’s behind the car on a screen when you’re backing up. It helps with parking, but it can sometimes stop working or need repairs.
“Rough shifts” is when the car changes gears and it feels bumpy or jerky instead of smooth. It’s especially noticeable when you’re barely moving and lightly pressing the gas.
“Modulate” here means gently and gradually pressing the gas so the car responds smoothly. They’re saying it’s tricky to do that at very low speeds, so the car can lurch if you’re not careful.
“Throttle delivery” is how the car’s power comes on when you press the gas. They’re saying it can come on suddenly, which makes the car jerk when you start moving.
This is the Dodge Charger R/T, a version of the Charger meant to feel more “driver-focused.” The host is talking about how it drives at slow speeds—like pulling out and turning—and whether the engine/exhaust sounds good or annoying.
Powertrain is the “go” system of the car—engine and the parts that send power to the wheels. The host is saying the car’s powertrain doesn’t feel great in real-world driving, not just on paper.
The Volkswagen Taos is a small SUV/crossover. The host brings it up because it felt similar to the Charger at slow speeds, especially how the car behaves when you’re starting off and turning.
Drivability is how pleasant and predictable the car feels day to day. The host is saying the Charger (and the Taos) can feel off when you’re driving slowly and doing basic maneuvers.
An inline six is an engine with six cylinders lined up in a row. The host is saying this type of engine is usually smooth, so it’s surprising when the car doesn’t sound or feel as good as you’d expect.
“Driving position quirks” means the car’s layout makes you sit a little awkwardly. Here, it’s about where your feet, knees, and elbows end up while driving.
The steering wheel is the primary control you use to steer the car, and its position strongly affects hand placement and elbow angle. In this segment, the speaker is describing how the wheel and armrest geometry forces their right elbow to sit awkwardly.
A manual gearbox is the kind of transmission where you shift gears yourself using a clutch and a stick. The host is saying it can make the car feel better to drive.
A warranty is the coverage that helps pay for certain repairs for a limited time. The host is warning that some actions—like mods—can complicate or reduce what the warranty will cover.
“STI approved mods” means performance parts that Subaru’s STI team has okayed. The host is saying it’s smarter to use proven parts instead of doing random changes that could cause issues.
Mopar is a nickname car people use for Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth muscle-car culture. The speaker is saying the Charger brings in a certain kind of fan, and that’s why some people love it while others don’t.
The Dodge Challenger is a Mopar muscle car, similar in spirit to the Charger. The speaker is basically saying people notice these cars and react to them—especially when they’re driven by Mopar fans.
The Dodge Avenger is a regular, regular-driver Dodge sedan. Here it’s just being used as an example of someone who’s still driving a Mopar, even if it’s not a Charger or Challenger.
The Mazda MX-5 (Miata) is a small two-seat convertible roadster. It’s made to be fun to drive, with a light feel and responsive handling. People mention it when they’re looking for a sporty car that’s still relatively simple.
Cross-shopping is when a buyer compares multiple competing models before deciding. The host mentions it to frame how the Charger’s new direction may or may not pull in the same kind of buyers as the previous generation.
Rear-wheel drive means the back wheels do the work of moving the car. Some drivers prefer it because it can feel more “classic” and engaging than other drivetrains.
EV means electric vehicle. Instead of using gasoline, it runs on electricity, and that can make the car feel and behave differently than the older gas Chargers people were expecting.
Racing fuel is usually more expensive gas that’s made to resist knocking better. But unless your car is set up to use it, you typically won’t get extra power—just a lighter wallet.
This Subaru is meant to use normal gas (87 octane). If you pour in a more expensive racing gas, you usually won’t feel a performance gain because the car isn’t tuned to use it.
Octane is basically how “hard” the fuel is to ignite too early in the engine. Higher octane can help some engines, but if your car is built for regular gas, higher-octane usually won’t make it faster.
Compression ratio is how tightly the engine squeezes the air-fuel mixture before it ignites. Higher compression can make more power, but it usually needs better (higher-octane) fuel to avoid knocking.
Turbocharging adds extra air to the engine using a turbocharger, which can make more power. But the engine often needs the right tune so it burns fuel safely and effectively.
Ethanol-free fuel is gas without alcohol in it. The benefit is that it tends to store better and is less likely to cause problems in carbureted engines that sit for a long time.
Carburetors are older-style systems that mix fuel and air for the engine. Ethanol can cause sticky deposits that clog or gum up the carburetor, which is a bigger issue for small engines that aren’t used often.
Term
two carburetor
They’re talking about dirt bikes that use carburetors. Carburetors can get clogged or sticky from ethanol, so ethanol-free fuel helps prevent that.
A two-stroke engine runs on a different cycle than a typical four-stroke engine. Because you often mix and store fuel for these small engines, fuel that doesn’t go bad as quickly (like ethanol-free) can be important.
LIVE
Hi and welcome back.
I'm Mike Quincy. I'm John Lenkov and I'm Mike Monticello.
So in today's talking cars, we are going to talk about the 2026 Dodge Charger.
This is a blast from the past.
The Mopar Spirit is still kicking.
I mean, this car.
I gotta admit, it's it is visually striking, but I suppose you either like it or you don't.
But it is no mistaking that this thing has a presence.
The big news is the charger comes as a very lengthy four door hatchback, as well as a two door model, which is not called the challenger, by the way.
Both electric and old school internal combustion power are offered.
We bought an all wheel drive, four door art model, which comes with a twin turbo 420 horsepower, three liter straight six cylinder engine hooked up to an eight speed automatic transmission.
We also added the blacktop package, which includes a whole bunch of features that I'm not going to list right now.
Another few odds and ends, and the $1,995 destination charge.
Our car came to $57,700.
So, Mister Monticello, let's start with you, and let's talk about what you like about the new charger.
Well, first of all, how did you not mention one of the options, the ludicrous paint?
I mean, how do you how do you talk about options and not mention that?
Hilarious.
I do, I do give the the Chrysler Corporation credit for creative fun.
Naming of their colors.
A lot of their money goes into the market, you know, go, go missing go and stuff like that.
But yes, Ludacris was was very creative.
Yeah.
But, I can't, you know, so you like the color?
I do like the color.
And I think the name is hilarious.
Why not have some fun with it? Right?
But you kind of. What?
You already touched on the presents and that kind of thing.
I mean, you remember and you know this because you worked at Automobile Magazine.
But when that magazine was founded in the mid 80s, it was founded on a mantra of no boring cars.
Right.
And what we're seeing a lot these days are a lot of boring cars.
Right. And this is not boring.
And honestly, that's one of the things I like best about it is that I, I it's not a great car overall.
And we're going to get into a lot of the things that are, you know, some things that are kind of not great about it, but it's not boring to drive.
It's not boring to look out, look at just the way it has kind of a fairly loud for the times start up, you know, cold start up.
It announces that it's there and it's got some presents.
It's got the bulging hood, it's got the sinister headlights.
You know, there's just a look about it and just even the way it drives.
And we're going to get into all that, but just, I mean, it's got some power, not unbelievable power, but it's got some power.
You really get into it. It makes some noise.
And I really like that. It's not boring.
Yeah.
I mean, if you look at the website, because I was checking out options and what's available and what's not, and it's just filled with power slides and it's like, this is, this is a car for a Michael Bay movie, okay?
It's like, it doesn't make sense.
It's like it's like Armageddon.
Two space shuttles taking off next week.
Another totally doesn't make sense.
Gravity on an asteroid.
Sure, this car doesn't make sense, but it's entertaining.
It's just like like a Michael Bay movie.
But I mean, cars today are like, you kind of touched on this.
They're all. They're all there.
They're safer than they've ever been. They're more fuel efficient.
They've been they they run cleaner than they've ever been.
They're certainly cars are getting bigger.
They're not getting smaller.
But maybe the automotive world needs some silly cars that make no sense at all.
Absolutely.
I mean, it does look what the automotive world needs versus what the buying public wants are two different things.
Yes, but that means if the automotive world will be filled with brown station wagons and, you know, with V8 engines and it needs it, but most people is like, no, I really want my experience to be inside the car.
Thanks.
I mean, look at the Audi Q9 that was introduced, the brown dirt technique is all about the in-car experience, not the driving right.
The world has changed.
I worked with an editor over 20 years ago in our Yonkers office, who was so frustrated with with cars and an auto test's enthusiasm for it, she actually just said, well, everyone should just buy a Camry, be done with it.
And so I'm glad that the world isn't isn't just Camrys.
So yeah, I mean, it's true.
Who knows how many they're going to sell.
And they obviously will likely appeal to a fairly small clientele.
You know, not not huge numbers, I would guess, these days.
But, we'll see.
I mean, there are some things that you are going to have to put up with.
Again, we'll talk about that in are not likes, but but there's also some, some real positives to this car.
I mean, just take the, the ride.
The ride is quite comfortable.
You know, I feel like we're seeing so many vehicles these days come through the auto test center that have pretty darn stiff rides, including luxury, cars and enormous wheels and tires.
That has a lot to do with it.
When you start putting 22 inch wheels, very low aspect ratio on the tires, you're asking to have a stiff ride in this car.
I mean, it soaks up most bumps that you throw at it pretty easily.
I mean, these are nineteens these are the small these wheels.
These are actually 2020 because of the blacktop.
Yeah I think it comes with eighteens.
These are 20s two 5545 tires.
Okay.
So but it actually does pretty darn well.
I mean, to the point that most of the time you're not thinking about what is the suspension doing, what are the, you know, what size wheels and tires, because that's something as soon as you start driving a test car out of here and you start hitting some of the bumps, one of the first things I think about is, oh, crap, what what size and how large these wheels, that's, you know, screwing up the, the suspension and the and, the ride and this thing.
Actually, I thought it did pretty darn well.
Yeah. It's, it's a cruiser.
Yeah.
You know, and I mean, I, one of my notes is like, you want to go from take I-75 from Fort Lauderdale all the way up to, like, Valdosta, Georgia, perfect car for it.
You want to continue on to the tail?
The Dragon. Not really the best, right?
Okay. Not where you're going to have fun with that.
But yeah, it just you can lock in and just go.
Now, depending how much time you put your foot into it, you may be at gas station Auburn.
But yeah it's, it's, it's, it harkens back to the cars of the 60s and of the 70s in the sense so big, slightly ungainly maybe if it gets really technical.
But you know, they just kind of waft down the road, and it's quiet too, other than the engine exhaust.
Yeah.
So you said, you know, the big baskets at startup.
It made me think of of the Ford Mustang GT, which has a setting where you could do a quiet startup because allegedly, when they were developing the the current Mustang, one of the engineers or product, plant or guys was was their neighbors complained that how loud it was what they startups like.
Okay, maybe we can look into that.
Now, I'm not suggesting that the new charger is is quite as loud as the Mustang, but but it's just interesting that you brought it up that that that initial startup.
I brought it up more than anything because it well, we do drive a lot of EVs these days.
And of course, there's no sound, with those, but or awful fake sounds or awful fake sounds for, for or the pedestrian warning sound, obviously.
But, but I did see some notes in the logbook where people thought it was obnoxious. I don't think it's obnoxious at all.
I think it is a little bit loud, I agree, but I think it's totally fitting the character of the car.
I don't think it's going to wake up your neighbors.
And maybe they should be getting up and going to work.
Anyway, I startled some people at, in a parking lot mode, starting it from inside.
I, I remember Mozart opened the door and as it kicked in, I could see a person that, you know, they're liking it or being offended by it.
I think it was just more sudden, you know, because it is it's very sudden, especially if you're walking by car.
You don't see someone's foot on the pedal.
You see someone get in it, you know, you're you're walking up to it.
But yeah, they definitely jerked when that, when that kicked in.
Because it does.
It kicks in like it's getting on full song.
So so John, speaking of kicking in when you're driving it and say you're merging on the highway, what what did you think of the power delivery, the response, the noise?
It was it was fine. I mean, I didn't,
well, now I'm not I'm not trying to paint it in a bad like it.
We're not getting into the dislikes.
We're still the likes, you know?
Plenty of plenty of power.
You know, I knew where the wheels were pointed, you know, the steering wasn't, you know, disconnected feeling.
Now, I don't know if people were getting out of my way because it looked kind of like a steady car, you know, because they.
Some places do.
Some guys do in this area run dodges.
I mean, it's a different grille than many of them, but a lot of people got in my way. You know, it's blue.
Maybe they'll think it's a police I don't know this.
It wasn't like I was ripping down on 120 blinking my lights at them.
Right. But plenty people just got out of the way.
It gets up to it's cruising again very well, but it wasn't for me.
Engaging. Except for the for the sound.
And the sound was fine.
I didn't find myself putting it in and out of eco or sport to lessen it.
It just, it just was kind of background noise and it was enjoyable background noise.
I think what he's trying to say, and he's beating around the bush is that you think knowing that has 420 horsepower, you think could feel a little faster, it's fine.
I don't know if that's where you're going, but for me, that's what I felt is that I thought it would feel when I really floor it and get into it.
I thought the and it comes on song, it's got twin turbos, right?
I thought it would feel a little quicker than it is, but it's more than enough.
I mean, in terms of you can feel comfortable that if you want to get around a corner to like passenger on or whatever, you're going to be able to I thought that, and but keep in mind, it's the reason why I think it doesn't feel all that fast is it's almost 5,000 pounds.
Yeah, right.
So it's really heavy.
It's 4,747 pounds is our test car, so it's really heavy.
So, but I'd say it's good. It's not.
I wouldn't call the acceleration, you know, exhilarating, but, I think there's some real positives to this engine in terms of.
And the transmission, there are some real well getting the jet into, but just that it's pretty responsive.
Like if you fly it, if there is a little delay before it really does anything, then it gives a quick downshift.
Power comes on pretty much immediately.
The shifts are very smooth and quick at full throttle.
Not always at other times.
And also when you do things like.
And I will say, part of the reason why maybe it feels exciting is that the engine's making a lot of racket when you're doing those kinds of things.
But but it was it was.
So first of all, I had in the rain, it's like I had it over overnight, two rainy days.
So I'm not too bad putting it in a full song.
I'm not, you know, I'm or I'm not going to floor it.
I don't want to find out how good the all wheel drive is for the tires.
Stability control. Yeah, I just yeah,
we could do it on track, but, the sound is equal to the performance.
It's not one of these mostly EVs, but even car you like what sounds good, but I really don't feel like I'm going anywhere, so.
Yeah, it it's, it's in line with the performance, I think.
Okay.
But there is a little bit you're like you said, there is a little bit of a delay.
It's it's really it's really good when it's rolling.
Yeah.
I think from a stop it's one thing when you're, when you're rolling in into your your question onto the from the on rental highway.
You know it's just it's instantaneous and that I found albeit in the rain okay.
And so so Marty's talked about some of the stuff that he liked.
So so John let's, let's, let's, let's look at some of the, some of the points on your list. Yes.
Oh again we talked about comfortable ride, comfortable seats too.
I found the seats.
They worked for me interesting, supportive.
I didn't have any any issues.
A shoulder area, lower back, you know, nothing like that.
Again, into that whole cruising world.
I I'm torn on the climate controls because they're accessible.
They're the, like, their, touch sensitive bar that that Chrysler Stellantis is moving to.
And they're really accessible.
You know, they're not in a screen.
They're not some where you have to swipe and go to.
But they're not great.
Yeah. You know, it. It's kind of like, oh, fine.
At least they put them there and they put them within reach.
But it's not really the best.
And the tactile thing, it sounds like tap taken us here at the shelf, but you can see it anyway.
So that's what you want the tactile though because you want to know that you that it was it did what you asked to do.
Yeah.
So I don't mind the tactile sensation I like that.
Yeah.
But what is weird is I think what you're talking about is that no matter any of the buttons you press, the whole the whole bar moves.
Yeah, right.
And it just feels cheap and cheap when that.
It's a little unnerving because I was like, is this falling apart?
Is it supposed to do this?
Yeah, I we know that's where we could bring it to this.
Like I didn't want to get into, you know, make into dislikes actually have that kind of a like. Yeah.
You know, to be honest with you because all the stuff that I care about for the most part, as far as climate is their right temperature, always their airflow mode, always their fan speed is always there.
So even though it's kind of a not the best, most user friendly because it is all on one panel and you're not actually pressing a physical button that that goes that responds.
Yeah, the whole panel moves at least every most of the things that I think people use most of the time with climate control, is there an excess?
Right.
That is a positive.
It's unconventional, but but it's still effective.
Yeah.
I mean, let's go back to the seats though, because I you seemed surprised when he said that he like.
Yeah.
I thought, I thought, well this is kind of gets into my, my dislikes.
Okay.
I don't I just the guy that I will I'm on team lenkov okay.
Because we which is the wrong the wrong logbooks divided on the front seats.
And I thought I thought they were pretty comfortable and supportive.
Well, I think there's actually quite good bolstering on the seat back in particular.
Like, if I move over slightly the bolsters right there move over that way, the bolsters right there, the bottom cushion could use a little more bolstering, but it you know, I just tilted the leading edge of the bottom cushion up.
And then I was fine.
And also the fact that it's cloth now, you can argue whether, you know, a $57,000 car should have cloth or not.
I personally love cloth because it's, you know, because it's grippy and it's not super hot in the, summer.
It's not super hot, super cold in the winter.
So I think there's some real positives.
So and I just thought also that just, the padding of the, of the bottom cushion and seat back were pretty good.
The only issue I had is that, I thought it just had a little bit too much built in lumbar support.
But we can talk about using the rest of these. Yeah.
I mean, the lumbar work for me, and it has a pocket.
You all, you know, when you're writing, you often talk about the seat, the pocket that you sit in.
And if I'm the nice one, I like that without sinking in and feeling like I was at the adult table when I was a child, or without being so wide and flat, right, that it didn't doesn't hold you in place through corners. Yeah. Right.
Now, what was going through my mind, those we were talking about the climate system was were other controls.
And I don't think that that's the Lantus. Okay.
Stay Stellantis do you can I just say Chrysler?
I mean you guys you guys know what we mean.
We know we Stellantis the third the third of the big three.
What we used to call Chrysler now is Stellantis.
So they have had a long history of audio controls behind the steering wheel.
And I don't think they get enough credit for this because I love them.
I love the fact that most of the time where we're at nine and three and on the right side, you can adjust the volume on the left side, you can you can go to the next track or the next preset or something like that, or change formats.
And it is so awesome.
It's right there.
And you don't have to deal with, with anything else, as you know, the driver.
So I just I just wanted to put, you know, a little check mark and, and the way to go, guys column for those that they found what worked and they kept it, and they're reinventing it just for the sake. Exactly.
And occasionally you see some some car companies like GM did did some of the, the things.
But then I think the last, GMC terrain that we tested, the paddle shifters were right next to them.
And I remember not being able to figure out, am I on the volume or on the upshift paddle? Yeah, something like that.
So everyone's out the brake buttons. Right.
But but so, so I mean give, give Dodge credit for sticking with this design. And,
and if you drive these that brand vehicles you will you'll immediately yeah.
Be comfortable with this at home. Very easy to use right. Right.
Once you once you memorize which is which exactly.
I think the final thing and probably you might you may agree with me, may not hatchback design. It's
it certainly is different in the muscle car world like that.
You know, a lot of it's traditional trunk, the last charger, you know, big trunk and such.
It gives it versatility.
I don't know if it's off, if it's the most versatile, hatchback out there, just in the sense of how high the floor is.
But yeah, it's it's different.
You know what? Why not?
You know, instead of having a having design compromised by the, the rear package shelf and the seat backs and, you know, then you have your sticking stuff that goes far in, you've got a nice hatchback you could reach in no matter what.
So give it a plus for that as well.
So some more likes and and I I'm really on board with a lot of what you guys said.
The one thing I will add is I'm just glad that it's a sedan.
So so we as opposed to an SUV.
But yeah, because we drive so many SUVs these days.
And I was a little disappointed when when Toyota, dropped the Avalon and brought out the crown and the and they made the styling of the crown kind of look SUV ish or big in and off and, more ground clearance and stuff like that.
And the simplicity of the Avalon was one of the things that I liked about it so much. And the local had great visibility.
And the new one really the new the Crown and the crown signature really does it.
So, so hey, yay for Dodge.
You, you stuck with a sedan or a sedan like vehicle.
So, so good on you for that. Yeah.
All right, so this is where maybe it gets a little spicier.
And, let's go to the to the dislikes column, because I got a few extra of these on the like side.
Who? Once. Why don't you start to.
So before I get to the car, I want to say that I'm done with, like, the marketing hyperbole.
And because according to Dodge, it's the world's most powerful all wheel drive muscle car.
And that's like saying we work with the world's tallest.
Mike Quincy, who's an employee with Consumer Reports.
It's one of one like the Mustang is not all wheel drive, right?
There's no other muscle car out there that's an all wheel drive car like. So.
Congratulations for this.
It's it's a participation award and the number one spot and, out of one.
But that aside, the rear seats are just too small as a sedan for two people, let alone three like that.
It's just really snug, hard to get in and out of compromise.
Headroom. No headroom. Yeah.
I mean, and then, like I said, the hatch floor, the rear hatch floor is really high.
So I mean, it's cool to have, but you're not really stacking a lot of stuff there as the, as the, the glass comes down.
Yeah. The rear seat is just strange.
I mean, like, you can't imagine that it would be that for such a cram car.
Comfortable. It's a big car.
There's just weird connection between this very raked back bottom cushion, which usually you would do to help with under like, support, but then also what feels like an oddly high floor.
So you're in this kind of strange knee bend for an adult that you wouldn't expect, right?
Yeah. And yeah.
And this is guess guest guessing on it because of the EV development.
That's my guess.
So remember how it used to be that you'd take a gas, platform and turned it into an EV and there'd be some compromises?
Well, turns out if you go the other way and do an EV platform, there's compromises, compromises, and also just and also not helping this situation, this make that, situation that leads to feel uncomfortable is besides this the bottom cushion raked high floor, but also very hardly any space for your feet underneath the front seats.
Especially like for someone like me, I sit with the driver's seat at its lowest position.
And so you just end up and then hardly like my head is just about into the roof.
Not quite there. I just it's just weird.
And then even the like, the outboard elbow, rest the, the armrest, my outer elbow, like, knocked into this piece of plastic that's on the door panel there.
You know, that weird, the pattern thing had any thing on it bumps into, and they actually put a little plastic panel there for my elbow to bump into instead of my into the, the ridge.
So it's like, again, it's the Monticello panel.
So, you know, they talked about it in development. Yeah.
But anyway yeah, really weird for the rear seat to be, this uncomfortable and such a big car.
I mean, on the topic, you brought up the the fit and finish in the trim is, is interesting because hit and miss, hit and miss.
Like Alex and Isaac noted, there's a there's a weird plastic piece on the door where two pieces of trim meet, but they meet with this divider as if they couldn't get it to line up perfectly.
So they'll put a plastic block in there so that your eye doesn't see that the two pieces don't line up properly.
Maybe it's just a design thing, but it it gives a look of like, well, I couldn't get it right.
So we'll just tape over it.
The stuff on the door that that it's, it's visually arresting.
Your eye is drawn to it, but you touch it well and then the next thing that is a human nature is, you know, like, oh, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna touch it and just like, oh, it it doesn't have the, the tactile sensation that you expect from something that looks so nice.
It's plasticky, a little bit rough, and just, just feels terrible.
And it feels terrible when you rub your hands across, it's hollow.
It's it doesn't.
It's more, you know, flash than substance.
I mean, it's on an area where you're like, oh, I'm driving around, right?
You know, holding it.
But like you said, it's human.
But you want to get things right. You touch things. Yeah.
I mean, at least I think it's one of those cabins that you get into it and you're like, oh, it's not too bad, actually.
I mean, when you look at it like, there's this you know, red stitching, a lot of red stitching, a lot of red and white stitching.
At least they didn't use glossy black trim on the center console design.
If you stole it off, there's none left for anyone else.
And then I'm torn on the pistol grip shifter.
From an ergonomics standpoint, I like it, and I and I think it looks cool.
Like it. It actually works well with my hand.
But I do know that a lot of people said in the log book, you know, just I guess it feels there's a flimsiness to that plastic, right.
That people just that thought felt out of place with the car, I guess, or.
Yeah. And it engaged.
Oddly, I found myself often like I tried to go to park, but I was in reverse on it, but it kind of like locked.
Felt like it locked in.
But it wasn't.
It's just an homage to the 1970s, sort of.
So, you know.
Oh, so it's as unreliable as in the 70s as well.
If you look at a manual transmission.
Oh, yeah, of a 70s, a Cuda or challenger and it is that pistol.
Give me the Hurst.
Exact. Right. Yeah.
And I agree with you on on the fit and finish it just things felt loose.
When you.
Because it does, it's visually arresting, but then you start touching stuff and it's like, well, that's kind of feels loose, and that kind of feels loose. And.
And Stellantis does not have a great reputation for reliability.
And some of that can be squeaks and rattles in Consumer Reports reliability surveys.
So it will be very interesting to me how this holds up over time.
But continue well.
So let's get into the controls.
The bar of buttons that sits below the vents.
Yeah yeah, yeah.
Okay. So on the good side they light up.
But on the bad side they are, they're hidden under a ledge and they're buttons that you would use, such as the turning off the auto stop start.
They can be low because they're not commonly used controls.
That's totally fine.
You know, put put a put the emergency flashers up high.
Put the put something that you're going to touch once down low and having a physical button.
Again kudos there.
But to hidden away in there low and there they're dark buttons recessed underneath the shelf.
It's just a little weird. Why not just out.
Just just present them to the to the driver a little better.
Yeah.
If you have sunglasses on, you almost have to take your sunglasses off to find them. Right.
And even though the emergency flashers is on its own, it's still kind of small.
Yeah. And a little bit under a ledge.
So it's.
And, you know, it's just not the that's something that you want to be able to press really quickly and quickly and press quickly.
It's small potatoes, but it's just, it's, it's it's attention to detail.
It's it's that type of stuff.
And just like okay, doing it to be ergonomically better for the driver now, especially with everything in a screen nowadays it's great that buttons but but make them useful.
Where's the wireless charger for $57,000. Yeah. Yeah.
So they trick you you.
I couldn't even believe the trick.
You they have these two great slots. Yep.
On the toward the front of the center console where you would put two different phones with a divider between them.
And it's even in it's a grippy rubber base there.
So they're not gonna slide around.
And for $57,000, you think you would get at least one wireless charger.
And it's not even two.
It's probably with the power hatch button, which is in the right place.
So you know. Yeah. So that's the.
Yeah, that's the other weird thing is so it's great that it's a hatchback, but there's no way to there's no button to open it on the driver's dash area or on the sometimes it's in near the driver's door pocket area.
It's not even on the keyfob.
Right, right. So you have to do it
only from the rear of the car, which again, is another oddity.
Yeah. Can I jump on the hatchback thing just for a second. Yeah.
So and actually so it, I drove it on a pretty cold day.
And as you know, sometimes cold weather can affect a vehicle's structure.
It might accentuate some squeaks and rattles.
And it sounded like the Kia Stinger that we tested years ago, which also was a hatchback design which always had squeaks in it.
And I'm wondering, you know, is that kind of, is there some structural integrity issues with a big hatchback?
So you were hearing were you hearing some?
Yeah, I was hearing rattles from, from our, our charger.
And while the, the hatchback is kind of convenient for hauling stuff, one of the things that that Jeff Bartlett pointed out was, you know, I went to the grocery store and, and my groceries tipped over and they all the stuff went closer to the back seat.
Yeah.
You can't really reach stuff because because it because it is such a big cargo area, you might find something that that moves.
Yeah. That you can't actually get at.
So, so, so there's, so the hatchback is good in some aspects but also has a few negatives going with it too.
I mean you'd find it with with some SUVs and sense if you, if a three row SUV if you keep the second row down or something like that.
But a lot of them all have a well or a lot of them have a panel underneath that you could you could store stuff. Okay.
As a grocery getter in the house, I do look for that because the falling over groceries, you know, and on top of the eggs is a pain in the neck.
So, yeah, totally, totally.
Visibility with the hatchback as well.
Again, that's also one of the downsides of that.
Yeah.
So I mean I found it it's it's compromised.
It's it's very hot.
Kind of a hi dash angled windshield.
Oh you got a hood scoop in the front.
It's it's okay, but it's not great, right?
You know, they definitely if you have a sedan, you know, okay, a sedan could be a little better.
You know, you have a hatch, you have a big, big piece of glass in the back.
That's not to to rain.
It's not like real, real steep. And
yeah, the styling probably took precedence over the functionality.
Well, yeah.
If you look at how chopped the windows are, I mean obviously, you know, you've got some very thick windshield pillars.
Yeah. Which we're seeing, you know, obviously, a lot of cars.
I'll give them credit at least the base of the windshield pillar doesn't get crazy thick like on some vehicles, but it is a very thick windshield pillar.
You have to look around.
The but then the front and rear side windows are just.
They're very much chopped, right?
And especially the rear window really has a dramatic taper.
So you're losing a lot of, you know, outward views there.
And then the rearmost pillars are super, super, super thick.
The rear window actually is decent sized and usable.
But you know, there's some huge blind spots formed by those.
The, the huge rear pillar stuff on, you know, I mean the world of backup camera standard now for, for decade plus, and all the sensors, you know, you're getting people now rely on that.
Yeah.
And I don't know if automakers think okay, it gives them some leeway.
Unfortunately, though, as we all know, backup cameras fail.
They they get recalled, the screen fails, and then you have a, you know, a whole host of people who and maybe, it's not the easiest seat to turn around in.
Maybe, you know, whatever it is, a person is not, you know, used to doing this type of thing.
Now all of a sudden, you don't have the visibility to back up.
You know, you don't have that ability, especially with everyone who backs in the parking spaces these days, for sure.
You know, maneuverability.
We can probably get into that.
Yeah. Like so other, other, other,
you know, negative points of this. Yeah.
So, I mean, I think one of the big ones that you notice almost immediately is some rough shifts from the transmission.
And I can't remember a car that that, it's especially the one to upshift in parking lots like, you know, when you just get going and you know, it wants to upshift and you're at hardly any throttle, and it's almost always really rough, this one to shift again.
We're talking parking lots, right?
Right. We're going through our gates here at that test track.
That's, that's hard to fathom that that would happen, but, and I'll steal a logbook coming from you.
You said hard to modulate at low speeds.
So, besides, besides this one to rough.
Want to shift in very, very low speeds.
Even just starting from a stop, I found it a little bit hard to modulate.
Unless you're super, super gentle with the throttle, it actually takes off with a little bit of a, a lurch, right?
Kind of an abrupt throttle delivery.
And then you've got this.
Usually. Not always pretty rough.
One to. Yep.
And then very pretty noticeable two three upshift.
So just as you're getting going you're like, man this car is kind of feels a little bit crude. Yeah. That said
I feel it kind of fits the character of the car a little bit.
It wants you to go fast.
It's like someone really jamming the gears.
Harmon so don't go slower.
So here's what I would say.
I, you know, I will ding it score wise when when we actually get into the true testing of this car, it has to be dinged for that as far as its powertrain.
Right. But I feel but it didn't bother me that much.
And it does fit the character of the car a little bit.
And I will say that there are a fair amount of times once you get beyond the two three, the rest of those options are usually pretty smooth.
And yeah, some some bumpy downshifts here and there, but just, just that very low speed stuff that just kind of could you you've got to be willing to put up with that.
And I think that a lot of people won't be expecting I mean, I do agree with that.
Well I didn't like it with the rain thinking like is it going to break?
You know, what's what's going to happen.
You know, stars is going to break loose. Starting up and turning. Yeah.
You know again pulling out in a traffic and turning like that was like it's like I mean I joke here, it's like a new driver with a clutch for the first time.
You know, they're you know, they're missing something.
They're, they're they're not engaging the clutch properly.
And what's really funny is that we're looking at cars.
My my daughter, who's getting her license soon.
And one of the things was a 21, 22 Volkswagen Taos.
I know no one needs to tell me the Consumer Reports stuff, but we're looking at different cars.
I'm getting ideas for her, and it's got that bad, you know, it's it's got the drivability issues.
This reminded me of driving the of the Taos, reminded me of driving this, this charger, the low speed drivability, it was just like, oh my gosh, they're so similar.
So you have a teenage daughter who was always torturing you, and now you want to torture her back by putting on a Taos?
Oh, no. Yeah, yeah, it's,
the the new ones are better, but, yeah, I, I also think, I'm not bothered that the engine and exhaust are kind of loud.
I'm a little bit bothered that they don't sound great.
It's, you know, I think leave it to Stellantis to somehow take an inline six, which is known as one of the smoothest engines that's ever been created.
And twin turbo charge it.
Okay, which also usually helps things as far as noise as far as, you know, helping to muffle sound to somehow make it gritty and rough sounding.
Now, I will say on the bright side, you're not.
You'd think you'd be feeling all kinds of vibrations coming through the steering wheel in the floorboards, you know, in the pedal, but you're really not.
But it just has this as you're accelerating this rather gritty sound to it that just it's loud.
I didn't mind it, but I don't think it sounds great.
It should sound way better.
They should have been able to tune it to make them more exhilarating, more invigorating.
Note, I think. Right.
Yeah, it'd be for the top package or something.
It just, just got to pay more for something.
It's hard to even say what it sounds like.
It's just so kind of it just for me. Blend.
It's just loud.
Yeah. It blended into the all the noise.
So it doesn't make you want to, like, roll the windows down from the radio off and listen to it like some cars.
Yeah, I still want to.
I still get into it a lot because I enjoy, you know, feeling the acceleration.
And I don't mind making a little bit of noise on occasion.
I just wish it was, much more invigorating sound, that's all.
So. And before I forget, you guys were interested in my reaction to the seats,
so I.
My notes are like, they just felt too soft and flat to me.
I appreciate your the comments you made about the bolstering and stuff like that.
And what what I haven't done with this car yet is take it on an extensive road trip.
So, I'm going to just say for the experience that I've had so far, I wasn't thrilled with I didn't hate the seats, but I wasn't thrilled with them.
That that kind of that.
You guys covered all most of the other negative aspects, as far as I'm concerned, unless there's any other ones.
I mean, I found a few driving position quirks that, I know I think you also found that, the left foot rest are what we in the industry call the dead pedal.
It's, kind of angled away from you, which is weird.
And so I.
I couldn't really use it quite as well as I wanted with my left foot.
That was a little bit, annoying and strange.
A fair amount of center console intrusion with your right knee.
That said, it's it's I think it's still plastic, but it's a weird, almost soft plastic, so it's not like it's really a layer of vinyl or leather, but there's something there that makes it a little more palatable than just plain plastic.
But it is kind of him in your right knee.
For, for a lot of people, I didn't think either one of the armrests were great.
I sit kind of, closer, as I think you do as well.
Quince.
So with both hands on the steering wheel, I'm trying to do it here.
Both hands. Imagine going down the highway.
My right elbow is almost always about to fall off because it's too far rearward.
The center one, it one has a it has a cutout also for, for the button, you know, for the latch.
So to open it.
Exactly, instead of having on the passenger side because the this is like an airplane passenger doesn't get the center.
Okay. That's true.
Driver gets this, driver gets the center and the door passenger gets the door.
And that's how the world operates.
So the cutout is right where the driver would put their elbow.
And then just getting to that, if you open up the center console and reach in, it has this cheesy claw latch right where you would reach through that'll that'll just scrape you up.
And because the lid doesn't go back super far, you end up hitting it.
It's it's little again just like the buttons not see it, but it's the little things that make the day to day living with the car, you know, somewhat annoying. Yeah.
Yeah. Right. Yeah.
Yeah.
And last thing on the driving position, you know, the floors kind of hide the seats kind of low.
Even with the adjustments.
It felt like, you know, you're dealing with it with an EV platform which has a higher floor overall.
So it it's clear that this is, as you mentioned, it's anything but boring.
You're going to drive this car, you're going to have an opinion about it.
It's not going to be one of those things that you completely forget about the second you walk away from it.
But, but the final question about the Chargers, like it's clear that this is targeted to, you know, people like us, you know, I don't know what do we call mid mid mid age guys.
Older guys.
37 I don't know what you're talking on.
You're 37 I'm 27. My god no.
So would would you buy this car or would you recommend it to a friend if you're starting with me?
Like I said, I don't mind driving.
Actually, I kind of enjoy driving it. Okay, so that's number one.
But what? I want to own it.
No, I wouldn't want to put up with a lot of the, the quirks of the car on a regular basis.
And I don't need a car that's that large or want a car that that is that large.
I would tell a friend, like, look, you're going to enjoy if you like driving and you, you know, which we really didn't talk about the handling.
But I think that's because because it's a very blah, but it's not it's for cruising, not the junior college. I'm
not going to tell a drag.
Yeah.
There are certain aspects that are fun about this car for sure.
That it does have good acceleration.
It does make some noise.
And, it's reasonably comfortable in terms of seats and ride, but you are going to put up with a lot of quirks and a lot of things that you'd have to put up with day to day.
If it were me, I would.
And of course, you never know what the reliability was still on Stellantis products so that would be something that would give some.
I would give someone else pause. Think about that.
If you're buying this car and also being a brand new car.
So if it were me, I would if I wanted, say, a four door, I would lean more towards something like, a Subaru, something that is, considerably cheaper.
You can get it with a manual gearbox.
It, handles way better.
It's more space efficient, makes way more sense.
It's it's a fair amount cheaper, which means then you would have enough money left over to put in some, you know, maybe engine exhaust, suspension mods make it your own.
Not a no no, but I'm just saying that and you would have way more fun driving that car than you would drive.
At least I would have, fun. Just the manual transmission.
Long way to make it. But. So that's what I would do.
You'd have all this money left over to really make that car unique and, make it even better than it is stock.
And it's pretty darn good.
Stop and kill the warranty, but bygones.
You don't, you don't.
You don't have to go crazy.
You can do mods without going berserk.
So you do buy STI approved mods.
Yeah. From you.
Just you just.
There you go. You just you got to be practical about it.
But you can have a lot of fun. Make a car unique. Yeah.
I don't know what you do about the styling. That's another story.
That's that you're inside.
Why did you stop looking at no point, as you would have way more fun driving that car.
If you like driving a man. Right. And you like handling.
Yeah.
Have way more fun driving something like this than you would this thing.
This thing, like I said, it's kind of for cruising town would be in your bucket list.
So I'm not a mopar guy.
So it's I don't have this long lost love.
I don't look back me like, oh, nostalgia or anything like that.
And I didn't do that.
When the challenge in the charger, you know, were resurrected.
I think it's such a polarizing vehicle because it attracts Mopar.
People like, you know, flies too, honey, in that respect.
I mean, you know, people see it. They'd want pull up.
We've had logbook comments of like, oh, this guy in the charger, this guy in a challenger, and this, you know, someone in a Dodge Avenger.
Okay.
You know, but, you know, I documented him up and came up to see it, you know, I so, yeah, if someone came up, it was just like, this is my bag.
You can't dissuade someone who already has their heart set on it, but it's not for me. Right.
It's not going to go in my garage, right?
I'm much more whether it's the veterans, like, more like Europhile type stuff.
Yeah, that that's my thing.
We we all like silly cars, which is why we do this and.
Yeah, for, for for me, I'm, I'm going to go for a mustang GT or a miata because we've talked about me, honest to to you, you're comparing a miata to a I'm charger.
I'm, I'm thinking that that it's who could fit in it.
I'm thinking that it's it's some ways it's kind of a silly car.
Okay. Okay.
The whole premise of this charger, it's kind of.
I don't see people crossing.
I mean, I'm not saying you cross shopping.
I'm. I'm like, right there
for I'm categorized again, just kind of a silly car.
Which I think this is, but but so I'm going to probably choose something else.
Actually, I was a big fan of the previous, edition Charger and Challenger.
I like V8 and rear wheel drive and and that's something that this vehicle is, is is obviously lacking.
So, I'm just going to kind of put it out there that you guys are right.
This this will attract a crowd.
And it definitely makes a statement.
Is it right for for you, for others?
I'm not sure.
I think those those old the last generation Chargers have a presence that this lacks.
Yeah. It just it just it's.
And because it was an EV initially and it had an EV an EV is supposed to be different.
And the other ones had this like just Butch bravado and but but they still do.
When he's starting off reintroducing the charger as an EV, he probably just took the wind out of the sails of a lot of the previous buyers.
Yeah, that's what I'm.
But at least they're in there offering it with gas.
And and now they've got a they got to build it back.
So, just a reminder this is our first impression of the new charger.
Check out Jeff Bartlett's first drive and Consumer reports.org for more information.
And that is going to bring us to our questions.
We'd love your questions.
Keep them coming.
Text 32nd videos.
Just go to Talking Cars at Icloud.com.
That's talking cars at Icloud.com.
And if we use your Questions podcast, we'll send you t shirt, some groovy automotive auto test swag or something like that.
So we have a question from Kirk from Gilbert, Arizona, who writes.
I've been subscribing to Consumer Reports since I was 18 years old.
I am now 70 years young.
I was recently driving through pine, Arizona on my way to a camping location and stopped for gas.
I noticed a gas pump stating racing fuel for $10.99 per gallon.
I asked an employee who was four and was told people use it on boats, motorcycles, chainsaws, ATVs and vehicles, saying customers claim the engine runs cleaner and increases engine performance.
Besides draining my wallet, if I use this racing fuel, well, what happen if I used it in my 2014 Subaru Crosstrek XP?
Is it true that it increases the performance of the engine?
So in this day of increased gas prices, this is a pretty critical situation that people have to kind of decide what they how much they're going to want to spend putting fuel in their, in their, in their car.
So, Mike, I'm going to start with you.
What do you have for Kirk?
Well, so if the question is what would happen if he did this?
The answer for Kirk is that very little would happen.
And other than draining your wallet, that's basically what's going to happen.
His Crosstrek was designed to run on 87 octane fuel, regular fuel by Subaru.
And that's what it's designed to run on.
Putting higher octane in your car does not immediately mean more power, though.
There are reasons.
And the reason why it's called racing fuel is there are reasons why an engine could take advantage of the higher octane, but it usually means you've done you've tuned the engine specifically to run on that higher octane.
You've probably changed some, internal components of the engine.
You've given it a higher compression ratio.
Quite often people turbocharging, you would you would, be able to do that, but without a specialized tune, you're not going to hardly make much gain at all.
And to the point that you probably not notice it by the seat of your pants right now.
That said, there are reasons to use expensive fuel, and for some of the ones that Kirk mentioned, or that the, the gas station person mentioned, and that would be to get ethanol free fuel.
And I will say, I do. I am one of those people that does that.
I buy two VPI racing fuel now.
It's not for the race aspect of it, it's just VPI racing makes this ethanol free, free fuel and it is 94 octane, but it has nothing to do with the octane.
It's all about not having ethanol enough fuel, because ethanol, really hurts the, the, the, lifespan of the fuel, it degrades it faster.
And when it's ethanol free, you can last like 2 or 3 years, they say, without, it going bad.
And when you have, So, for instance, I use this VPI, this ethanol free fuel in my chainsaw in my generator that I use, at home and as well as in my two carburetor, I have two dirt bikes that are carb rated, ethanol really gums up the carburetors.
And so you don't want that in there.
So by using this, unfortunately it is pretty expensive, but it's worth it if it means you don't have to keep doing carburetor rebuilds or the engine doesn't start when you need it to, and it's just knowing.
So basically you're using it for items that the fuel like take take a chainsaw.
You know, they don't.
They have tiny little gas tanks right.
And they're pretty fuel efficient.
And so but you say you make a gallon or two gallons of, you know, you mix that chainsaw fuel because it's two stroke.
You might have that for years.
You don't want that going bad.
So that's why a little bit of this VPI racing ethanol free fuel goes goes a long way.
Yeah.
John, you have experience or thoughts about, you know, beyond premium fuel now, he covered it.
Yeah.
I mean, so and just to that extent.
So my track motorcycle, my sport bike is designed to run on 91 octane.
So of course around here we, we have 93 octane.
But putting racing fuel in that bike is not going to do anything for me other than spending a whole lot of money.
Like, I would never put this ethanol free fuel on it, because I know that that bike gets used pretty regularly and then, you know, I just fuel stabilizer over the winter.
Right?
But I know that during the summer when I'm using it continuously, I'm not going to be pouring that crazy expensive ethanol free fuel in there, but I'm not going to put racing fuel in it either, because without having, you know, some internal engine modifications done, I'm not going to be getting the benefit of that 100 octane fuel.
Yeah. You're not going to hurt it. It's just
you might as well buy premium at $6 a gallon and burn the other $4 a gallon just for the hell of it.
And you actually will probably.
You'll be fine. Yeah. Right.
I mean, Consumer Reports has talked, as published about this, fairly extensively about how most consumers don't need to put premium fuel.
We're not going to talk about racing thoughts about premium fuel.
And like you, I put premium fuel in my small engines, my chainsaw, my string trimmer, my lawn, stuff like that.
But but I would never even I there's no there's nothing in my life that requires racing fuel.
But but I will put premium in the small stuff.
But in people's day to day cars and we've talked about this extensively.
If, if the manufacturer does not say it is required, you're not really gaining anything just by using premium.
So and we're going to be talking about the price of fuel in, in future, podcasts.
So definitely stay stay tuned.
If you're if you're curious about whether or not premium makes any difference for fuel economy or performance, and in most cases we will just say save your money.
And before we wrap up, if you're watching this on YouTube, we recently added a donate button to our page.
Consumer reports is a nonprofit organization, so if you're able to help us keep doing this important work like talking cars, we always appreciate it and that will do it for this episode, which was masterfully orchestrated by super producer Dave Abrams and expertly edited by Andrew.
I still play Hockey believes and of course, Anatoly the great Chomsky.
As always, check the show notes for more information on the vehicles and topics we discussed.
And just a reminder to please keep your questions coming.
Go to Talking Cars at icloud.com.
Thanks so much for tuning in. We'll see you next time.
About this episode
Hosts kick off with the 2026 Charger’s power options and the exact AWD spec they bought: a twin-turbo 420 hp 3.0L straight-six with an eight-speed automatic, plus the blacktop package and a “ludicrous paint” mention. They debate whether it’s exciting or “boring,” then dig into real-world behavior—loud cold starts, rough low-speed shifts, and rain traction/lag. Interior notes cover touch climate controls, seat comfort, ergonomics, and fit/finish, plus Stellantis reliability concerns and daily-ownership tradeoffs.
In this episode, we share our first impressions of the all-new 2026 Dodge Charger. The Charger features new styling and a hatchback design, a twin-turbo inline-six-cylinder engine, all-wheel drive, and an updated interior that feels small, despite the vehicle's overall size. We also discuss what Dodge got right, where the Charger falls short, and whether we'd recommend it over other enthusiast-focused vehicles. Plus, we answer a question about the differences between racing fuel and premium gas, and how octane ratings and ethanol-free fuel can affect performance in regular vehicles.
