2006 Dodge Charger Srt8 Hp
Road test: 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8
I've always wanted a name with some pomp and circumstance. You know, one of those English peerage-sounding things where everybody addresses you by three names, maybe even with a hyphen in it. A Roman numeral would be the capper -- like Jonathan Livingston Seagull III. Or John Irving Brooks XIV.
I've always wanted a name with some pomp and circumstance. You know, one of those English peerage-sounding things where everybody addresses you by three names, maybe even with a hyphen in it. A Roman numeral would be the capper — like Jonathan Livingston Seagull III. Or John Irving Brooks XIV.
With a name like that, you could step up to any podium, spill forth an entire half hour of twaddle and it would still be greeted as a homily from the mount. Get introduced to a rabble of business associates and, as soon as you hit them with that "the Third" thing, everybody will assume you're the chief executive potentate. People know you're important when they have to address you by three names. On the other hand, tell them your name is simply David Booth and they'll ask you for extra ice in their double Johnny on the rocks.
Sooner or later, though, you'll have to back up the moniker with some real juice, some gravitas as it were. An important-sounding appellation will only take you so far before you have to reveal at least a modicum of substance. Even Jean Paul Getty had to build a museum for people to take his wealth seriously.
This is exactly what the SRT8 does for Dodge's Charger. Charger, after all, is a name stoked with both attitude and heritage. The former is fairly self-explanatory — "charging," at least in automotive terms, implies a certain performance and the ability to stay ahead of the pack.
As for the former, the new Charger needs to fill some pretty sizeable shoes. The original 1966 edition, after all, saw the debut of America's most famous engine, the 426 Hemi. Famed for its drag strip prowess, its 425 horsepower essentially ushered in the full-fledged muscle car era.
It's no mere coincidence that the new SRT8 version of the 2006 Charger boasts that same 425-hp output. The new engine may not share the original's actual hemispherical combustion chamber from which the Hemi name derived, but at least it can share its legendary output — which the new Charger puts to good use.
Though the original may have actually put out closer to 500 ponies (Dodge's "modesty" was an attempt to placate insurance companies), its zero-to-96-kilometres-an-hour time of 6.4 seconds would easily be bested by the modern Charger as a result of the minuscule traction offered by the '60s edition's Skinny Minny bias-ply tires.
This is not something of which the SRT8 Charger can be accused. Trundling down the street with a mere burble emanating from the Charger's twin pipes, even casual observers figure this isn't a family car (the new Charger, unlike its progenitor, has four doors) to screw with. Shod all 'round with bad-ass 20-inch chrome rims and grippy Goodyear F1 tires (meaty 255/45s in the back), it's little mystery that the SRT8 has some moxie — enough, in fact, to smoke those Goodyears at will.
Switch off the Mercedes-sourced Electronic Stability Program traction nanny and even a small goose of a throttle elicits an embarrassing — if you're in front of the local parish — chirp from the tires. Floor it and big plumes of acrid smoke follow you like tell-tale evidence of a troubled youth. Chrysler's 6.1-litre V8 is a honkin' engine, even if it has only two valves per cylinder and nary an overhead camshaft to be found.
The only thing preventing the Charger from being even more of a ripsnorter is its 1,890-kilogram curb weight, a significant amount to haul even for a fire-breathing V8. All that heft also limits what the Charger can accomplish on a twisty road. Despite the gumball tires, some extremely firm springs and seriously butch roll bars, the SRT8 isn't as nimble as something smaller like an M3 on a sinuous road. Oh, its grip is exemplary and body roll is minimal, but anything this big can't exactly be tossed into corners. Ess bends will seriously flummox the Charger. But push it hard on a constant-radius corner, especially if it's a decent radius, and the Charger is remarkably adept for something that started, albeit about two iterations back, as a Mercedes E-Class.
Of course, as Dodge is Chrysler's budget division, the $44,790 SRT8's interior is pretty basic. It's all efficiently laid out, but there's no mistaking the Charger's dashboard for that of a luxury car or even a Chrysler 300C. And, though it boasts a six-disc CD changer, the tester's audio system had the worst radio reception I've experienced in years.
Surprisingly, one thing that the aforementioned hot-and-pricey Bimmer can't match are the Charger's seats. Part of the transformation to SRT status is the leather-and-suede seats that are more supple and better bolstered than the M3's. They are among the best in the business and make this super Charger plenty comfortable.
In the end, it's that comparison to BMW's famed M cars as well as Mercedes' AMG tuning arm that does justice to the Charger SRT8. Like the breathed-on BMWs and Mercs, the Charger combines practicality and performance with amazingly little sacrifice to either. Yes, it's a big old boat with a four-door pedestrian profile, but it also earns that Charger name honestly, from both performance and heritage points of view.
dbooth@nationalpost.com
THE SPECS
TYPE OF VEHICLE Rear-wheel-drive sports sedan
ENGINE 6.1L OHV V8
POWER 425 hp @ 6,200 rpm; 420 lb-ft of torque @ 4,800 rpm
TRANSMISSION Five-speed manumatic
BRAKES Four-wheel disc with ABS
TIRES 245/45YR20 front; 255/45YR20 rear
PRICE: BASE/AS TESTED $44,790/$50,345
FUEL ECONOMY L/100 km 16.5 city, 10.9 hwy.
STANDARD FEATURES Air conditioning, power door locks and mirrors, power adjustable heated front seats, power adjustable pedals, cruise control, AM/FM/CD audio system with 276-watt amplifier and six speakers, child seat anchors, fog lamps, tilt/telescoping steering column, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, universal garage door opener
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Source: https://driving.ca/dodge/charger/reviews/road-test/road-test-2006-dodge-charger-srt8-2
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