| The Good | The Bad |
| ✓ Squared-off styling | ☓ It’s big…and it’s heavy |
| ✓ AWD handling capability | ☓ Ok, but not great fuel economy |
| ✓ Compliant (if a bit firm) ride | ☓ “Plus” model is still really expensive on paper |
| ✓ Rear-wheel drive is one button away | ☓ How ’bout a Hemi? |
2026 Dodge Charger R/T Sixpack Overview: The new ‘entry-level’ Charger
After the demise of the long-running Charger and Challenger from Dodge’s lineup, we were originally promised a fundamental transformation of what the “muscle car” is about. The result of that initial promise was the electric Charger Daytona, which brought a lot of muscle star styling cues but a powertrain which enthusiasts weren’t too keen on (and that’s putting it generously). The Charger Daytona passed fans by with a resounding “meh”, so now the 2026 Dodge Charger Sixpack lineup is here to ostensibly give the fans what they actually want: a version that burns good old gasoline. Because this is America, dammit, and the Mopar guys aren’t going to abide the Mustang being the last refuge of the muscle car glory days.
To that end, Stellantis pivoted its marketing pitch hard toward the twin-turbo inline-six Charger after the Daytona, in terms of sales, went over like a lead balloon. Two versions of the gas-burning Charger are available for 2026, as are two body styles (two-door and four-door liftback). The R/T we have here packs the standard output 3.0-liter Hurricane, packing 420 horsepower. The Scat Pack gets the high-output version, churnging out 550 horsepower. Sure, some folks out there still want a Hemi V8 under the hood, but at this moment, at least, this is what you get (and I’ll get into more detail on why that’s OK in a bit).
The 2026 Dodge Charger lineup’s inclusion of the Sixpack adds a more muscular hood with a distinctive power bulge, in place of the electric Charger’s flow-through ‘R-Wing’ design. Instead of the faux Fratzonic exhaust, you also get a couple proper pipes out back to channel what noise that six-pot can muster. Another big change for this LB-generation Charger isn’t just the new platform itself or the engine, but the standard all-wheel drive layout. Fortunately for muscle car faithful, though, you can make it rear-wheel drive only at the push of a button with no power penalty.
Since Dodge decided to scrap the entry-level Daytona R/T, the gas-powered R/T is also the least expensive way into the 2026 Dodge Charger lineup…although it’s not exactly cheap. Pricing for the two-door Charger R/T comes in at $51,990 including destination, with the four-door packing a $2,000 premium (both cars ride on the same wheelbase, but the couple extra doors naturally adds a bit of practicality). If you actually want some goodies in your Charger, though, you’ll have to step up to the $56,995 R/T Plus.
Fortunately, at time of writing, Dodge is putting down $1 for every horsepower your desired Charger has (so $420 for the R/T, $550 for the Scat Pack) as a “Gas Conquest” or “Gas Loyalty” incentive to trade your existing ICE car toward a Sixpack. That’ll come in handy for the more expensive Scat Pack, as that model starts at $56,990 and runs to at least $61,995 — and you can push both models even higher with added-cost packages and premium paint colors.
First impressions: The 2026 Dodge Charger is still a big, beefy and bulky car
While the old Challenger coupe was closer to a direct pony car rival to the Ford Mustang, this new Charger sticks to the same full-size designation as the old sedan. That means this is a big car, whether you spec it as a two-door or four-door. This latest Dodge Charger rides on a long 121-inch wheelbase, and measures out to 206.6 inches in overall length as well as 79.8 inches in width. Even though it does, to its credit, come in half a ton lighter than the Daytona EV, this 4,816-pound Sixpack is still a big, beefy boy to hustle around.
That sort of size coupled with the squared-off styling both front and rear gives the new Charger presence, similar to the ’68-’70 generation model that clearly inspired this new car. When I first saw those first teasers, I wasn’t too sure about the new Charger’s styling direction (mainly owing to the EV’s aerodynamic look). After checking both the Sixpack Scat Pack and this R/T out, though, Stellantis’ design team hit the mark between retro inspiration and modern style with this one, both inside and out. The liftback design also offers a far more generous cargo area arrangement than you’d expect with a conventional coupe, while the seats fold down to accommodate up to 37.4 cubic feet of stuff.
Speaking of the inside…
Whichever Sixpack model you try out, you’ll be greeted to another mix of old-school and modern cues. You get a stacked dashboard setup with the digital instrument cluster separated from the central screen (also helpfully canted toward the driver), with another layer above that featuring a “CHARGER” logo on the passenger side. Look out to the sides, and the R/T Plus model features “Attitude Adjustment” lighting that accentuates the texture making its way back from the dash through each of the front door cards. The company’s latest models also make widespread use of the flat-bottom and top steering wheel, with the Charger being no exception.
One of the headline cues of the 2026 Dodge Charger lineup, though, is the Pistol Grip shifter.
Sadly, there’s no 6-speed manual option even with the Sixpacks, but the sculpted shifter i meant to make engaging with the car’s 8-speed automatic a bit more special. By and large, it does look cool and feel satisfying to use…though unless you’re deliberate about your hand movement, there’s a chance you’ll knock the shifter past Reverse and into Neutral when you go to back up. Fortunately there’s not the same issue for Drive, since you just click the selector back until it stops.
While everything looks cool, as far as actual build quality execution, I’d give the Charger a C minus. When you go to close the door, for example, your hand will rub against that textured, sort of rubberized feeling plastic, and you’ll brush against more cheap plastic when you go to hit the engine start switch or gesture toward the shifter. Push a button on the overhead console, and the whole headliner moves with it. Again, the styling is great, but other parts of the sensory experience don’t make the Charger R/T Plus we tested feel like a nearly $62,000 car.
On the up side, however, the seats are fantastically comfortable, as is the car’s ride generally. The R/T Plus once again upgrades your standard seating setup with heated and ventilated front seats, as well as heated rear seats. Personally, I’d go for the four-door Charger just to make those back seats more practical to use, and as far as shuttling passengers around, the back row does feel appropriately comfortable, even with the bulkier buckets up front.
If you’re shopping between the base R/T and the R/T Plus, the latter model also gets you a larger 16-inch driver display, a head-up display, paddle shifters, a 360-degree camera system, a security alarm system, wireless smartphone charging, a power hatch, rain-sensing wipers, the 12.3-inch Uconnect 5 Nav system and ParkSense front and rear parking sensors, among a few other quality-of-life upgrades.
Getting to everything through Uconnect 5 is a cinch
One area of refinement Stellantis has done well over the past several years is its Uconnect infotainment system. Is it perfect? To that, I’d respond “is any piece of modern software perfect? Hey, at least it’s not Windows.” Nevertheless, the fifth-generation system is one of the best operating systems to use on a day-to-day basis. It looks good, it’s responsive to use and groups controls together in a way that actually makes sense.
For example, you’ll be visiting the Vehicle settings page a fair bit. If you have the $2,995 Performance Handling Group, that’s where you’ll be able to access fan favorites for the Charger line Line Lock, Launch Control and the Performance Shift Indicator. On the rest of the Sixpack models, it’s also where you’ll be able to disconnect the front axle, sending 100% of the available power to the rear wheels when you want to hoon around a bit.
Verdict: The Charger R/T is a great option, if you can swing the price tag
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know all too well that the new Dodge Charger launch was a bit rocky, to put the situation mildly. A fair number of folks either rolled their eyes or ignored the all-electric Charger Daytona completely, so Dodge knew pretty quick it had to roll out an ICE model. It’s a tough tightrope to walk, as the brief to the designers and engineers was to create a cool-looking, modern iteration of a classic muscle car on a platform meant for fully electric vehicles as well as gas engines, as part of the company’s “multi-energy” approach. And even though some will never be satisfied so long as there isn’t a Hemi under that hood, the Hurricane is a properly punchy unit, even in this 420-horsepower R/T model.
From the looks to the onboard tech, the comfortable seats and the surprisingly practical liftback design, there’s a lot to like about the 2026 Dodge Charger Sixpack lineup. Of the two available power outputs, I would probably stick with the R/T for one reason and one reason alone: price. The Scat Pack is naturally even quicker, but for what this car’s strength to would-be buyers is — as a large-and-in-charge grand tourer — the R/T gets you 95% of the way there with a little better fuel economy.
Sticking with the R/T over the Scat Pack also gives you a little more wiggle room to make some choices. Do you want more power, or more features? The base 2026 Dodge Charger R/T starts off at $51,990 including destination. You can step it up from there through packages or the more feature-rich R/T Plus model, which brings you to the same $56,990 as the non-Plus Scat Pack (and the 4-door will cost you $2,000 over a 2-door model). Fully built out, the R/T Plus we tested here came out to $61,975.
That’s certainly not cheap, but that is in a competitive price band to what you’re most likely to cross-shop, which is the Ford Mustang. It’s worth noting, in case it wasn’t already obvious, the Charger takes up a considerably larger footprint than its pony car rival. Its gas powertrain options also bookend the Mustang’s V8 offerings, with the R/T being less powerful than the 486-horsepower Mustang GT, but the Scat Pack being more powerful than the Dark Horse.
So, which one should you choose, if you are shopping the two? Try to peg the pros and cons of each and it may be a tougher choice than you think. That said, if you want an uncompromising sports/muscle car, I’d still go with the Mustang. If you want a potent GT car that compromises a fair bit more on practicality, then you should definitely consider the Charger.
And even if you don’t dig it, I’m at least happy that there’s some competition in this space again. With GM reportedly contemplating a new Camaro, we could soon be back to a proper Big Three throwdown, and I’m excited to see what comes of that.
