Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty, Little Ball of Rage: 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat
Let me be absolutely clear before we continue; the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is not a sports car. It won’t out-lap a Porsche Panamera at the track. It doesn’t have an interior indicative of a $70,170 price tag. But, the car is freakin’ awesome and will surely go down as one of the greatest cars to roam the streets of America.
For this review, we flew to the great state of Texas. The roads anywhere else in the country just aren’t suited for what the Hellcat is capable of. Speed limits are high, the roads are long and straight, and there’s many miles between big cities where there’s absolutely nothing around. Plus, the feeder roads in the boonies are an added bonus. If you live in a congested city, the Hellcat might not be for you. But if you live in the wide open, the 707 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque Hellcat might just be the ticket.
If you’ve read any review about the Hellcat you’ll know that the car is surprisingly simple to drive. I’m here to tell you it is. The steering is heavy (and still hydraulic, by the way), but still easy to handle. The turning radius is excellent for a car with such big tires. It’s easy to see out of, and it’s easy to park.
It’s also incredibly docile at normal speeds. This is a car that I could toss the red key to my mother and she’d come back in one piece. I’ve driven other fast cars where that simply isn’t the case. Around town the car is great. Cruising down the highway is great. Going to Whataburger in it is great. There’s nothing that can flummox the everyday usefulness of this car.
But then, if you want to go quickly, you can. Putting your foot to the floor will surely cause the rear wheels to lose a bit of traction as the car lunges ahead. To use a Star Trek reference, everything else you’ve probably driven is like traveling at impulse, and the Hellcat at full-throttle is like warp drive. The Hellcat doesn’t just get you to “go to jail speed” quickly, but it takes you past that to “the cops won’t even bother to try speed” in record time.
The acceleration is brutal and relentless. You can be at any speed and put your foot down and you immediately passing traffic like its standing still. It also doesn’t do it subtly; the car is loud and obnoxious and oh so delicious. The supercharger whine is especially delightful.
When you need to come down from those supersonic speeds, the 6-piston Brembo brakes do everything they can to slow you down. They’re very good on the street.
What’s special about the Charger Hellcat is that it’ll seat 5 people comfortably. The truck is a good size. It’ll eat the miles up on any road trip and leave you still wanting to keep driving even after you get to your destination. Heated and cooled seats are on tap, as is a heated steering wheel. The Uconnect infotainment system is still one of the best in the business.
So what’s not to love? The interior, although nice, isn’t where the money is spent on a car of this caliber. It’s clearly ripped straight from a normal Charger, with just nicer seats. It’s absolutely fine and I could live with it everyday, but if I had to find a negative that would be it. There seems to be more plastic than in the Challenger or Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT models.
Lastly, not that it matters, but after a week in the car driving it like a mad man, I still managed 17 miles per gallon on premium unleaded. That’s not too shabby given the performance this car has.
If you are at all thinking about getting one, just do it. Buy it. You won’t be sorry.
Let us know what you think by sounding off over in the forums!
