Though people have been incredibly negative on social media, Dodge did a lot right with the creation of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona. Yes, the Hemi engine is gone. Yes, the Charger Daytona is electric. And, yes, it has just two doors. What I’m going to say is this: I hope I can convince you to get over it.
After spending just one day with the Charger Daytona, I’m a believer.
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona
For me, it starts with the people who created this next-gen Charger. (And yes, that’s what Dodge is calling it.) As Ashton Munoz, product manager for the Dodge Charger pointed out, the people who made the Vipers, the Challengers, the Chargers, the Hellcats, and the Demons are still here–and they had a hand in creating this vehicle.
“We still give a sh*t,” he said. “We love this car and this brand.”
And because they give a sh*t, before they began to conceptualize and build this vehicle, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear said that they started with a series of “what ifs?” What if we started with a Widebody Redeye (the ultimate expression of the previous-generation Challenger lineup), improved the 0-to-60-mph time, added standard all-wheel drive, implemented new tech and standard safety and did it all for $10,000 less?
And, what if it just happened to be an EV?
With the Scat Pack version of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona, Dodge managed to check most of those boxes. Standard AWD? Check. Uconnect 5 with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto? Check. A standard 12.3-inch infotainment screen? Check. Standard safety equipment? Check. And then you have check, check, check when it comes to the power and pricing. It has a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.3 seconds (which is 0.3 seconds faster than the Redeye), delivers base horsepower of 630 (which is 130 horsepower more than the base Redeye) and available horsepower of 670 (just 37 horsepower less than the peak horsepower of the Redeye). And that price tag? Well, the base price of the 2023 Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye was $94,965. The 2024 Challenger Scat Pack starts at $20k less than that.
Other than the what ifs?, McAlear said the Charger Daytona had to look like a Dodge, feel like a Dodge, sound like a Dodge and drive like a Dodge. So, let’s break all that down.
Inspired by the 1968 Dodge Charger
Some of the comments I’ve seen on social about the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona say it isn’t a real Charger because it has two doors, and that it doesn’t look like a Dodge. Well, I say those people need a little more institutional knowledge. Google the first-generation Dodge Charger if you don’t believe me. That’s 1966 in case you need a year. It was a two-door with a fastback roofline. So. If you want to get angry with a Dodge Charger for design, be mad at the outgoing model. Not this one.
The second-generation, starting in 1968, was also a two-door fastback but it had some smoother lines, and Scott Krugger, vice president for Dodge exterior design, said it’s this model that was the design inspiration for the Charger Daytona. I see this a lot in the profile. I even see it in the nose with the headlights that disappear under the lip. The bumped up hoodline is reminiscent of the hood scoop on the classic Hemi models.
Ryan Nagode, vice president and head of interior design for Stellantis North American brands, said the 1968 inspiration carries through to the interior with the blocky horizontal design of the dash. Sure, it has all the modern accoutrements, but you see the similarities with the slimmed up, driver-focused instrument panels.
The overall effect with the LED exterior lights and interior digital displays is a modernized throwback to the early Dodge Charger days. And if you’re really pining for a four-door model, it’ll be here in 2025, so slow your roll.
Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust
Perhaps the most controversial part of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona has to be the fake exhaust. As an explainer for what this system is, Dodge says: “The patent-pending Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust system on Dodge Charger Daytona models includes dual bespoke, high-efficiency extreme-bandwidth transducers coupled with dual Fratzonic Chamber-loaded passive radiators, all housed in a custom enclosure and powered by a dedicated amplifier with up to 600 watts of power.”
That’s geek speak for a really loud exhaust sound that’s not only piped into the cabin but also expelled via exterior speakers at the rear, exactly where you’d expect to hear an exhaust noise. But the Fratzonic exhaust is more than just noise. It’s feel. When you power up the vehicle, you feel the vibration in the seat of your pants, your foot on the brake pedal, your hands on the steering wheel. The vehicle almost feels alive.
It’s what gives the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona a soul. The sound mimics a V8 Hemi engine, and yes, if you listen closely, you can hear the electronic pitch. And the startup does sound a bit like a spaceship lifting off. But overall, Dodge did a darn good job, and an untrained ear probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference when the vehicle is driving down the road.
The tone of the Fratzonic exhaust changes depending on the drive mode selected. In Auto mode, it’s just a low hum, but it gets louder and deeper as you move from Sport to Track to Drag mode. If the idea of fake exhaust noise insults your sensibilities, just turn it off already. The interior instantly becomes eerily silent, and the exterior exhaust shuts off as well. You’ll still have the Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) sounds mandated by the government, which sound like a high-pitched hum, but that’s it.
But how does it drive?
Fast. It drives fast. We had the opportunity to drive the 496-horsepower R/T, and I was impressed with how quickly and smoothly it reached 80 mph–almost by accident. I’d merge on the highway, and bam, 85 mph almost instantaneously. The 670-horsepower Scat Pack was the same, but more. I’d get to highway speed and be cruising along, and the next thing I knew I was going 90 mph. In that respect, the fake exhaust is helpful. It’s an audible reminder that you’re accelerating, and it might help prevent some speeding tickets.
Leave the highway and hit the twisty bits, and the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona does really well. For a hefty 5,689-to-5,767-pound vehicle, it feels light on its feet. And because of the battery’s location under the car, this EV Charger is better balanced than the out-going gas model. I asked one of the pro drivers at the Radford Racing School if he could tell a difference, and he said definitely. And he pointed to the new Charger Daytona as being more well-mannered on a track.
Speaking of the track, we did get to spend some time pushing the Scat Pack through its paces. We did a couple loops on the track, did some drag racing, and tried our hand at drifting. I think I did more donuts than drifts, but in all I was stunned by how much it felt like a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle. I’d challenge a regular driver: If you didn’t know it was an EV, you might not know it was an EV.
But it is an EV, let’s talk range
You might think that as a high-powered muscle car, the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona would have limited range. But I don’t think it’s that bad – especially not in the base R/T trim. For a vehicle that delivers nearly 500-horsepower, it’s impressive that the top range is 308 miles. The Scat Pack, obviously, is lower, but it’s still respectable at 241 miles.
One of the snarky comments I got on social media said you’d probably burn the entire battery range with a single burnout, and I can attest to the fact that’s not true. The pro drivers at Radford did a drifting demonstration, and they burned through the tires faster than the range. The demonstration probably lasted 10 minutes, and each drivers had to swap cars at least once due to burning rubber, literally, off the tires. Now, driving like a speed demon isn’t going to do your range any favors, but that’s true with any EV.
In order to “re-fuel” your Daytona Charger, know that peak charge rate with a 350 kW DC fast charge is 183 kW, and you’ll go from a 5-percent state-of-charge to 80% percent in about 33 minutes.
Power is pricey
When you talk about pricing on the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona, you might do a bit of a double take. Base price for the R/T is $61,590 (including the $1,995 destination), and the Scat Pack starts at $75,185. The vehicles we were driving all included about $10,000 in options, so you’ll likely not walk out the door for less than $70,000. Option packages (with things you’re going to want) include:
- Plus Group: ($4,995): Includes synthetic leather seats with ventilation (R/T) or leather seats with ventilation (Scat Pack); 16-inch driver display (R/T, standard on Scat Pack), power hatch, ambient lighting, head-up display (R/T, standard on Scat Pack), 360-degree camera, wireless charging, premium LED headlights, Dodge logo puddle lamp.
- Blacktop: (R/T) ($1,095): Includes dark exterior badges, 20-inch dark aluminum wheels with Nexen-brand tires, or 20-inch dark aluminum wheels with Goodyear Eagle Sport All-Season tires, and Plus Group.
- Sun & Sound: ($2,495): Includes glass roof and 18-speaker Alpine PRO audio system.
- Carbon & Suede: (Scat Pack) ($2,995): leather/suede high-back performance seats, door panel with carbon-fiber insert, instrument panel with carbon fiber and suede, suede headliner and A-pillars, carbon-fiber exterior mirrors, dark exterior badging, 20-inch dark aluminum wheels.
The Sixpack commeth (ICE alert)
The Dodge Charger Daytona is intended to be the top end of the Charger spectrum, just like the Hellcat was on the outgoing model. Base versions of the Charger will actually be gasoline models equipped with the maker’s 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged 6-cylinder “Hurricane” engine. The High Output (H.O.) Hurrican variant will deliver 550 horsepower, with the standard engine producing 420 horsepower.
The H.O. will only be available on2-door Chargers, and the standard mill only on 4-door models.
Both of these vehicles will be available in late 2025.
Two things I didn’t like
There were really just two things I didn’t like about the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona–and neither of them had to do with range or price. Nope, they were two stupid simple things that Dodge needs to fix.
First is the shoulder belt. No matter how I adjusted the seat, the belt cut into my neck. Because of how the seats are designed, there is no way to adjust the belt height. So, it is what it is. Unless the design of the seat changes.
The other big thing that needs to change? There should be rear-seat releases in the trunk that allow the seats to fold flat without someone climbing into the back seat to hit the latch on the seats themselves. In the sedan version, this won’t be a huge deal, but in the coupe, it’s a very huge deal for taller or bigger drivers. They have to move the driver’s seat and squeeze themselves in the back in order to release the seats to get a flat load floor. What’s the point of having a hidden hatch design if it’s difficult to fold the seats flat and you never use the cargo space?
Our take
The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona is a great vehicle. Full stop. It has muscle car design with its widebody stance as well as muscle car DNA with its performance and power. If petrol heads will give it a chance and get behind the wheel, I think there’s a good chance they’ll be won over like I was.
Listen to the Car Stuff Podcast
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Pictures
Click below for enlarged images
