Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT

Expert Review by Maxabout

As a motor enthusiast and a reviewer, I have had the opportunity of driving very powerful cars over the years. However, few have given me such a rush and such satisfaction as the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. American muscle car lovers can now rejoice as this car has finally landed in India with a stunning combination of brute force, aggressive design and contemporary features that is sure to disrupt the premium performance sedan market.

There was something about the Charger SRT Hellcat that told me what to expect. Its aggressive stance and broad body struck a chord. Looking at it, one knew how much horsepower the car was secretly harbouring. Slide behind the wheel and push the start button on the supercharged V8 and one can feel the growl resonate through their entire body. This is what I said in my mind and I think this is why I love cars.

To describe the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the simplest possible terms, It’s a reincarnation of the American muscle car: It is brash and unapologetic in its approach and design. And pieces of the car make you stand in awe of how the design flows and integrates. The front end is primarily adorned by a black, massive central grill with the SRT Hellcat badge and LED lights that make the car very striking at this in-your-face impression.

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat designs have a good integration of the traditional American muscle car appeal and the contemporary aggressiveness outlook. Most vehicles have resistance and aerodynamic traction with many features that make the vehicle look offensive. Car boot profiles are characterized by a coupe type of roof flowing in to the trunk smoothening the model profile. The chunky body panels which support body undersides also rake a backward alignment at the centers of the wheel of 20 inch tires fitted by performance tires enhancing the macho stance of the car.

Moving towards the back, regarding the car's performance aspect, one wouldn’t be able to doubt with the generic full-width LED taillights and the quad exhaust tips. The inconspicuous rear spoiler gives the car slight aggression without being too bold.

Upon taking my seat inside the vehicle, I was welcomed by a semi-circle of monitors with a comfortable an accurate driving perspective. It was a sporty flat bottom leather covered steering wheel that was enjoyable. The sport seats were highly-curved seat to give comfort even in long moving stints. The complicated, hack and fast, Porsche centre goes with luxury cars and high technology which seems too extremely expensive for a sub construct. Even their interior copy samurai bacula although did not include any oriental artworks.

Dominating the center console of the off-road Charger is an 8.4 inch Uconnect multitouch infotainment screen, responsive to touch and filled with attractive graphics. The steering wheel also does sport swtiches on top of the gauges to suit a sportier feel.

To summarize my thoughts and opinions about the Charger SRT Hellcat, I believe that the design of this car is the most American Muscle Modern as it can be. However intimidating it is, it is still tasteful and elegant which garners attention even on Indian roads.

Performance and Powertrain

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V8 engine that makes a huge 707 horsepower and 881 Nm of torque. Besides the in-line 8- engine, these figures put it into the categories of supercars making the car one of the most powerful sedans in India.

The Hellcat offers over the top performance which is further enhanced when paired with an 8-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission. On one of my test drives, I managed to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.6 seconds and achieve a quarter mile in 11.8 seconds. Even fully loaded and over 2,000 kg, these are incredible numbers for an ordinary four-door sedan.

The constant availability of power at any speed even impressed me. Passing on highways, while driving the Hellcat, was not tiresome, as the car simply ran by every bit of hindering traffic. The accompaniment to this performance is hardly more sedative: the supercharged V8 growls – yes, growls and his emotions straining up hard – under acceleration.

Appellate purposes carrying seem from looking to plentiful Development SRT based on 1991 pistol looks pondering. Nevertheless I should say this one, the Charger SRT Hellcat is a neatly done straight-line performance car with surprises when corners are presented. The adaptive Bilstein suspension does a very good job of suppressing the body roll of the car when putting it through twisty roads and the substantial Brembo brakes help regain control fairly easily.

I enjoyed the daily driving which Indian road conditions offer and especially the feature to change the different drive modes. While Street mode gave a fair amount of performance and comfort in terms of city use, I was able to utilize the benefits of Hellcat in Sport and Track modes for more focused driving.

It is also important to mention that there is a significant amount of restraint and skill required to be able to put the complete force of the Hellcat to the test on normal driving roads. The fact that it is rear wheel drive means that there is a propensity to a loss of traction especially with Indian road conditions that leave much to be desired. I used the traction control system a lot during my test drive.

As expected the Hellcat is not known for its fuel economy. For the entire one week that I had the vehicle with me, i was getting around 5-6 km/l on a mixed cycle. This number decreased even further in the case of over-enthusiastic driving or heavy traffic conditions. If they go ahead with the purchase, they should be prepared for continuous stopping at petrol stations and high fuel expenses.

What You Get

The design of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat brings a number of advanced features and the most modern technology both in terms of extra performance resources and comfort. The prominent feature of the infotainment system is the wonderful 8.4 inches Uconnect touch screen which I can say is one of the most user-friendly and fastest in the industry. It allows users to use their devices on-demand with Apple Car and Android, and includes self-guided maps.

Alongside the listening experience, the passengers in the ride were in harmony with the 19-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system which was a great sound engineering delight. Another feature that stands out was Performance Pages which helped me to view the performance metrics and arrangements of the car in real time and make certain changes.

In terms of safety, the Hellcat is well endowed with advanced driver assistance features or ADAS. Some of these are further collision mitigation features such as adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert and assist, blind spot surveillance together with forward crash warning with automated brakes. These during the test drive gave me some peace of mind as I witnessed them working effectively which is essential more so in the rat race that is driving in India.

SRT Drive Modes is a fantastic feature of the system that allows the driver to enhance the validity of the performance characteristics. For traveling in different conditions and for different personnel liking, I could change the engine specifications, transmission, suspension and steering. The Launch Control feature was very exciting, because it enabled such fast starts from the stationary position.

For instance, the Hellcat has a wide range of performance options under the hood, some of which its rivals do not offer. One After-Run Chiller, for example, does not allow cooling the supercharger unit until the engine is turned off, thus aiding in the performance effects during racing. The Line Lock option is not really useful, as there are very few places to use it legally on the road, but is quite a cool parlor trick for doing burnouts.

Variants

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is offered in two basic variants of the Indian sub-continent.

Charger SRT Hellcat: This is the basic Hellcat variant that comes with all mainstream performance and luxury equipment and the 707 hp supercharger engine.

Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye: This is the more powerful variant where the tuned version of the Hellcat engine boasts of 797hp. Some added performance enhancement and extras styling features are also added to this type.

To my understanding most enthusiasts will find the Hellcat standard to provide rather satisfactory performance and value for money purchased. It is challenging to take maximum advantage of the uprated power of the Redeye and many may find the atypical premium price difficult to defend.

Market Position and Pricing

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is positioned in the Indian market as a high-performance luxury sedan, while being clearly positioned as a low volume player. It is expected to range between Rs. 1.3 to 1.5 crore (ex-showroom) and in terms of price, is much cheaper than the European super sedans, albeit offering similar, if not better, straight-line performance.

Here, the Hellcat also has serious competitors like BMW M5, Mercedes-AMG E 63 S, and Audi RS7 Sportback. Although These German competitors may come with better interiors, and probably better brand respectability in India’s market for the robust Class of Cars, Hellcat offers brute force, typical American muscle car styling, and so sought weight rare in this market.

In my estimation, for its segment, the Charger SRT Hellcat is reasonably priced in terms of what it has to offer in terms of performance, especially to those who have no problem sacrificing the ultimate in luxury or cutting edge technology for performance and other new experiences.

Target Audience

It is apparent that the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is oriented some car fanatics in India, its aimed market includes:

Performance enthusiasts: Those who are simply power and acceleration addicts and nothing else matters.

Muscle car enthusiasts: Buyers who adore the ethnicity and history associated with the American muscle cars.

Collectors and enthusiasts looking for something to add more value to: The Hellcat will also appeal because of its rarity in the Indian market.

Affluent individuals: The pricing of the car is such that it favours luxury car buyers who buy cars in sets of more than two high end cars.

Track day warriors: It is not a race car, but it is good for the tracks if need be once in a while.

I personally feel that the Charger SRT Hellcat is where the buyers can afford to buy it as a second or a third car because in India such aspirations may come with fuel efficiency and high maintenance.

Value for Money

With the market that Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat aims at, it is quite obvious that there is always going to be a fair amount of criticism. Which way do you always fall? On one side, it has supercar comparable performance at a fraction of cost compared to some exotics. The vehicle is equipped with a powerful engine, advanced performance elements and original design, which is simply brave to locate within its class.

But before cutting a cheque, buyers should consider the following factors :

Fuel expenses : The car, even while driven modestly, gulps down a great deal of fuel behind the wheel and this means that certain areas of India for example where the fuel takes high premium may be uneconomical in terms fuel cost.

Regular Costs: As new niche products there may be some problems with overloading luxury service and spare parts in India.

Everyday Usage: Yes, it has a four doors, but considering the Hellcat, its level of performance may make it inconvenient for daily use given the traffic situation in India.

Status Buyers: In India, the dodge brand does not share the same appeal to the status seeking car buyers when compared to other European car makers.

The ultimate value proposition offered by the Charger SRT Hellcat – at least in my opinion – can be best articulated for those who are open-minded enough to appreciate performance & uniqueness over practicality & ultimate refinement. It comes at an excellent price point as it provides driving dynamics and a level of performance that very few other vehicles boast at such a price.

Mileage and Mileage Potential

That said, fuel economy – or, to be more specific, the relatively small fuel consumption – is not the best feature of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. In the course of carrying out my one-week drive test in various driving conditions in India, I noted the following:

In the city: 3-4 km/l Highways: 6-7 km/l Combined driving experience: 5-6 km/l

These numbers are low geared towards what one would expect considering most luxury sedan features in India. Nonetheless, this should also be noted that people in this segment would not be concerned about the mileage. The undesirable aspect bringing the Hellcat’s anger down is the measure of petrol that the purchaser would need to put in their engines.

Rated with a fuel tank of 70 liters the theoretical tank range is about 350-400 KMs under average mixed conditions. In reality, I found myself refuelling after every 250-300 km while fancying a bit of hard acceleration.

Competitors and Comparison

Competitive products of Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in Indian markets include. In comparison, the BMW M5 offers better interior comfort along with handling & dynamics. But it lacks the brute force.

Mercedes-AMG: “715 Horsepower is more dignified and refined than the surge and rumble of a Chrysler or Dodge.”

Audi RS7 Sportback: ‘It compromises on neither performance nor practicality and has a hatchback.’

Porsche Panamera Turbo: ‘This will tend to be in the higher price brackets but there is better handling and materials used in the build.’

The heckcat in such comparison appears to be an brutish American muscle car which oozes with quite copious amounts of horsepower. In fact, it has the highesthorsepower in its class as well as the fastest acceleration. What it lacks however are the interior refinement and brand value which is unfortunately poor in the Indian market.

As for the handling, I did appreciate European catch up, but they are especially in the curves handled more neutered and accurate able upon throttle. The hellcat is better than past generations but still tends to be more comfortable on a straight line and for Drag Racing.

Conclusion

For recent two whole years the market of High-Performance Sedans has been ‘swamped,’ ‘ flooded’ or rather wracked by Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. It has an interesting advantage as for a four-door car there is an extraordinary power and acceleration. Which also has its reasonable price range in this segment.

I was overwhelmed by the aggressiveness of acceleration, the looks, and the the feeling one experiences while being in the car all through my time with the car. With the Hellcat, every commute turns to an occasion, a phenomenon which is becoming a rare one in today’s car culture.

That being said, it can’t get any further than a mid-range performance. Its fuel consumption is dismal as the standards go, and it is after all a muscle car from America, hence some levels of sophistication and modern features are wanting if compared to the European cars. Also, in the Indian context, its upsized position may raise the question of how long the car will be supported and maintained.

As is apparent, the Charger SRT Hellcat is not the first car a girl would own, because, such people do exist who are most likely to lose all of the wannabe designs, Stepah on the other hand is most likely to appeal to quite a few sections as it is unconcerned with the outward targets of those woman. For these enthusiasts, the muscle car happily succeeds to integrate into the Indian market offering an abundance of power, hold and, within the Indian context, comparatively good pricing that is second in the Indian market to none.

From every aspect and theme, the experience I had with the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat as a reviewer is great. It's a car that does not just live up to the expectations, but exceeds them with the roar of its supercharged V8 engine. Not that it is the most Useful or elegant car in this class, but probably one of the most interesting and with great personality. For last two customers, even in a shaped how much the Hellcat pulls out in horsepowers and offers to use most delicious in diesel prices for fuel, the roads filled with Indian vehicles.