The Charger's dashboard is largely plastic. It's mostly sturdy, but it seems cheap for a car that quickly tops $30,000. The instrument cluster arrangement is pleasantly informative. The big, round speedometer and tachometer share the top half of the steering wheel opening, with fuel and coolant temperature gauges down in the left and right corners. The climate controls are conveniently positioned beneath the radio and are easy to operate.
Entertainment features are plentiful. In addition to an AM/FM/CD stereo, buyers can opt for Dodge's UConnect Tunes or UConnect GPS systems. Both have 30 gigabytes of hard drive space (up from 20 gigs last year) to hold music and picture files, but the GPS version also includes a navigation system with real-time traffic and voice activation.
The rear entertainment system installation takes a novel, but well-integrated approach. The screen hides beneath a cover on the front center console when not in use, then pivots up between the front seats for viewing. The interface, for DVD and input and output jacks, is incorporated into the rear of the console beneath the screen and above the rear seat ventilation registers. Without the entertainment system, the center console functions as a traditional storage bin. The system comes with Sirius Backseat TV, which includes three child-oriented channels, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Two headsets are provided, so children in the back can watch the screen, while front occupants can listen to the radio.
SRT8 owners will be entertained by the Reconfigurable Display located in the vehicle information center. It displays what Chrysler calls Performance Pages. This feature can provide readouts of lateral and longitudinal G forces, 1/8- and 1/4-mile time and speed, 0-60 mph time, and braking distance.
Rear-seat room is plentiful, thanks to the long wheelbase, even with the front seats at their rearmost positions. No head restraint for the rear center seat is provided, however, making this car better for four adults than five.
Cubby storage includes a small, horizontal storage bin in the lower portion of the center stack, and there's a similar, longitudinal slot in the console to the right of the shift gate. A bin in the forward-most part of the front center console is large enough for coins and the like. Above it is a small, fold-down drawer where the Smokers Group ashtray would be, and next to that is a power point that would hold the lighter. Two cup holders sit in front of the console bin, and another pair can be found in the forward end of the rear seat center armrest. All four doors have good-sized map pockets, though the front seatbacks lack pouches for reading materials and headsets. The glove box is roomier than many.
The trunk is large. Loading items into the trunk is aided by a comfortably low lift-over height, at 30 inches. The trunk opening is shaped such that it swallows longer objects more readily than large parcels. All models except the base SE get 60/40 split folding rear seatbacks. Next Page