Dodge Charger R/T 2015 Review

Описание: Dodge Charger R/T 2015 Review
The 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 under the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T's hood is fantastically torquey and mated with an excellent eight-speed automatic transmission. Uconnect infotainment is well-organized, easy to use and fairly responsive to inputs. Super Track Pak upgrades give the driver control over the vehicle's driving characteristics and easy performance monitoring.
The powerful and stealthy 2015 Dodge Charger R/T lives in the shadow of the more powerful Scat Pack and SRT 392 models further up the lineup, despite the fact that its own 370-horsepower V-8 is nothing to thumb a nose at. Leave it to muscle car fans to think that too much power still isn't enough.

Though not as attention-grabbing as its more powerful siblings, the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Road & Track is the Goldilocks of the available trims, blending plenty of performance with a high level of creature comfort and value.
More than 'just the R/T...'

Even with its premium Phantom Black tri-coat pearl paint and optional 20-inch forged aluminum classic styled wheels, the Charger R/T's exterior design is a bit more anonymous looking than the SRT and Hellcat models, lacking a dramatic hood scoop or a distinct fascia design. In fact, the black paint actually hides some of the R/T's aggressiveness, I think.

However, under the hood rumbles Dodge's 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine, good for a peak 370 horsepower and 395 pound-feet of torque. No, it's not a 700-horsepower Hellcat, but 370 ponies are likely still more than the average American driver will know what to do with on public roads. That engine is mated with an 8-speed automatic transmission putting power to the rear wheels. The auto-box is the only transmission option available for the Charger, but -- as we've seen time and time again -- it's a good one.
The engine features the automaker's multiple displacement system (MDS) that allows it to operate in a four-cylinder mode during low-load, cruising situations to aid fuel economy. Save for a small icon that lights up on the fuel economy display, I didn't even notice the cylinder deactivation tech at work. The V-8 R/T nets an EPA estimated 16 city and 25 highway mpg, though I averaged over 20 mpg during my week of heavy footed motoring. Still, those aren't great numbers for a modern sport sedan.

SE and SXT models with the smaller 3.6-liter V-6 can be had with Dodge's all-wheel drive system, but the V-8 R/T and above are purely rear-drive affairs.

Our example is an R/T Road & Track model. I always understood that "R/T" abbreviated Road/Track, which makes this "Road/Track Road & Track" designation seem a bit redundant and awkward to me. The upgrades the Road & Track package add aren't awkward at all and integrate nicely into the Charger's sport sedan mission.

Where the hardware is concerned, the Road & Track gains a sportier suspension tune than the SEs and SXTs you'll see in your local rental fleet and "Heavy Duty" brakes that are more resistant to fade. The R/T R&T also gains some software smarts in the form of its UConnect Super Track Pak options: a collection of new touchscreen configurable settings that allow the driver to tweak the settings of the sport and normal modes' performance. The Super Track Pak also adds launch control and a 3-mode sport stability control system to the performance mix, making this muscley sedan's characteristics almost as tweakable as a high-performance Audi.
Meanwhile, in the instrument cluster, the Charger gains a set of Performance Pages digital gauges that all the driver to track lap, ¼ mile, 0-60 times and monitor braking performance and G-forces.

The R/T Road & Track's performance could be summed up in just three words: BURNOUTS ON DEMAND! The Charger R/T will smoke its rubber at a moment's notice with its immediately available torque. The R/T excels at straight line performance, even when you don't really want it to. In fact, I found it tricky to not rocket away from every stop, tires squealing with glee. The accelerator pedal is so sensitive -- perhaps too sensitive, if you ask me -- and the V-8's torque is never more than the slightest toe twitch away. I found myself sometimes wishing for a little less tip-in when daily driving and more distinction between the Normal and Sport driving modes. (Oddly, I didn't run into this issue with the 700-plus horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, which had a much easier to modulate throttle despite being massively overpowered.)