The Dodge Charger Daytona EV Delivers Muscle-Car Fun, Sound and Fury Included

It’s a new era for Dodge, and ”we are just getting started,” said Dodge CEO Matt McAlear.

This begins with the Dodge Charger Daytona’s appearance. Inspired by the 1968 Dodge Charger – the one that had a starring part in more than a dozen movies including 5 Fast and Furious films – the muscle EV brings a good bit of that late Sixties styling into the middle of the 2020s, placed upon a 121-inch wheelbase which won’t change much at all when the four-door models arrive in 2025 beyond, well, changing the sides so four doors can be placed instead of two.

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Upon first glance of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona’s face, you’ll notice the thin light bar trimming the headlights and the classic “Fratzog” logo, the historic badge that was revived for the Charger EV. It sits in the middle of it all. Look again, though. That logo is also holding up this EV’s biggest proof that it doesn’t have anything under the hood: the R-Wing.

This piece of the puzzle not only contributes to the retro-futuristic look of the Charger Daytona, but also enhances aerodynamic downforce on the front of the car, which is very important when flying down the quarter-mile, as I would do later in the day at Firebird. After all, it’s better to fly down the highway than fly off of it.

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In 1969, Dodge had a problem: it couldn’t beat the Fords and Mercurys on the track in NASCAR’s top division, largely because its Charger didn’t have the best aero tricks at the time. Before unleashing the legendary Charger Daytona – with its aerodynamic nose and big rear wing – upon the high banks of Talladega and Daytona, Dodge first tried to smooth things out with the Charger 500, which included a flusher backside than the standard Charger’s flying buttresses.

All of this is to say that this Charger Daytona – which has a wing over the front of the car this time – has a similar backside to the 500. However, it wasn’t designed with chasing after championships in mind. Instead, the entire thing lifts up hatchback style so you can load whatever groceries, big-screen TVs and luggage you can stuff inside. With the rear seatbacks down, there’s up to 38 cubic feet of cargo space for nearly everything you and yours need for all of life’s errands and adventures. The low liftover height for loading cargo is a huge plus, as well.

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I did say this was the loudest EV on the market, didn’t I? See, Dodge had a problem: EVs were a bit too quiet for their liking. So, the automaker decided to get wicked with the Charger Daytona with its own version of the classic Bose Acoustic Wave Music System – you remember the infomercials from way back when, don’t you? – the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, further carrying on the Fratzog logo of old.

Like the classic Bose sound system, Dodge’s “exhaust” system uses a custom enclosure housing a 600-watt amp, a pair of passive radiators, and a pair of high-efficiency extreme bandwidth transducers to produce a wide range of engine sounds with input from both the driver and the Charger Daytona itself.

And it’s all accessible via the 12.3-inch touchscreen, including the ability to turn it off and enjoy the muscle EV in total silence, something that can’t be done with the upcoming 2025 Charger and its turbocharged Hurricane inline-six engine lineup (yes, the gas engine is not dead… more on that soon).

Slipping inside the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona, you’ll be greeted by a driver-focused interior augmented by a pair of screens. For the R/T trim (starting MSRP of $59,595), this pair consists of a standard 10.25-inch driver information display and a 12.3-inch center touchscreen.

The Scat Pack trim ($73,190 base MSRP) swaps out the smaller driver information display for a big 16-inch driver display; this is an option for the R/T. UConnect 5 lives in the center touchscreen, along with wireless device charging, SiriusXM satellite radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto… the usual suspects.

Above you and yours, the roof of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona is one big, tinted panoramic sunroof (part of the $2,495 Sun & Sound package which also includes an 18-speaker Alpine sound system), which really opens up the interior of this muscle EV. Which is good because the rear roof pillar is quite thick; good for cozy feelings, not so good for blind-spot visibility.

When the sun sets, though, 64-color mood lighting changes the vibes within by reacting to what is happening with the Charger Daytona at any given moment, including what the driver does.

The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona isn’t designed for luxury. Yet, the material choices aren’t too bad. Base models provide cloth and leatherette seating for five, though you can upgrade to black Nappa leather or, if you’re feeling bold, Demonic Red Nappa leather. The front occupants can experience the track wherever they go with optional high-backed fixed headrest seats, but you may be more comfortable with the standard seats, which are heated like the action out on the track. The driver receives eight-way power adjustments with two-way lumbar support, the front passenger must do with just a four-way manual adjustment of their seat.

Though I didn’t experience the rear seats other than to fold them down, the front seats felt nice enough. It’s not a Cadillac of old, but I can at least see my mom not having a hard time riding with me on the passenger side as far as comfort goes. I did wish the passenger seat was automatic, though, especially for how much this EV will retail for on the showroom floor. There are options for 12-way power adjustable seats with 4-way lumbar support and heated rear seating, plus heated and ventilated seats up front for year-round comfort.

As you may know by now, I sometimes drive long distances in a day from my home in Southwestern Virginia, the longest of which leads to my dad’s house in Louisville, Kentucky (400 miles and some eight-hours one-way). Thus, when it comes to EVs, my usual routes get thrown out the window as far as charging is concerned. Luckily, the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona’s charging port is ready for pulling up next to any given Tesla at the automaker’s extensive Supercharger network, as it is NACS-compliant in both positioning and configuration.

How much range will this muscle EV go on a single charge, though? The 456-horsepower R/T can go 308 miles before charging. The more powerful Scat Pack (630 horsepower) pays for its electron consumption with a top range of 241 miles. Luckily, both are quick on the power draw on a 350-kW charger, their 100.5-kWh battery packs returning to 80% from 20% in just 24 minutes, from 5% to 80% in 33 minutes.

As muscle-car legend has it, no given muscle car was meant to corner unless it was turning left along the high banks of Daytona. But that was back in the Sixties. Today, this Charger Daytona feels good weaving through the Arizona mountain roads we drove, despite its width; it’s a few inches wider than the old, Hemi-powered Charger and Challenger. Back down onto city streets and onto I-10, the EV handled its business as well as any other car on the road, which is to say quite well.

The only real drama was trying to get off the interstate for the last few miles back to Radford and Firebird, which meant putting the hammer down long enough to slide on over to the exit ramp. There, the full power of the Charger Daytona carried us safely back home.

There were two times I felt really happy about this EV, though. The first was at Firebird’s quarter-mile, where I finally got what I never received over four years ago when I took a Ford Shelby GT500 down zMAX Dragway in Charlotte: my time slips. My quarter-mile adventure back then – part of Ford’s GT500 Track Tour – was my first-ever trip down the strip. To have nothing to show for that will always be a disappointment. To finally receive time slips at Firebird with two passes in Dodge’s first-ever EV makes everything a bittersweet symphony in my heart.

The other time? After our track outing I was riding shotgun back to the hotel through downtown Phoenix when I noticed a young lady driving a late fourth-generation purple Chevrolet Camaro looking over at us. More than a few times, in fact. Our ride definitely had her attention, so at the first opportunity, I rolled down my window to say hello.

Alas, she noticed me do this, and sped away into my memories. I could tell, though, that she was enamored with this new order of muscle car. Maybe one day, she’ll drive a Charger Daytona. Maybe I will, too.