The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Dodge Charger is how incredibly dumb and irresponsible this car wants you to be. As soon as you get in and drive off, you want to burn rubber. It’s very easy to do so, too; the button to turn traction control off is right next to the gear shift. It’s a big button, right next to your hand, taunting you, testing you, pushing you to go to the dark side of the force, or at the very least, to a court appearance. But like any good Jedi, you don’t join the dark side, or not for the moment that is. 
It took three movies for Anakin Skywalker to join Darth Sidious. I thought I would be better than him, but I wasn’t… Like Anakin, I ended up joining the dark side as soon as (my) Padme was not by my side. Alone, no one was there to judge my actions, so I clicked on the button, and a disturbance in the force was felt by every Jedi in a one-hundred-mile radius.

When the time comes to let it break loose, and disappoint Yoda with your behaviour, you suddenly realise that the SXT trim you get from FoxRent A Car doesn’t have a V8 but a V6 and, therefore, you’re not breaking traction as easily as you might have thought. It’s understandable, the gearing is designed to make you think it has a lot more torque than it does. Although, Dodge does claim a reasonable 268 lb-ft of torque and 300 hp from that V6. But it feels like less. I suspect that’s because of the lack of feedback from, not only the controls such as the steering wheel and the pedals, but from the whole car. 

Talking about the controls: the brakes are linear and predictable and the stirring is comfortably heavy but, unfortunately, a little too imprecise. The interior is comfortable and well-designed for the price bracket. The one thing that actually bothered me was the climate control switches. Frankly, until we get simple climate control nobs back in new cars, I will keep being annoyed. Why do simple things like climate controls always have to be re-invented? Same thing for gear shifts! You used to be able to climb into any car and, with your eyes closed, put it in gear. But now, it’s impossible to know what lever you have to pull, what button you have to press or what magic spells you have to cast to get the bloody car in drive!
Ironically, the Charger has a pretty cool, retro-inspired gear shift that is very easy to understand and use. 

It is not my first time in a Dodge Charger. It’s a very popular car in the United States; Dodge claims it sold over one and a half million. That’s a lot of Chargers, but I’m not surprised by that number. The Charger does everything you want a car do to, comfortably and at a reasonably low cost of $33,000. Besides the Chrysler 300, and the Kia Stinger, I’m struggling to find another front-engine, rear-wheel drive, sport-sedan around the same price.
The ratio of car-to-dollar is incredibly good. And like any good deal, it’s popular.
The Charger is the unofficial car of hoodlums, trouble-makers, criminals and gangsters, but it also happens to be the same car that will be chasing them down, as it is the vehicle of choice for the highway patrol and the police department.
Does the Dodge Charger have an identity problem? On the contrary, it has officially imposed itself as the best bang-for-the-buck performance sedan on the market. So much so, that it is the perfect choice for both the light and the dark side of the force.

Max.