Dodge Charger reviews

2006 Dodge Charger Interior Features

Much of what holds about the Charger's exterior carries over to its interior, only more so. Where the outside only suggests other Chrysler and Dodge cars, the inside looks as if it's been lifted, locks, steering column and bucket seats from the Magnum, with a fixture and feature here and there brought over from a Dakota or a Durango.

The dash and instrument cluster is identical to the Magnum's, with the minor exception of surface trims on the center stack and center console, and when ordered on the R/T, the navigation display. This isn't to complain, but to compliment, as the arrangement is pleasantly informative. From the driver's seat, easily scanned, large, 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, respectively. The steering wheel, too, comes directly from the Magnum. Air conditioning registers fill the top of the center stack, above the stereo/navigation display, with the climate control panel properly positioned beneath that, all intuitively arrayed and outfitted and within easy reach of the driver and front seat passenger. Ex-navigation display center stacks have a small, horizontal cubby below the air conditioning knobs and buttons.

Steering column stalks are imported from the Mercedes-Benz parts bin, including their awkward positioning. The more frequently used, heavily end-weighted turn-signal stalk/washer lever droops down somewhere around the 8 o'clock position, while the set-it-and-forget-it cruise control sits up around 10 o'clock. Headlight switch and dash light rheostat are located in the dash next to the driver's door, with the remote trunk release below. Outside mirrors are adjusted with a joystick in the door armrest. Thankfully, Dodge has not adopted the Mercedes-Benz practice of parking the power seat adjustments high up in the door panel but has placed them, much more intuitively, on the outboard side of the seat bottom. Large, six-way adjustable, rectangular ventilation registers fill in each end of the dash.

The standard, fabric-covered seats are comfortable, with adequate thigh support and side bolstering. Stepping up to the performance seats in the option packages gets more pronounced bolsters, which is good for those rare times when a twisty two-lane beckons, but not as good for climbing in and out of the car every day. And, of course, the top grade, suede-trimmed and embroidered seats in the Daytona nicely complement the boy-racer graphics of the exterior. Thanks to the sedan-spec wheelbase, there's plenty of rear seat room, too, even with 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.

Visibility from the driver's seat is good, but suffers a bit from safety measures and styling dictates. A-pillars designed to meet roll-over standards are thick, which makes checking for pedestrians and crossing traffic becomes more difficult. The view through the inside rearview mirror quickly puts to rest any lingering illusions about the Charger being a coupe; the rear window is a long ways back. And the C-pillars are also fat, and require careful checking during lane changes; coincidentally, they also provide great hiding places for pacing patrol cars. (The A-pillars are the posts between the windshield and front side windows: the C-pillars are the posts between the rear windscreen and rear side windows.)

The entertainment system installation takes a novel, but extremely 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 fun