2017 Dodge Charger

SXT is the volume trim for 2017; the 3.6L Pentastar V6 is carried over unchanged from the LD generation's 2015 facelift.

Peak torque for the standard SXT V6 powertrain.

Instrumented test of the RWD V6 SXT, the unchanged powertrain/chassis carried into 2017.

The Pentastar V6 and ZF-derived 8-speed are smooth and linear with no turbo lag, but the V6 lacks the muscle-car character that defines the segment and feels modest next to the Hemi V8 trims.

The 8-speed automatic (ZF 8HP-derived) shifts crisply and rarely hunts, widely praised across the LD-generation Charger lineup since its 2015 introduction.

AWD is optional only on the SXT and GT trims via a basic on-demand Haldex-type system with no low range or terrain modes; the R/T, Scat Pack, 392 and Hellcat performance trims are RWD-only.

The 2017 lineup spans a 3.6L V6 through 5.7L, 6.4L, and supercharged 6.2L V8s (up to 707 hp), a wide spread for one body style, but it is entirely gas with no hybrid, PHEV, or EV option.

EPA rating for the RWD 3.6L V6 SXT, the volume configuration.

EPA city rating for the RWD V6 SXT.

EPA highway rating for the RWD V6 SXT.

Computed from the 18.5-gallon tank and EPA combined rating; matches fueleconomy.gov's published range figure.

EPA's standard annual fuel cost estimate for the RWD V6 SXT at 15,000 mi/yr.

The V6 SXT runs on regular unleaded with no premium recommendation; only the SRT/Hellcat V8 trims call for premium.

NHTSA's full test battery gives the 2017 Charger the top overall rating, with only the frontal crash sub-score pulling a 4.

Good ratings in moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints, but Marginal in the small-overlap front driver test (with a Poor lower leg/foot measure there) keeps it off the Top Safety Pick list entirely — a real structural weak point, not just a missed trim.

None of the core ADAS features — forward collision warning, adaptive cruise, lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring — are standard on the volume SXT trim; all live in optional packages (Technology Group / SafetyTec-style bundles), with blind-spot monitoring only standard on the range-topping SRT 392.

IIHS rated the optional front crash prevention system Superior for vehicle-to-vehicle performance — avoiding the 12 mph test entirely and cutting 12 mph off closing speed in the 25 mph test — but the system is optional rather than standard and IIHS did not publish a pedestrian-detection result for this model year.

Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert is available across most trims as an alert-only radar system (illuminated mirror icons, audible chime) with no active steering/braking intervention, and is standard only on the top SRT 392 trim.

Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist is offered as an early-generation (pre-2018 refresh) system — warning plus corrective nudges rather than true lane centering — and contemporary reviews of this generation describe it as functional but crude compared to newer competitors.

Adaptive Cruise Control-Plus with Full Stop can track traffic down to a complete stop and resume, which was a capable system for the era, but there is no combined highway-assist/lane-centering integration layered on top of it.

No hands-free highway driving system (comparable to Super Cruise/BlueCruise) was offered on the 2017 Charger at any trim or option level.

IIHS tested all available headlight configurations on the 2017 Charger and rated every one Poor, citing excessive glare from the low beams and inadequate illumination on curves.

The Charger's sedan greenhouse and fastback-influenced rear roofline give average sightlines for a muscle-car-class vehicle — no major visibility complaints turned up in period reviews, but the sloped rear glass and thick C-pillar are a mild blind-spot compared to a conventional sedan.

The Charger provides full LATCH hardware across all three rear seating positions, fitting multiple child seats, but IIHS rates the lower-anchor ease-of-use only Marginal — they sit deep in the seat bight and take extra effort to clip.

Standard 5-passenger seating across every 2017 Charger trim (SXT through SRT Hellcat), unchanged for the LX/LD platform.

Full-size sedan body (marketed/segmented here as a Coupe/Muscle Car) gives generous front headroom, consistent across trims.

LX-platform full-size proportions give long-legged front occupants plenty of room.

A genuine 4-door body gives the Charger far more rear headroom than the 2-door coupes it is grouped against in this segment.

Full-size sedan rear legroom that dwarfs the 2-door coupes it is scored against; one of the Charger's genuine practicality advantages in the muscle-car class.

16.5 cu ft trunk is large for the coupe/muscle-car class, consistent across all 2017 Charger trims.

Conventional console bin, door pockets and a covered front cubby; no standout storage innovation or onboard power features for the segment.

Front seats are repeatedly praised as supportive and comfortable for long drives; rear seat benefits from the Charger's unusually generous legroom for the class, though cushioning is unremarkable.

Base SXT rides compliantly; ride firms up considerably with each step up the sport-suspension ladder (R/T, Scat Pack, SRT), becoming notably stiff on broken pavement.

A reasonably refined cabin for a mainstream sedan-based muscle car, but no acoustic glass or active noise cancellation, and V8 trims add engine/exhaust presence at speed.

Dual-zone automatic climate control and heated front seats are standard on SXT; heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats and heated rear seats are available on upper trims.

Entry SE RWD trim with destination charge; lowest-priced configuration in the 2017 Charger lineup.

SXT RWD is identified by multiple outlets as the "most popular" 2017 Charger trim, adding the 8.4-inch Uconnect system over SE.

RepairPal's 5-year maintenance estimate for the Charger; average annual repair cost of $542 tracks toward the lower-middle of the full-size class despite a below-average 3.5/5 reliability rating.

iSeeCars' Charger residual estimate, corroborated by Dodge winning ALG's Residual Value Award for the Full-Size category in 2015, 2016 and 2017 (the only four-door muscle car to do so), indicating above-average retention for its class.

Standard FCA/Dodge basic limited warranty for MY2017, at the floor of the segment's typical 3-5 year range.

Standard FCA powertrain warranty for MY2017, at the floor of the segment's typical 5-10 year range (FCA's 100,000-mile extension was a paid fleet option, not standard coverage).

No complimentary scheduled maintenance is included, but Dodge bundles 5-year/60,000-mile roadside assistance (battery jump, fuel delivery, flat tire, towing) — longer than a typical basic-roadside-only package, but no maintenance visits or connected-service credits.

$30,990 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (58.9% retained, or about $18,253) leaves about $12,737 in depreciation. Add the projected $3,250 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $15,987 in total.

Signals conflict but skew below average: J.D. Power's Predicted Reliability Rating for the 2017 Charger was 2/5 (the lowest tier) per U.S. News, while J.D. Power's separate overall Quality & Reliability Index score was 74/100 (average). Consumer Reports lists no predicted-reliability verdict for this model year (insufficient owner survey data).

Dodge sat in the bottom third of Consumer Reports' annual brand reliability rankings through the mid-2010s (reported 21st of roughly 29 brands as of 2018 before a 2019 jump to 8th), placing the brand's standing around the 2017 model year well below mid-pack.

NHTSA lists four campaigns touching the 2017 Charger: a cruise-control deactivation-failure recall, a front-driveshaft bolt recall on AWD models, an engine oil cooler hose recall on Hellcat-engined cars (risk of rapid oil loss), and a separate front-driveshaft U-joint recall on AWD police Chargers. Volume is typical for the generation, but the cruise-control and oil-cooler campaigns are more than cosmetic, keeping this out of the top band.

The volume 2017 Charger trim (SXT) runs the 3.6L Pentastar V6, which has a strong reputation as a durable, largely trouble-free engine with a long high-mileage track record. The optional 5.7L/6.4L HEMI V8 trims (R/T, Daytona, SRT) carry documented oil-consumption and cylinder-head/lifter complaints, but those are not the scored volume configuration.

Reviewers describe a soft-touch dashboard but large expanses of hard, rubbery plastic lower in the cabin; the high-volume lower trims use rental-grade seat fabric and duller aluminum-look trim, improving meaningfully only in upper trims — about what the Charger's mainstream price point buys, not class-leading.

Assembly is generally solid with scattered owner complaints about low-end material feel rather than widespread panel-gap or rattle problems; CarMax customer ratings for the model year are strongly positive (4.3/5, 93% recommend), consistent with competent but not class-leading initial quality.

FCA's dealer network is dense and nationwide, but service-satisfaction recognition was uneven across the network in this era — only 387 of FCA's thousands of Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram/FIAT dealers earned the 2017 J.D. Power-backed Customer First Award for Excellence, covering roughly a quarter of retail volume, implying mixed service experience brand-wide rather than uniformly strong.

The Charger shares its LX-platform underpinnings with the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Challenger, giving it a large domestic parts pool and one of the largest aftermarket/performance-parts ecosystems of any car on sale (Mopar), keeping routine parts normal-to-cheap; dealer-sourced parts for the HEMI/AWD hardware run higher than for a mainstream sedan, landing overall in the normal band rather than class-leading.

The 8.4-inch Uconnect 4/4C touchscreen became standard starting with the SXT trim for the 2017 model year (up from a smaller screen on prior years' base trims).

Uconnect 4/4C was widely regarded as one of the fastest, most intuitive infotainment systems of its era, with a clean tile layout and real physical climate controls retained alongside the touchscreen.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were added for 2017 and standard on the 8.4-inch touchscreen from SXT up, but only via wired USB connection — wireless projection did not exist on this generation of Uconnect.

Uconnect's voice commands (phone, audio, climate) were functional but basic by modern standards; Garmin-based native navigation was available as an option but most owners of this era leaned on phone projection instead.

Standard 6-speaker audio is adequate; optional Alpine premium systems (6-speaker/276W and 9-speaker/506W) were a genuine step up, though not class-leading against European luxury-coupe rivals' branded systems.

SXT and up get a 7-inch customizable TFT display flanked by analog gauges — a partial digital cluster, not a full configurable display, with the complete gauge-replacement cluster reserved for SRT models.

FCA explicitly did not offer over-the-air software updates for the 2017 Charger (Uconnect 4/4C generation) — any updates required a USB download and dealer/manual install.

The Uconnect Access app supports remote lock/unlock, remote start, and horn/lights from a distance, but remote services require an Uconnect Access subscription after the trial period, and there is no 4G Wi-Fi hotspot or digital key on this generation.

SXT adds a second USB port up front for two total, but both are legacy USB-A at low charge rates; no USB-C, no wireless phone charging pad, and no rear-seat USB on 2017 — outdated even for its era's upper trims.

Proximity keyless entry, push-button start and remote start are standard from SXT up, a solid convenience package for the class, though there is no phone-as-key capability on this generation.

A rearview camera and rear park-assist sensors are available but optional rather than standard on SXT, and the Charger never offered a 360-degree surround-view camera for this generation.

No head-up display was offered on any 2017 Dodge Charger trim, including SRT models.

Unlike the 2-door coupes it's scored against, the Charger is a genuine 4-door with wide-opening rear doors, real LATCH access and class-leading rear legroom, making car-seat installation and daily kid-wrangling far easier than a true 2-door.

5-star NHTSA overall rating and IIHS 'Good' in moderate-overlap, side and roof-strength tests, but a 'Marginal' small-overlap front result, and forward collision warning/adaptive cruise are locked behind an optional Technology Package rather than standard on family-affordable SXT trims.

Generous rear head/legroom and a large 16.5 cu ft trunk handle a family's gear reasonably well, but there's no rear-seat entertainment and climate is single-zone to the back seat on base trims.

Smooth 8-speed automatic and a compliant base SXT ride make it an easy daily driver, though its full-size footprint (198.4 in long) and RWD-biased dynamics add a bit of effort in tight traffic versus smaller sedans.

The volume V6 RWD SXT returns roughly 19 city/30 highway mpg — acceptable but unremarkable for a full-size RWD sedan, and well behind compact/midsize commuter norms.

At 198.4 in long and 75.0 in wide with a 37.7 ft turning circle, the Charger is a large car to thread through city streets and garages, and a rearview camera isn't standard on the base SXT.

The Charger is not marketed or rated for towing or hauling duty — it has no published passenger-trim tow rating and no bed or significant load-carrying capability beyond its trunk.

The LX-platform chassis and V6/V8 powertrains have a proven track record in the fleet-oriented Charger Pursuit police package, lending some durability credibility, but the civilian SXT is trimmed and equipped for comfort, not abuse.

A conventional trunk with no tie-downs, no onboard power outlets for tools, and no upfit or rack ecosystem — the Charger offers essentially nothing for jobsite use.

Supportive front seats, a quiet-enough highway cruise and roughly 30 mpg highway give decent range between stops, but adaptive cruise and forward-collision tech that reduce driver fatigue are optional extras, not standard.

The volume SXT is rear-wheel drive with sedan ride height; AWD is optional on SXT but not part of the scored RWD configuration, and there's no off-pavement capability or roof-rack provision.

A large 16.5 cu ft trunk plus standard 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks give reasonable flexibility for bulky gear, though there's no hitch option, roof rails, or underfloor storage.

The RWD V6 SXT corners with little body roll and feels athletic for a full-size sedan, but period reviews note it can understeer at the limit and lacks the sharper reflexes of the R/T/Scat Pack's upgraded suspension and tires.

Electric power steering on the base SXT is accurate and well-weighted at speed but numb on-center, typical of the segment's mainstream trims rather than its performance-tuned variants.

Standard brakes on the SXT are adequate for everyday use with a predictable pedal, but lack the larger rotors and Brembo calipers fitted to R/T Scat Pack and SRT models, so stopping distances and fade resistance are only average for the class.

The TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic shifts smoothly and the 3.6L V6 (292 hp) responds cleanly, though throttle tip-in and mid-range punch are modest next to the V8 trims.

The Pentastar V6 is a relatively refined, quiet unit under normal driving with minimal vibration through the controls, well short of the V8 trims' deliberate exhaust note but inoffensive.

A large sedan's turning circle, roughly average for the coupe/muscle-car comparison set; varies slightly by trim (37.5-39 ft on performance models with wider tires).

An 8-way power driver's seat with 4-way power lumbar standard on SXT, tilt/telescoping wheel, and a logically laid-out dash with physical climate controls make for comfortable, easy-to-adjust ergonomics, though the low, long hood and thick C-pillars hurt outward visibility.

The V6 SXT carries genuine muscle-car styling and RWD poise that make it enjoyable in a relaxed way, but without a V8 it lacks the soundtrack and urgency that defines the Charger's performance reputation, leaving it pleasant rather than thrilling.

SE/SXT trims start at $27,995-$29,995 with a 292-hp V6, available AWD, and (from SXT up) an 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen — far more standard content for the money than the luxury-coupe and sports-car rivals in this peer set.

A 5.7L HEMI R/T starts near $34,895 and the 707-hp SRT Hellcat tops out at $65,945 — supercar-rivaling power for a fraction of what Porsche, Mercedes-AMG or Lexus charge for comparable performance, the Charger's signature value proposition.

Eight distinct trims (SE, SXT, SXT AWD, R/T, R/T Scat Pack, Daytona, SRT 392, SRT Hellcat) spanning $27,995-$65,945, plus RWD/AWD choice on V6 models — an unusually wide, well-spaced range for a two-model-size nameplate.

88,351 U.S. units sold in 2017, the #2-selling full-size sedan nameplate in the country and far outselling any of its coupe/sports-car peers in this comparison set.

Dodge/SRT carries a devoted muscle-car following and strong owner satisfaction (93-95% recommend on KBB/Cars.com), but the mainstream Dodge brand lacks the aspirational halo of Porsche, Lexus or BMW in this peer set.

Dodge/FCA was well known in this period for regular rebates, dealer cash and financing incentives on Charger — a stark contrast to the near-MSRP, low-incentive German and Japanese sports/luxury rivals in this calibration set.

2017 sits mid-cycle in the LD generation that began for 2011 and was facelifted for 2015 — current and competitive but six model years into its platform, with the next full redesign still years away.

Won ALG's 2017 Residual Value Award for Full-Size (third consecutive year), 5-star NHTSA overall and IIHS "Good" ratings, and strong consumer recommend scores (93-95%); JD Power rated it 79/100 with a "Great" driving-experience score, though it's rarely the outright pick over sportier rivals in dynamics-focused comparison tests.