Modern Muscle Car Showdown: Dodge Charger Daytona v Ford Mustang Mach-E
The muscle car wars are about to go nuclear. That is if your electricity grid is powered by nuclear energy.
The electric Dodge Charger Daytona is just weeks away from rolling into showrooms and burning rubber on the way out.
It’s set to be the first traditional muscle car-style electric vehicle and that goes beyond its throwback styling.
The Charger Daytona is equipped with a feature called the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust that uses speakers and sound tubes exiting from the rear bumper to emulate the sound of a V8 engine. It also has “force actuators” that vibrate the chassis to the rhythm of eight pistons pumping.
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Along with that, the all-wheel-drive car has a Donut Mode that sends all of the power to the rear wheels and frees up the stability control so it can do donuts. A Line Lock that holds just the front brakes and shuts off the front motor so you can do burnouts is also on the menu along with a Drift Mode that allows for dramatic slip angles. No parking lot will be safe. But what’s it gonna race?
There are plenty of high performance electric cars these days, but nothing with the kind of attitude the Charger Daytona brings to the game, except maybe for one. The Ford Mustang Mach-E has been the center of controversy since it arrived for the 2021 model year. A Mustang SUV? That’s electric? Quick, get some pearls to clutch.
The shock has worn off a bit, however, and the Mustang Mach-E has become a steady seller for Ford. It’s worked out so well, in fact, that Ford is going to try the same formula in Europe with an electric SUV called the Capri, which is a legendary sports car name in Europe that’s equivalent to the Mustang in the USA.
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The Mustang Mach-E doesn’t have quite the array of sound and performance enhancements as the Charger Daytona, but there is an Unbridled mode that cranks up a futuristic faux engine noise in the cabin and allows for a bit more of the tail-out hijinks Mustangs are infamously known for.
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What it’s not planning is an electric Mustang coupe. And while Chevrolet is thinking about bringing the Camaro back as an electric car, it won’t be happening anytime soon. So how do the Dodge Charger Daytona and Mustang match up?
PRICE
The Charger Daytona is launching with two performance trims in 2024, the R/T and the Scat Pack. The First R/Ts will arrive with 496 hp, 404 lb-ft and a base price of $61,590, while the Scat Pack checks in for $75,185 with 670 hp and 627 lb.-ft.
The closest Mustang Mach-E trim is the GT, which has a 480 hp all-wheel-drivetrain and a base price of $56,990. A $995 performance package increases its torque from 600 lb-ft to 700 lb-ft and brings the price to $57,985. A Mustang Mach-E Rally with the same drivetrain is also available for $60,990 including the performance package, but it’s more of an off-road focused model.
SIZE
The Charger Daytona is 206.6 inches long, making it very much a full size car. It’s longer than the old Charger sedan and next year will be offered in a four-door model. Sticklers may say five door as it has a hatchback, despite its three-box styling. The wheelbase is an equally epic 121 inches, which is an inch longer than the Dodge Durango SUV’s. It’s also heavier than the Durango at 5,838 pounds, thanks to its 100.5 kilowatt-hour battery pack.
The Mustang Mach-E is the opposite of a mullet. It’s party up front with the pony car face and business in the back with the body of a compact SUV. It stands a couple of inches taller than the Charger Daytona, but is just 186 inches long with a 117.5-inch wheelbase and is a weight class or two below it at 4,920 pounds.
PERFORMANCE
To paraphrase noted Mopar fanatic Dom Toretto: Ask any racer, any real racer, even if they have a big, heavy electric car, or SUV, winning’s winning. It doesn’t matter what’s under the hood or, in this case, also the floor. Well, maybe it does.
The Charger Daytona R/T is the closest to the Mustang Mach-E GT on price, but not at the drag strip. Dodge says it will accelerate to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and cover a quarter-mile in 13.1 seconds, by which time it will be eating the lighter Ford’s digital dust. The Mustang Mach-E GT with the performance upgrade can do those sprints in 3.3 seconds and 11.8 seconds.
Enter the Scat Pack. Tipping the scales at the same weight as the R/T, the more expensive and more powerful model is just as quick as the Mustang Mach-E GT to 60 mph, but does a quarter-mile in 11.5 seconds, beating the Ford by what might as well be a year on a drag strip.
You’ll pay for the privilege of blasting the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust into your rival’s face as you pull away, but that may be priceless for muscle car fans.