A She Said, He Said Review of the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

There are certain things that are typically associated with men. Cigars, complicated mechanical watches, football, beer, steak – the list goes on and on. The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat should be added to it. Just take a look at the 2016 model we tested for a week. It’s red, has a big hood scoop and an even bigger engine under that, and explodes with a ferocious sound upon startup that you want to share with your buddies. Oh yeah – it has 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, too. Consider it dude-approved.

That’s not saying women don’t buy any of those other things or high-performance Dodges, though. One woman in particular loves her Mopar muscle car so much that she frequently posts pictures of it on Instagram. A representative from FCA let me know that I.H.S. Polk Registration data indicates that 13 percent of Charger SRT Hellcat owners are females. It’s just that our time in the Charger Hellcat seemed to attract more attention from guys – whether it was a question about its engine or a chat about its performance with a Challenger R/T owner – than gals.

I wanted to bring women into the conversation about the flagship Charger. So I asked ladies I knew what they thought about several aspects of it. Most of them were my passengers during full-throttle, red-key blasts up the roads and highways of Austin, Texas. They ranged in age from 26 to 62 and in profession from interior design specialist to attorney. They own vehicles from Jeep, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Cadillac.

Exterior

“The car is for someone who wants to stand out. Anything but a wallflower.”

Anyone, man or woman, knew when the Charger Hellcat was around. If they didn’t see its red exterior, they heard the bestial sound booming out of its dual pipes. If they didn’t feel the engine heat coming out of the vents on the hood while taking an inevitable closer look at the car, they could probably smell the coolant that less powerful cars in the parking lot panic-peed onto the pavement because they were in the vicinity of such a monster.

“Sexy black rims.”

“Black-out rims add to the ‘sex appeal.'”

They were even sexier with a coating of brake dust on them. Bringing the Hellcat down from speeds that could give people in blue uniforms red faces is a great way to give them one.

Interior

“Luxurious on the inside.”

“Roomy interior, lots of head room. Comfy interior, like a recliner.”

“Seats feel comfortable/oversized/great for long road trips.”

Being up front, I was able to enjoy the Charger Hellcat’s comfort and infotainment features the most. I used the intuitive Uconnect system to navigate me, my girlfriend, my dad, and his lady out to see a man-made Austin wonder, Mansfield Dam. The cooled front seats kept me and my brown eyed girl from sweating in the relentless heat of a Texas summer.

I briefly sat in the back seat to see if it was as spacious as I was told it was. I’m 5’10” and I didn’t once feel as if I had to kiss my own knees to fit back there. I wouldn’t have a problem riding in the rear for hours.

“I like the mix of brown and black leather, but the brown leather looks too orange. Almost cheap like a knock-off handbag.”

My issue with the Sepia Laguna Lux seats wasn’t their color itself, but the way it clashed with the red exterior. The combination of the two bold colors was out of balance. A solid black interior would’ve been a perfectly understated counterpart to the eye-catching outer shell.

Engine

“Metal pedals, so put the ‘P’ to the ‘M.'”

Trust me. I did, both in Austin and at FCA’s Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan. I remember the rear tires of the Charger Hellcat I took down a drag strip up there wanting to break loose at 63 mph. Such an experience makes you feel like a thrilled man and a scared boy, all at once. Mashing the gas on an access road makes your female better half scream with a mixture of excitement and terror.

“Sexy. Loud. Fast.”

Yes. Yes. Yes.

One of the women in my life summed up the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat by saying:

“This is the type of car you picture your crush or the good-looking guy across the street would drive. The type of guy who seems a bit mysterious, but you definitely want to know…even if it is just to get a ride.”

The Charger Hellcat may primarily be a “guy car,” but clearly, women have plenty to say about it. Some of them even say it with their checkbooks.

Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

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