DriveTech

2006 Dodge Charger Daytona

If you’re a big MOPAR fan your going to fall in love with the 2006 Dodge Charger Daytona, OK so it has two extra doors but once you slip behind the wheel and bring to life the 340 horsepowered V8 the sound out of the dual exhaust will surely bring you goose bumps the size of golf balls. Backed by a 5-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission that is smooth and really gets the power to the rear wheels.

Lets stand back and give this Daytona a side glance, smooth and fast looking and what is nice is it doesn’t look like any other high performance car out there. Charger has its own look like it did back in the 60’s. The car is painted Go Mango Orange with blacked out hood with the words Hemi and on the side panels you will find the script Daytona named after the famous NASCAR race track where Dodge debuted the Winged Super Bird but was soon disqualified due to excessive speed that the competition could not compete with thanks to the 426 hemi and the large wing over the trunk.

You can walk around this Charger and get a different look that is very appealing, large grill, no real bumpers and a wicker bill under the front air dam to help guide fresh air into the monster motor, well it is the biggest motor today but just wait until the SRT-8 hits the dealerships, 6.1-liter 425 horsepower, but if your not into numbers the Charger on these pages should feed your hunger for power very nicely. You will also find a very well designed rear wing that is for looks only and a nice set of 18-inch alloy wheels.

Lets go inside this four door sedan, the first thing you see is the Go Mango Orange on the dash just to remind you what your driving and off to the side in front of the passenger you will find a label numbering the cars being built as Daytona’s, this test vehicle was number 453 of 4000 being built. The seats are race-like with plenty of side support and for a nice touch you will find Daytona stitched in the headrest. The adjustments are electrical and you can get your seat heated if needed. The back seat is large enough for any adult and for the kids Dodge has developed a DVD player that is nestled into the center console and flips up for rear passenger viewing and when not in use you don’t even know it was there. I really like the lower screens, nothing worse than coming up behind a SUV with the TV blaring and the first thing you do is try and figure out what their watching instead of driving your own car. The interior is done in leather and there is a suede insert in the seats that gives you a cool and very comfortable seating.

You also get a great sound system, AM/FM/CD; of course you get A/C and a very efficient climate control system with an in-cabin filtration system.

Driving the Daytona it feels solid and that is a very good thing, the suspension is tuned for driving and the steering is light and responsive and when you decide to pass a slower car your adrenalin goes up at least 10-points, I know mine did and if you need to stop, the big brakes will take care of that job and the brake-control even under a panic stop is very reassuring.

As you can tell I really liked this car, I may like the SRT-8 even more but we are almost at $40,000 for this car so you can imagine what the SRT-8 will set you back. Did I mention that the Daytona will get you 17 miles per gallon in the city and 25 on the freeway (If you keep your foot out of it!). Let’s not forget safety Dodge takes safety very seriously and the Daytona has all the latest safety features, but I recommend driving a Daytona and remember theses cars are numbered, buy one today and save it for your grandkids and they have a small fortune in the garage. Check out your local dealer for the new Daytona and I want to thank my buddies at John Hine Dodge for letting me have this gem!