Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

VEHICLE REVIEW: 2016 Dodge Charger Rallye, rallying as much fun as racing
AUTOS Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Casey Williams, Gaywheels.com
2016-01-26

This article shared 13666 times since Tue Jan 26, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


There's a difference between a race and rally. In terms of the Dodge Charger, you would race an R/T, SRT, or the all-mighty Hellcat, but you would rally, well, a Rallye. Edition, that is. To drive a Charger Rallye, you choose brains over raw brawn, a V6 over a HEMI, but the underlying car has game no matter its game.

Nothing is given up in sportiness and attitude as the car's got swagger streaming from its pinched gloss black crosshair grille, 19-inch alloys, hunkered fenders, spoiler and LED taillamps. Fans of The General Lee will recognize the side cove and fast rear roofline. While it's clearly a Charger, stylists updated the car last year with a more sloped hood, HID headlamps, and curved rear that better ties the car to younger Dodges like the Dart and Durango. With a couple of facelifts behind it, the Charger has aged gracefully over the past decade.

It's a big car, able to seat four very comfortably in black leather seats with beige inserts—heated/cooled in front, heated in rear. Grip the beefy heated leather-wrapped steering wheel. Designers added a hint of the expansive center console's machined aluminum affect to the background of the reconfigurable LCD instruments.

As in other Chrysler products, the Uconnect infotainment system with touchscreen, voice commands, and redundant controls below could be mastered by crayon-toting toddlers. Booming Beats audio with 552W amp, navigation, rearview camera, Bluetooth, USB, and navigation take it to the streets. Press the sport mode for more sass.

But be careful about how sassy you get because you won't find a HEMI V8 under the suave hood. Instead, there's a sprightly 3.6-liter V6 that delivers 300 horsepower and 264 lb.-ft. of torque—an increase of 8 hp and 4 lb.-ft over non-Rallye models. I know, I lose myself over HEMI thrust too. But, lopping off two cylinders still leaves substantial power to move a car the Charger's size no matter what sinister hellions tell you. It all routes through Chrysler's TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive. Paddle shift it if you please. Fuel economy rating 18/27-MPG city/hwy is quite good.

Helping power kiss the road is a chassis that traces lineage to the late-'90s Mercedes E-Class, cribbed when Daimler controlled Chrysler. Typical in old Mercedes, the Charger takes on the damped heaviness of an Autobahn left-laner, but there's more precision in the steering and suspension motions, allowing you to conjure changes in directions rather than man-handle them. Controlling the 19-inch steamrollers on each corner proves challenging no matter how good the suspension; bumps are still bumps, and they bump the big wheels thoroughly over big bumps.

Separating HEMIs from the natural world, there's nothing weak about a full-size muscle car with a 300 horsepower V6 delivering nearly 30-mpg on the highway. That's smart power, expertly delivered. The interior is comfortable and Chrysler's infotainment systems are among the easiest to use. While the suspension can clunk and thunk, it's far from rough. Choosing a Rallye rather than Hellcat proves a rally can be as enjoyable as a race.

Chargers begin at $27,995, but came to $37,770 for our loaded test car, making a competitive road race with the Chevy Impala, Ford Taurus, Kia Cadenza and VW Passat.

Storm forward!

2016 Dodge Charger Rallye

Five-passenger, AWD Sedan

Powertrain: 300hp 3.6-liter V6, 8-spd auto trans.

Suspension f/r: Ind/Ind

Wheels f/r: 19"/19"

Brakes f/r: disc/disc

Must-have features: Style, Powertrain

Fuel economy: 18/27 mpg city/hwy

Assembly: Brampton, ON

Base/as-tested price: $27,995/37,770

See Casey Williams' video review of the Dodge Charger Rallye; follow him on Youtube and Twitter, too. See more about vehicles at Gaywheels.com .


This article shared 13666 times since Tue Jan 26, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Nex Benedict's autopsy report released 2024-03-27
- The full autopsy report for Nex Benedict (he/they)—a 16-year-old transgender and Indigenous student from Oklahoma's Owasso High School who died in February a day after a school fight—has been released. The Oklahoma Office of the Chie ...


Gay News

Charles Busch dishes on life as a storyteller 2023-11-09
- Performer/writer Charles Busch, who recently penned his autobiography, Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy, said that collecting his most precious and salient memories in a book felt "inevitable." "Storytelling is such an essential ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Tyler Perry, marriages and splits, Beyonce, strikes, Sinead tribute 2023-08-04
Videos below - Tyler Perry has offered $100,000 to anyone with information that leads to a conviction in the murder of 24-year-old Black queer musician Josiah "Jonty" Robinson, according to Out. An autopsy concluded that the cause of Robinson's ...


Gay News

Artist Isabella Mellado illuminates the masks within community 2023-06-15
By Jess Savage - Chicago-based artist Isabella Mellado's paintings and sculptures are vibrant, colorful and larger than life. Her work represents autobiographical and allegorical scenes, nearly all of it featuring characters inspired by the ...


Gay News

Board of Commissioners unanimously passes Bodily Autonomy Ordinance Amendment with support of Equality Illinois, ACLU Illinois 2023-05-25
--From a press release - Chicago, Ill. — May 25th 2023 — Today, the Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed an amendment to the Human Rights Ordinance ensuring the protection of all individual's right to their own bodily autonomy. The ...


Gay News

AUTOS 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz answers the right questions 2022-05-11
- You may think the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz answers questions nobody asked, but if that's true, somebody should have asked. A car-based pickup is not a new idea. Chevrolet and Ford offered the El Camino and ...


Gay News

Cook County state's attorney expunges 15,000+ cannabis convictions 2022-04-20
-- From a press release - CHICAGO - On Friday, April 22, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office (CCSAO) will present 214 additional cannabis cases to be automatically expunged, bringing the total to 15,191. The Cannabis Expungement Project nears an end following ...


Gay News

Chicago Auto Show returns to McCormick Place 2022-02-11
- The Chicago Auto Show is back. Following a very scaled-down version that took place last year, the event has returned—although it's not quite as large as the event was before the COVID pandemic. The Chicago Auto ...


Gay News

Chicago Auto Show to take place Feb. 12-21 2022-01-10
- The Chicago Auto Show is slated to return to its traditional February dates: Feb. 12-21 at McCormick Place. The show is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day, except for the final day (Presidents Day), ...


Gay News

Now, only five of Chicago's 50 aldermen reject automatic pay raises 2021-09-16
- Forty-five out of 50 Chicago aldermen have opted to accept a 5.5% pay increase in 2022 that will push the highest paid among them to an annual salary of more than $130,000, according to The Chicago Tribune. ...


Gay News

AUTOS 2021 BMW 430i: Hard Top or Soft? 2021-08-06
- This year's BMW 430i xDrive really is the classic sportscar. You can get it as a coupe or as a convertible, the only two trims available. Basically, it's just two doors and you can have it with a year-round hard top ...


Gay News

Chicago Auto Show taking place July 15-19 2021-07-14
- An abridged version of the annual Chicago Auto Show will take place July 15-19 at McCormick Place, 2301 S. King Dr. The auto show will be one of McCormick Place's first live, in-person events since the ...


Gay News

Pritzker announces $10M vaccination lottery 2021-06-18
- As Illinois continues to lead the Midwest in vaccinating our residents, Gov. JB Pritzker announced a new $10 million "All In for the Win" promotion that will reward vaccinated Illinoisans by automatically entering them into a ...


Gay News

Chicago Auto Show to return to McCormick Place in July 2021-05-04
- On May 4, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot joined elected officials, tourism backers and labor leaders to announce the return of the annual Chicago Auto Show. The event—the nation's largest and ...


Gay News

THEATER 'A Portrait of My Mother' to start streaming May 9 2021-04-08
- Jarrott Productions will present the world premiere of A Portrait of My Mother, written and performed by Carlo Lorenzo Garcia and directed by David R. Jarrott. The autobiographical tribute to Garcia's mother, Maria, begins streaming on ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.