I’m a big fan of the Kia Stinger, so much so that I think it’s one of the best vehicle introductions of the last decade. It was wonderful: a four-door sedan with GT-like proportions and a liftback powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 engine — and you could have it with all-wheel drive. Unless you spent big money with one of the German brands, where else were you going to find a car like that? What made it even better was that it came from such an unexpected place, Kia.
Sadly though low sales, buyers still caught up in badge perception and a market largely moving away from unique, fun stuff for boring crossovers killed the Stinger and it was discontinued for the 2023 model year. Luckily Dodge has stepped in with a replacement for the Stinger in the new Charger. Yes, I’m about to compare an out-of-production Korean performance sedan with an all-new Dodge that isn’t even on sale yet.
In releasing the specs and details of the all-new Dodge Charger, it dawned on me that Dodge is giving us nearly the exact car that Kia took from us. At their most basic, they’re the same. The Stinger was available with a base 2.5-liter 300 horsepower turbocharged I4 or an optional 3.3-liter 365 hp V6 with optional all-wheel drive for both engines.
With the new Charger, Dodge is giving it the option of two different versions of its 3.0-liter twin-turbo Hurricane I6 engine, but wording from the Dodge site is making it seem as if the high-output engine will only be available in the two-door Charger; we’ll have to wait and see. Either way though, you can have your I6 with either 420 hp or an impressive 550 hp in the high-output version. Both get paired with standard all-wheel drive and eight-speed automatic transmissions.
Both the Stinger and the Charger sedan are four-door liftbacks (or hatchbacks if that’s what you want to call them. Dodge calls the Charger’s hatch a “hidden hatch.” Whatever.) As far as dimensions, the Charger sedan has the old Stinger beat. The Charger is massive, with a 121-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 206.6-inches. This means the Charger’s wheelbase is 6.6-inches longer than the Stinger (114.4-inches) and its overall length is 6.4-inches longer than the Stinger (190.2-inches). Weirdly though those big dimensions don’t translate into big cargo space.
The Stinger has the Charger slightly beat on cargo capacity. With the rear seats up, there’s 23.3 cubic feet of cargo space in the Stinger, compared to 22.8 in the Dodge; that grows to 40.9 cubic feet with the seats folded in the Stinger and 37.4 cubic feet in the Charger. Throw in another 1.4 cubic feet for the Charger EV with its frunk.
But you get the idea. Dodge has inadvertently given us an American follow-up to the Kia Stinger in what’s honestly one of the most ideal car body styles you can buy — this is made even better by the fact that you can get the same powertrain setup in coupe. Sure the outrageous Hemi V8s are gone, but where else are you going to find a big, all-wheel drive sedan with a liftback and powerful straight-six engine? Certainly not from any other American automaker that’s for sure. If the price is right — and I pray it is — once the gas-powered Chargers go on sale in 2025, Dodge just might have an enthusiasts hit on its hands.