When Dodge plonked in the 707-horsepower Hellcat V-8 under the Charger’s hood, we thought the company’s gone nuts… but we loved it. Then came the 2021 model Charger Hellcat that was powered by 10 more horses, and we took it with our arms wide open. This isn’t the best the Charger has to offer – that honor goes to the Redeye Widebody and its 797 horses – but it is still pretty much in the supercar category. However, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody is happy to be a daily driver and not just a car you’d take out to fulfill your adrenaline cravings. Here are some reasons why the muscle car is an ultimate daily driver:

Take The Whole Family To The Race Strip!

Let’s start with the obvious. Even though it is a car on steroids, the Charger Hellcat Widebody is a family sedan at its core. It comes with a spacious cabin, and best of all, two rows of seats. This isn’t something that’s commonly associated with cars that make over 700 horses. While the front seats with bolsters may not be the most comfortable for folks with larger builds, the cabin is still comfortable and a nice place to be in.

To put it into numbers, the car offers 38.6 inches of headroom, 41.8 inches of legroom, 59.5 inches of shoulder room, and 56.2 inches of hip room at the front. Even though it has a coupe-like roofline, it doesn’t eat much into the rear headroom. It offers 36.6 inches of headroom, 40.1 inches of legroom, 57.9 inches of shoulder room, and 56.1 inches of hip room at the rear.

You Can Stuff More Than Just A Duffle Bag

Unlike most 700+ horsepower cars, the 2021 Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody comes with ample cargo space to stuff your luggage into; 16.5 cubic feet, to be precise. What’s even better is that the rear seats can be tumbled down to make it a lot more practical than a conventional sports car or supercar.

All Creature Comforts On Offer

Often regarded and categorized as a straight-line sprint machine, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody is actually sort of an all-rounder. It comes with all the bells and whistles that you can ask for at this price point. These include:

- French-stitched leather throughout the cabin

- Heated and cooled front seats

- Extra-soft leather and seat padding

- Front seat lumbar adjustment

- Dual-zone climate control

- LED ambient lighting

- Heated, leather, flat-bottom steering wheel

- Leather-wrapped shift knob

Now, the quality is not on par with the Germans and it isn’t luxurious either, but it is a huge upgrade over the cheaper Didge Charger models. Now, a race strip machine without any creature comforts is acceptable since it is built for a purpose, but a mass-produced car without them for over $70,000 - Nah-uh. And, that’s what makes the Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody a great daily driver.

The Looks To Gel Well Anywhere

Now, this might not make sense to some, but there are a lot of people who don’t want their cars to scream for attention. Now, the Hellcat Charger isn’t one that can be hidden in plain sight. It will turn heads, but won’t make people come and touch it or take selfies with it like your other 700+ horsepower cars. Now, this is one thing that definitely plays in your favor if you’re buying this car as your daily driver.

Since the 2021 model, the Dodge Charger Hellcat comes with a widebody as standard. As the name suggests, the Widebody is literally a wider body for your Charger SRT Hellcat. The widebody models are merely wider on the outside, by 3.5 inches, and have wider tracks. It doesn’t make the car any more spacious on the inside. The extra width comes courtesy of the flared fenders and the side skirts. It rides on 20-inch aluminum wheels as standard. The aggressive nose, the deadly red-and-black combination, the lip spoiler on the trunk, the full-width racetrack tail lamps, etc. make this one hell of a looker. But, as I said, it isn’t as attention-seeker as, say, any Porsche model.

Specs That Can Make You Go Weak In Your Knees

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody comes with the famous supercharged V-8 engine that displaces 6.2 liters. It puts out 717 horses and 650 pound-feet of torque. Power is routed to the rear wheels exclusively via an eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic gearbox. As for its performance credentials, the SRT Hellcat Widebody takes just 3.6 seconds to 60 mph from a standstill and goes up to 196 mph. We don’t need to justify what a monster this muscle car is, do we?

The Hellcat Engine Can Be Tamed

However, we do need to justify that one of the world’s fastest and the most powerful mass-produced gas-powered sedans can be a good daily driver too. The Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody tips the weights at over 4,500 pounds, but it is surprisingly nimble at low speeds. The ride is comfortable, too, however, the suspension is a bit on the stiffer side. But, it’s not something you can’t live with. The steering is not the lightest at city speeds, but it won’t feel like a workout for your arms either. Again, not a deal-breaker.

All-in-all, it can be driven on weekdays without being a pain in the back. Although the driving dynamics are on the good side (or at least borderline) in most departments when you look at it as an urban commuter, the one aspect where it fails is the fuel economy. It is rated at 12 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway. However, keep a light foot and you’ll be able to extract over 17 mpg without breaking a sweat in mixed conditions. That said, if you are someone who likes to zip off once the traffic lights turn green and enjoy the soundgasm created by the car, then you won’t mind the other aspects where this Dodge doesn’t do as well as its competitors.

Jack Of All Trades

Most cars that offer power as much as the Charger SRT Hellcat are not very practical, which means it is usually a second car to have fun over the weekends. You need to have at least one other car that can be used in the city, and, perhaps a third to hit the highways with the family for a vacation. But, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat checks all those boxes by itself. Do you need a car to drop off the kids at school, run errands, go to the office, or potter around town? The Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody will do it. Do you need to take your spouse and kids for a holiday? The Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody will do it. Hitting the tracks over the weekends with your buddies for some hot sprints? Again, the Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody will do it. We won’t go as far as to say it excels everywhere, but it sure is the Jack of all trades.

The Big Question – Is It The Ultimate Daily Driver?

Our answer to this is going to be a big, fat, astounding Yes. It’s no secret that people look for upgrades once they get used to the performance of a car. If you have a 150-horsepower car, you’ll find it bland in the very near future. You get a 300-horsepower car, and the same will happen, even though it might take a little longer for you to get bored. However, these things don’t usually happen when you have a 700+-horsepower beast sitting in your garage, waiting to roar.

Right from the loud cold starts that will make your neighbors curse you to that search for a little straight stretch on the roads where you can stretch its legs a little, the Charger SRT Hellcat will keep you excited at all times. No matter how big an adrenaline junkie you are, this beast will plaster an ear-to-ear grin on your face EVERY SINGLE TIME you launch it or do a burnout. Whether you look at it as a practical, family sedan with Usain Bolt’s capabilities, or a powerful, fast muscle car with Dominic Toretto’s ‘family is everything’ values, there’s no denying that the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody is a great all-rounder and a worthy contender if you plan to have a single-car garage.

The 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody starts at $79,595, which includes $1,595 destination.

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Specifications

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody

Engine

6.2-liter, supercahrged HEMI V-8

Transmission

8-Speed AutoStick

Horsepower

717 horses

Torque

650 pound-feet

Driveline

RWD

Fuel

Gasoline

Fuel Economy

12/21/15

Fuel Capaciy

18.5 Gal

Suspension

Adaptive, Ind Front, 5-Link Rear

Steering

Electric

Turning Circle

39.0 Feet

Front Tire Size

275/40ZR20

Rear Tire Size

275/40ZR20

0-60 MPH

3.6 Seconds

Top Speed

196 MPH (independent testing)

Power-to-Weight

6.41 LBS Per HP

Curb Weight

4,536 pounds