The 2015 Dodge Charger squad has been tested in police trim for the first time, but since it kept the five-speed automatic, it has turned in numbers similar to past years.

While the eight-speed V6 Charger does 0-60 in 6.6 seconds, the five-speed was timed at 8.05 seconds by the Michigan State Police. The civilian 2015 Charger gained acceleration from the eight-speed, but the police still have the five-speed with the V8, too.


V6 to V6 and V8 to V8 (or V6 Turbo), the Charger compares somewhat unfavorably to the Caprice and to Ford Taurus in 0-60 times and 0-100 times, though the top speed of the base engine is better than the Ford by 9 mph.

In braking, which can be essential in police duty — more important, in all likelihood, than fractions of second in 0-60 charges — the Charger does much better, with each model stopping in a shorter distance than their Ford and Chevrolet counterparts.


Comparing the Charger to increasingly popular SUVs from Chevy (Tahoe) and Ford (Explorer) yields better results for Dodge, with Charger V8 easily beating all Tahoes  and the base Explorer, and edging out the turbocharged Explorer 0-60 while easily beating it 0-100. In top speed, the Charger, both RWD and AWD, easily beat all the SUVs.  The fastest-stopping car tested was the Charger V6 (3.08 ratio), followed closely by the Charger Hemi RWD.

While we have no numbers, our reporter wrote that a Charger beat all other vehicles tested on the overall track test. We have incomplete track numbers and were unable to verify this. Official numbers are due soon.

All numbers reported in this article were preliminary findings and are subject to change.