E55 AMG vs Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

I’ve just done an extra 92 miles in my very recently purchased Dodge Charger Hellcat. Now, as a former owner of a W211 E55, I wanted to compare it. Both cars are mid sized sedans, both cars are rear wheel drive, both cars are powered by a supercharged V8, and both cars came with automatic only. First off, I want to share you the stats, the positives, and the negatives of the Charger.

Stats:

1. It is powered by a 6.2 Liter supercharged HEMI V8 that produces 707hp and 650 lb-ft of torque
2. 0-60 3.5 seconds, quarter mile 11 seconds @ 125 mph (NHRA-certified)
3. Top speed over 200 mph

Positives:

1. THE RIDE
   It is very comfortable. I can’t believe the amazing ride quality of this car. It’s just unbelievable. The seats are not the best seats in the whole world, yes. But they are pretty good in my opinion
2. THE SOOOUUUUNNNNDDD
   I don’t need to explain this one…Let Parker from Vehicle Virgins explain
3. RELIABILITY & REPAIR COSTS
   I’m not really sure about that because I’ve only had a day with the Dodge but I am sure that the repair costs for the Charger would not make your wallet empty. E55 on the other hand, well…if you broke something, your wallet will be fu*ked
4. THE PERFORMANCE FOR THE PRICE
   The Charger starts at $65k. That might sound quite a lot but when you look at its performance, your head will blow up. It’s got more power than a Lamborghini Aventador, and it’s $300k less!!
5. DAILY DRIVER CAPABILITY
   It’s got 4 doors, it’s got a front engine which means that it has a huge boot. However, it is quite irritating when you’re talking about mpg (which I will mention in the negatives)

Negatives

1. M to the P to the G
   Yeah. I don’t know how the Corvette C6 managed to get 20+ mpg from a 5,6, and even 7 liter V8 (maybe because it’s naturally aspirated?). The Charger gets about EPA 18/22 city/highway which is quite bad….
2. HANDLING
   Like what Parker said, it handles like a school bus on a go-kart track. It is a real pain if you’re driving in a twisty roads at 40+ mph. That’s how bad it is.
3. INTERIOR
   Now we come to the number 1 insult to American cars. Interior quality is pretty cheap. Sure,the seats are nice but the dashboard,the center console..they look boring. Sure,it has aluminum trim which is nice but,you don’t feel like you’re driving a $60k car. If you look at the F80 M3,you’ll be amazed by the interior quality.

Now let’s move to the W211

Stats

1. The E55 is powered by a lysholm (twin screw) supercharged 5.5L V8 that produces 470 hp and 520 lb-ft of torque.
2. 0-60 4.8 seconds
3. Top speed is 155 mph (limited)

Positives

1. INTERIOR QUALITY
   You know, going from a Hellcat’s interior to this car’s interior, you felt like going from a barn to a mansion. Very soft yet supportive seats, wood trim, soft touch materials everywhere.
2. RIDE QUALITY
   The E55 and the Hellcat both have a pretty good riding quality. But you feel more comfortable in an E55. 150 feels like 50 in this car.
3. THE SLEEPER LOOKS
   It looks exactly like an E320 Sport (minus the exhaust). The Charger has some Viper style front fascia so it kinda lost the sleeper-ness.
4. DAILY CAPABILITY
   Same with the Charger….but with an even better interior and ride quality :)
5. THAT SOUUUNNDDDD
   Dude,it’s one of the 9 supercharghed cars that sounds amazing. Do I need to explain? (The Hellcat is also on the list btw)

Negatives

1. RELIABILITY & REPAIR COSTS
   Mercedes-Benz (especially in their AMG cars) is known to be viscous when it comes to repair costs for years. And because the W211 is like 10 years old now, things are going to get more expensive…
2. IT’S SLOWER THAN A HELLCAT
   It has a limiter, I know. But even without it, I’m not sure if the car can break 200 mph (heck, I doubt that it could break 195)
3. THE PRICE FOR THE PERFORMANCE
   Slow down, yes I know this car is a decade older than a Hellcat Charger but it starts at $75k and you got a car that can’t even do 200 without limiter. Its rival,the E60/61 M5 can do 200+ delimited for $1k less.

I hope you enjoy this,CTzens. Leave a comment and let me know what are your thoughts about this. You can take a look at my Dodge Charger here and my former E55 AMG here

-Raymond