Update: 2013 Dodge Charger Pursuit
We attended Chrysler’s What’s New event, an annual bonanza of products from the Pentastar’s brands. With the entire lineup of cars and the vast Chelsea Proving Grounds at our disposal, the event is a combination of test driving, news, and networking for journalists around the country.
With the ride and handling tracks at our disposal, along with a liberal definition of speed limits, we’ve put together a list of micro reviews, based on our day’s driving impressions. Again, many of these impressions were culled from short stints with the cars in controlled conditions. We’ll be following up with more in-depth reports when we get these vehicles for longer test runs.
Yes, they gave us a police car. Complete with functioning lights, sirens, and loudspeakers (which many journalists used to heckle their compatriots at the track’s stop signs and crossings), driving the Charger Pursuit wasn’t so much an objective from an editorial standpoint, but more of a fun activity.
The Pursuit features the same 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 found in the standard Charger R/T. It’s also available with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6. Our tester featured rear-wheel drive, although all-wheel drive is a new option on Hemi-powered models. Meanwhile, the Pursuit is one of the few vehicles not to get an eight-speed auto, which we’re told is largely due its electronic shifter.
Police officers vastly prefer the column-mounted shifter (which itself is a retrofit for the Pursuit models), and apparently adapting the e-shift mechanism is rather tricky. That’s not to say it isn’t being considered.
Generally, the Pursuit felt a great deal like a standard Charger R/T. The seats are noticeably wider to accommodate for officers and their belts, which might be the biggest difference we felt between the civilian and LEO cars.
On the track, the thrill of zipping about with the lights flashing and the sirens blaring is difficult to describe. An entire bank of light patterns and sirens were at our disposal, and we were sure to use all of them.
Outside of the Viper and possibly the Ram 5500 dump truck on offer, the Pursuit was responsible for putting more smiles on more faces than any other car.
2013 Dodge Charger Pursuit V-8 RWD
Engine: V-8, 5.7 liters, 16v
Output: 370 hp/395 lb-ft
0-60 MPH: 5.4 sec (est)
Top Speed: 150 mph
Weight: 4442 lb
Fuel Economy, City/Hwy: 16/25 mpg
Base Price: Not For Public Sale
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