The Dodge Charger EV Is the Worst Lease Deal on the Planet, Perhaps on Purpose
The Drive ·
Dodge will lease you a gas Charger for less than half what the electric Daytona costs per month, even though the EV's barely more expensive on paper. The post The Dodge Charger EV Is the Worst Lease Deal on the Planet, Perhaps on Purpose appeared first on The Drive .
Considering the years Dodge spent teasing the all-electric Charger Daytona, it’s kind of remarkable how quickly the brand has totally paved over its existence since the arrival of the gas-powered Sixpack version . Yes, of course you could say that an EV was the last thing the Mopar faithful wanted, and we didn’t love the car , but still—Stellantis committed to building the thing, so it should probably put some effort into selling ’em. Scanning the complete lack of any and all lease incentives available for the electric Charger, it seems that they actually might not want to.
The effective monthly lease for a Charger EV right now is more than double what you’d spend for the Sixpack flavor, according to the good people over at CarsDirect (emphasis ours):
Per Dodge’s online payment estimator , the 2-door 2026 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack is listed at $1,312 per month for 36 months with $6,269 due at signing. The estimate is based on an MSRP of $60,690 and 10,000 miles per year. The effective cost of the lease is approximately $1,486 per month , excluding any taxes & fees.
At the same time, the 2-door 2026 Charger Scat Pack has an MSRP of $55,690 and is listed at $573 for 36 months with $5,769 due at signing. Here, the effective monthly cost comes out to $733 . In other words, even though the EV’s MSRP is only 9% higher, the latest incentives make it almost 103% more expensive to lease.
On the surface, that’s a little strange, because the Sixpack isn’t the one that needs help. It makes sense, however, when you take note of the EV’s residual value. The trouble being that it barely has any.
By the end of a lease, Stellantis reportedly estimates an electric Charger is worth all of 40% of MSRP. Contrast that with the inline-six model, which is said to retain 67% of its value, and it’s easy to see how the automaker is pushing its cash onto the product likeliest to post a return on that investment.
It’s yet another chapter in the new Charger’s dismal story , though in fairness, it might not entirely be the car’s fault. In a world where the federal EV rebate still existed, the Daytona’s fortunes might not have unraveled as quickly as they have. Stellantis was quick to react of course, discontinuing the high-end Daytona R/T and canceling the flagship, super-high-output Banshee last year as it started shoehorning Hemi V8s back into almost every engine bay that could fit them.
Visit the Charger’s official site , and it’s the Sixpack, not the more expensive Daytona, receiving unequivocal top billing. You have to wonder how much longer the latter will even be on the marquee.
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The post The Dodge Charger EV Is the Worst Lease Deal on the Planet, Perhaps on Purpose appeared first on The Drive .