2018 Dodge Charger Pursuit Review - The Most HATED POLICE CAR!!

[@bwofficial1776]

Looks good in all black with the black cop wheels and a spotlight. The Pentastar 3.6L V6 is good enough for a municipal department and is a solid engine. No police car's headlights are as iconic as the Crown Vic's though. If you saw a Crown Vic, you knew it was a cop. Not so anymore for Tahoes, Explorers, Durangos, Chargers, and so on.

[@LITTLE1994]

So true. Even civilian model Vics or Mercury Grand Marquis fool people a lot.

[@samspina3249]

The current generation explorer police interceptor has amber strips on their headlights that are pretty easy to spot.

[@theodorgiosan2570]

The Explorers are really easy to spot with those narrow flat amber strips above the headlights. And in New England the vast majority of police cars are Explorers. There are a few Chargers, Tauruses, Tahoe's, and unmarked cars including Buicks, Toyota RAV4s, Chevy Malibu's, Ford Edges, Nissan Rogues, and even minivans, but they are not at all common. Mostly only seen around road work in Massachusetts. In Connecticut the cops always have their lights on even when sitting on the side of the road so you'd have to be not paying attention at all to miss them.

[@t436]

@@samspina3249 You can forscan that on the civilian but the Jeep grand Cherokee has too close of a look from a quick glance in the mirror.

[@fun_time_49]

The pursuit chargers had 3 drivetrain options from a 3.6 V6 RWD to 5.7 V8 RWD and finally the 5.7 V8 AWD, making the pursuit package the only variant of the charger to offer a V8 with AWD. And one final thing the speedometer is certified as long as they have those specific steelies on unlike every other civilian spec cars.

[@Foxonian]

Until Stellantis stupidly got rid of the AWD option in the final two years of the Charger Police Package.

[@user-mi4wr2lw3n]

normal 2011 - 2014 Chargers & 300's had a 5.7 AWD option. They dropped AWD when the newer 8-speed ZF 8HP 70 came out, police chargers kept the old NAG1 5 speed until 2020 so AWD was an option for much longer.

[@EngineersHomestead]

Getting drunk uncle vibes with the messy hair/mustache/Dale jacket combo lol...love it

[@davidp2888]

“I had the right to remain silent but not the ability.” - Ron White

[@bricegraham8256]

Oooooh i love the Window XP theme for the submission information

[@pattyayyy]

Just imagining how rowdy the awd hellcat would’ve been

[@wigletron2846]

It would have blown up 2 diffs instead of 1

[@pattyayyy]

yeah but for those 10 seconds. Might just be worth

[@calvin4319]

Hey just wanted to let you know the model you drove actually has a 5 speed trans not the 8, the police package didn’t get the 8 speed until 2021 because they had to figure out a way to make it work with the column shifter

[@210works]

Yeah it's also a Mercedes 722.6 NAG-1 transmission originally designed in the 90s which is its own quirk.

[@will5150]

the 3.6 is a solid engine. it's a dohc, port injected v6 that puts out decent power.

[@HCCR350]

In theory yea

[@bwofficial1776]

The Pentastar 3.6 has been around for so long that Chrysler has worked the bugs out. It makes 300ish horsepower which is plenty. It's reliable and reasonably efficient.

[@RustyZipper]

Hp does not equal Tq

[@AP-st1li]

You're right. It's amazing how many people don't know this. They routinely make 250k miles now

[@JayCeeMax]

Alllll of you are wrong. The 3.6 Pentastar is a terrible engine and super problematic. I have a 2017 Dodge Journey and now its stuck on a mountain in Morazan, El Salvador (Bought in Norfolk, VA). Head gasket, cam shaft, water pump, timing, random e-brake light warning a couple of times an hour, overheating even after a head gasket fix. The list goes on. Stay away. Don't listen to these fellows above me.

[@celsovera91]

You got the cop stache. All you’re missing is the cop sunglasses

[@LITTLE1994]

The fact this Charger cop car has a V6 rather than a V8 is very disappointing.

[@mopargm9329]

No the fact that it had the Nag1 in the popo models till 2022 was. This is the Nag1 5 speed. They finally got the German ZF 8 speed in 2022 when they figured out how to work in the column shifter. The 8 speed that came in 2012 for the rest of us shaved a full 2 seconds off the 0-60 😂😂 This reviewer gets so much wrong. Read my comment of facts. I worked for Dodge over 20 years

[@scott8919]

Police departments have different needs and different budgets, and quite frankly the V6 is plenty enough for traffic stops, parking tickets, non-emergency things. I'm sure many departments would rather spend a little less on those vehicles and save on maintenance and gas than idle a V8 everywhere.

[@raiderfly]

@@scott8919Especially since hemis do Not do well with idling like that

[@bwofficial1776]

It's fast enough, especially for a municipal department. If more speed is needed, departments can call in other departments and the state police. The V6 is more economical around town and in many places unmarked cars aren't used for enforcement.

[@GeeEm1313]

For whom? lol

[@mikeypv6]

This reminds me so much of the Fast and Furious cars where they were pulling a bank safe across a town 😅

[@AlexSpalex1]

Being from Michigan, I'm familiar with shape being in State Police blue with a single red light on top.

[@KeaganExtremeGaming]

Idk if this charger had it since it was a detective car but other ones I’ve seen have a hidden pull switch for the rear doors separate from the locks that prevent the doors from being opened from the outside while the drivers doors can stay unlocked

[@FrankTimms-cs5hl]

The knob is right above the top rear door hinge-my 2011 has them.

[@raymondkay4896]

Great review! Believe it or not, Palos Heights, Illinois (Or maybe it was Palos Hills) used to have Dodge Magnum squad cars, which I thought was an interesting choice. I wonder how much different it is than the charger you reviewed for us today. Thanks again Zack!

[@TheGoddamnBacon]

There was one in the Hilltop area of Tacoma, WA about 10 years ago I ended up spotting as an undercover vehicle. Interestingly, it also had whatever rims that were installed before I would wager being impounded and repurposed.

[@masontimmons3308]

8:31 I've been stuck in the back of a police car once I was working at a body shop in my small town of 3000, new trunk lid for cop car, had the back door open to take something off/out and a coworker shoved me in and closed the door

[@blautens]

I'd be curious what a Pentastar powered Charger patrol car drives like - the Hemis are too common. Very cool choice of car, but as an ex LEO, I always enjoyed driving every odd car I could (I once took out an unmarked K car for the night).

[@RustyZipper]

They’re not bad, definitely lacking in torque. They make a bit of noise but really don’t make it go faster. However, The 8 speed trans is a different beast. It’s Always grabbing a gear and when you let off to coast around a corner or come into a village the trans decides to grab a different gear and the best I can describe is a slight catapult forward which is unwelcoming.

[@kevinW826]

I work for a big autoglass replacement company here in Canada, two weeks ago we had an RCMP car in for a windshield. It was the first time I ever sat in a police car. It was pretty cool, even sitting in the back seat. The one I worked on was the AWD and V8 equipped one. Of course the only problem I had was trying to get the cutting wire around everything attached to the windshield and the dashboard.

[@rightlanehog3151]

Zack, I hope someday you get a 1971 Plymouth Fury police car to review. This Charger would fit in the trunk of a full-size, 1970s Chrysler sedan.

[@RustyZipper]

He recently did a ‘74 Monaco

[@ShaggyWolff]

Great video Zack. What happened to test track you used to drive on?

[@CoopManDrives]

Ive been watching your videos for the past few weeks since I started looking to get an s197 and have been binging them ever since.

[@Alfadragon17]

Rather the V6 idling than a hemi. Better MPG, perfect for routine stops, still AWD optional and the V6 (though not problem free) is still easy to work on in an longitudinal setup. I've read the avg mpg on our AWD hemi cars, its like 15 mpg! The V6 will do a minimum of 5 mpg more thats savings especially across a fleet of 10s or 100s of cars in service. I work for my local municipality, once went to get the oil changed in my work car I asked some of our techs how many cam and lifters they put in our PD and Sheriff Chargers. The tech laughed and said more than he could count! I asked (already knowing some of the answer) why they fail. He replied idling. When they install new cam and lifters (and yes, we don't replace all the bearings) our service department usually applies a high idle tune to help save the lifters from oil starvation since we don't replace oil pumps or delete MDS.

[@thelonelywolf88]

I work at a garage where the owner is friends with the local police. They bring their cruisers in for inspections and oil changes. It's almost all Explorers with the 3.3L. The lieutenant has a 17 Taurus police car, and they just bought two used Chargers for new cruisers...with the V8 and AWD. After all, in Pennsylvania, AWD is a good idea in winter

[@ChromeConnoisseur08]

the official mascot of police body cam videos

[@TericT]

Man I love column shifters

[@jericho5253]

Haha, I’m watching this as I sit in my marked 2018 V8 AWD charger. Just to mention, that is 100% a detectives vehicle. If you get into a marked unit for patrol, you’re going to find significantly more wear just cause we beat the hell out of them in pursuits, sometimes striking various traffic hazards (bad potholes) we idle a lot too. Also, I’m not sure about other departments, but our fleet actually makes the wheel well for chargers far larger to fit full sized tires. The problem comes in that they still didn’t fully fit, so they had to put in a bar to ghetto rig a secure position that raised the wheel at an angle, which causes challenge in storing anything in the trunk. A pain in the ass for space, but this baby rides like the wind. We switched to a full SUV fleet when these retire, but I’m thrilled to say I was able to drive mine for a few years.

[@davyd4355]

I’m sorry but no one likes cops

[@Mrebreak]

Definitely not the most hated police car. My v6 charger leaves the police suvs in the dust

[@Ben-jz3mt]

Some versions from around this time still had the old 5 Speed Auto for some reason

[@JDoors]

Being obsessive-compulsive I counted the number of times I entered and exited the vehicle every day for a week, then averaged per day. Sorry to say this was a long time ago and I don't remember the numbers, but it definitely was an astoundingly high number of times a day. I think I started counting because there were complaints from above about how the cars were wearing. Uh, yeah, open and close the doors and climb in and out of the car a hundred times a day and ... things are gonna wear.

[@servicerifle16]

Most cops in my area drive Durangos instead of Explorers though there is some(mostly K9 units). The second most common is the Chargers, though mostly highway or state troopers. There's still a few Taurus' in service as well though they're mostly phased out along with the mix of Crown Vics and Impalas.

[@r2ba435]

Our agencies has been using them exclusively since around 2017. Only switching cause they was discontinued.

[@celsovera91]

Where i live, these chargers are more common than the explorers. We even have a Durango cop car and a tesla cop car

[@samharris4680]

Police depts have to be careful w/ their budgets. The AWD 5.7 was only purchased by depts w/ inclement weather states like Nebraska/KS etc. You can find tons of ex highway patrol cars w/ the 5.7 for sale, often times w/ lights & cages still installed if you wanna LARP as a cop

[@robertvance1873]

I have also talked with police officers and they hate the Eco Boost because they are not reliable, I have had several say the same thing They Miss their Crown Victoria's and FORD should have never stopped building them and simply upgraded the Car's.

[@Where2bub]

that is a really nice looking charger.. I thought the last generation chevy caprice (holden Caprice) was everyone's least favorite police car?

[@NotSpoiler111]

7:42 Or maybe it was an undercover's police car. Despite the spotlight, it CAN be removable I guess.

[@timmypstyle]

18 pursuit should be a 5spd auto. They offered it for the pursuit because of how much cheaper they were to fix or replace. They didn't get the 8spd until like 2021 I think. They have a special fleet service ordering page and it told all the specs. Unfortunately, they don't keep the older year data so I can't go back and look directly from the ordering source. But I'm 98% sure that's a 5spd. 100% sure its a 5spd if that's an awd model whether it's a V6 or V8 tho. They never offered a 5.7L with awd and 8spd in any of the cars.

[@davinp]

GM, Ford & Chrysler/Dodge have stopped making sedans in favor of SUVs Stellantis said they ended production of the Challenger & Charger because they were going to electrify them. These Big 3 Automakers are making a mistake going to electric cars which are not popular.

[@RustyZipper]

They couldn’t care less what the consumer thinks. They’re much more concerned with the amount of government (taxpayer) assistance they can garner from pushing the EV initiative.

[@valiantviktor]

@@RustyZipper Exactly. The reason automakers pivoted to crossovers and SUVs is due to their much more forgiving standards for manufacturing. (Fuel economy, emissions, etc.) Same goes for EVs.

[@calvin4319]

Do you just spew obvious BS under every shooting cars upload😂

[@SNLOOB]

column shifter V8 AWD

[@djgasss7916]

3:32 now im a producer not a mathematician but roughly with engine hours and miles it's average speed has been (not including idle hours) 11.6 m.p.h?

[@GeeEm1313]

I always thought the rear doors had the child locks on.

[@therealnbk9432]

the 2018 models do not come with 8spd transmissions. They only started using the 8 spd ZF trans after 2021 when dodge only offered V6 AWD or V8 RWD just like the civilian models. 2015-2021 all had mercedes NAG1 5spd transmissions.

[@ApexOT]

Collector car feed sent me here.

[@FrequencyORD]

In my area, the only police cars I ever see are explorers, unmarked or marked, I consider myself lucky.

[@bwofficial1776]

My area has a mix of everything. The state police and county police use Tahoes almost exclusively, marked and unmarked. The state police have a few Explorers and Durangos but recently phased out the few Chargers and Caprices they had. County police have a few unmarked Tauruses. My town and my local university's police have a mix of Tahoes, Explorers, and Durangos rotated in depending on what that year's bid was. My town has a few unmarked Crown Victorias left and the university has a lifted marked Jeep Wrangler as well as some Zero electric motorcycles. A few municipal departments in my county have Chargers but they're not common.

[@thomaskreke4635]

The Explorer is such an obviously better tool for the job than a large sedan, so I’m glad they are moving that way.

[@jeremiahallyn4603]

So, if an engine idles a lot, is that bad for the engine? I really am curious about this. Does anyone know, or have an explanation?

[@kc9scott]

It’s always at least a little bad. Depends on the specific engine. What I recall hearing is that some engines don’t pump enough oil up to the camshafts at idle speed, which wears them out faster. And some (perhaps most) engines may tend to get gasoline into the oil due to idling.

[@kc9scott]

For lots of cars, when they list the oil change frequency, they have a “severe use” category that requires more frequent oil changes. Spending a lot of time idling is one thing that puts a car into that category.

[@ShootingCars]

Engines in police cars idle for a really long time. It’s just a better metric than mileage because on a single shift they might drive 20 miles, which is very small, but it idled for 12 hours, which is a lot more wear on the engine. You might see 100k miles and thing it’s not bad, but the engine has actually been on for the equivalent of 200,000 or 300,000 miles.

[@bwofficial1776]

Ford considers one hour of idling the equivalent of driving 33 miles. Engines pump oil and coolant faster at speed so at idle there's less flowing. Additionally, there is no air flowing through the radiator beyond what the fan can pull so the engine gets warmer.

[@RustyZipper]

Just Think of all the fart time in that seat …

[@MrCBG]

The mustache is perfect for a cop car lol

[@auntbarbara5576]

Radio is faster than rubber.

[@EricRogel-p7q]

So then this car has 15,275 idle miles? The car is considered to be high?

[@Foxonian]

I remember when our local town bought two Chargers back in 2010. They were the first Chryslers they had since the early 1980's after using for Crown Vic's since then. After a couple of years our town traded them in for Ford Taurus PPV's due to the Chargers breaking down frequently and the officers suffering from back and shoulder injuries from the seats and cramped interior.

[@RobsNeighbor]

Hey Zack! I will be in touch soon on the Rav8

[@michi-eke]

no cupholders means no beer during working, but this doesn't stop cops from eating mcdonalds i guess

[@erich84502ify]

Some copcars have 3.6 V6

[@terrencesimpson9113]

I asked a Minnesota Highway Patrol officer how fast the V6 Charger will go, and he said 137 mph. I imagine that the V8 models must get up to around 155.

[@tristankelsey1746]

The looks and the fact that it is rwd with a colunn shifter are the only redeeming features of this car. Otherwise its garbage just like the vast majority of vehicles made in the last 15 years. Love the channel and the mustache brother. Keep up the good work

[@jimmynickelz]

Having driven this thing for years in the capacity that you're reviewing, the v6 Charger was terrible. It was horrible and dangerous in bad weather. It was slow. It was dreadfully unreliable. The V6 Charger as a patrol car was a bad idea. The 3.7 V6 Interceptor (Taurus) was slow, but it's faster than that turd and handles a lot better. Great vid.

[@hithmedia]

5 speed auto

[@ThatChargerPursuitGuy]

If you would like Shooting Cars, I can take you around my 2013 Charger Pursuit. I actually worked with the Police and know quite a bit of things that you can miss in police cars if you didn't know they were there. (And I can tell you. You missed some things for sure)

[@valiantviktor]

Hey, I drove one of these very briefly before!

[@hollybirge4087]

A very good friend of mine is retired from the Ottawa Police Service. When they phased out their Crown Vics, they tried both the Charger and the Explorer. Their computer equipment just didn't fit well into the Charger. My friend is very petite, and even she found the driver's seat too tight. So she was very happy when Ottawa chose the Explorer.

[@og69movie92]

If you close your eyes while listening to this with headphones, it sounds like Martin short is reviewing the car.... at times

[@marvinblue27]

Zach, i miss the old intro and music.

[@Hawxx9194]

Coming from the indestructible Crown Vics to these junkwagons with their ticking engines, unreliable suspensions and narrow doors made these the worst car ever for police work. Good riddance. The Tauruses arent much better but ill be retiring soon so theres that. Great video

[@bricegraham8256]

Wait what happened to the old intro. I liked it better

[@jomfrulysetsfall2119]

This car should have been the new Dodge Diplomat , Monaco , or St.Regis naming it a charger was totally stupid because it was never a 4 door

[@moonbeamskies3346]

It might not be the last traditional cop car. The 2025 Dodge Charger with rear wheel drive and straight 6 engine may get a police version.

[@michaelcoffey7362]

Nice 😊

[@jacobgreenmanedlion1863]

Real men have full moustaches and beards. We remeber Dusty Hill!

[@dave11686]

Nice

[@kyledexter485]

Is purple the shirt color of 2025?

[@kaydgaming-f4o]

Hi Zack first please pin this comment. You are the best KZbinr I have ever watched. I love your car reviews. And I love how detailed they are.

[@mopargm9329]

He's wrong about so much lol. Read my comment. Also I worked for Dodge for over 20 years

[@RustyZipper]

He rarely, rarely responds to comments 🤷‍♂️

[@mopargm9329]

@@RustyZipper I know. Probably don't know about that feature either just like he knows so little about what he reviews lol

[@kaydgaming-f4o]

@@mopargm9329 that is the car wizard when he says buy this not that

[@mopargm9329]

@@kaydgaming-f4o ok?? And again I worked for Dodge for over 20 years and was stating facts. No I'm not the car wizard channel but like him been a mechanic all my life and worked for both Dodge and GM before from 2004-2009. Worked for Chrysler/Dodge 2009-2024. Now I have my own business because everything today is junk. No more dealer service. That's why they add ewaste tax to it😂 People are dumb I swear. That's why my DD is my supercharged L67 Dale Jr Monte Carlo SS. And it's no secret that the 3800 is one of the best engines ever made worldwide. And I will keep buying my GM-W body 3800s and old Mopars

[@codymcnary3607]

How did the Police do it then in prior decades before Trucks, SUVs, EVs etc Roam the Earth?!!!!!

[@U.S.S.SOUTHSIDE]

Before the OPEC Oil Embargo, police vehicles, specifically Chryslers, had ridiculously high horsepower!

[@omar_padilla]

Keep the stach!!!!!!

[@78gagta78]

The v6 version is garbage, only reason to get a pursuit charger is for awd v8 hemi, no other reason, any civilian version would be better

[@stevenweiss2148]

That V6 is far from 'efficient' 75 miles..5 gallons

[@steverado87]

Clearly you're under the influence of a mustache!

[@willyhwang1059]

of the Chrysler corp muscle car revivals of the 2000s, this car looks the worst out of Challenger, 300c, Magnum.

[@RedneckHillbilly-ho9md]

Listen up Y'all it's Sabotage....

[@humansloth2]

Magnum p.i.

[@sbsstorytelling]

Digging the stache. Not so much the Dale jacket, but the stache for sure.

[@guillermopacheco5005]

At least give them a turbo lol

[@NoName-ik2du]

The removal of the rear grab handles is for intimidation purposes. The detective can lure a suspect into the back seat, which _looks_ normal without the divider. But once they're inside, the detective can drive sporadically, and the suspect will have no way to hold themselves in place, leading to them spilling the beans about whatever information the detective is after.

[@CollinMac96]

FTP

[@hunter371]

That's a disgusting amount of idle hours. Seriously just turn your engine off, you can do paperwork without emitting fossil fuels

[@andrewdavid7474]

paperwork is done on a laptop computer. a computer that needs power, and will go flat in barely an hour. emergency lights also require power and a car may be at a scene for hours on end. again this needs power. please consider this before spouting such nonsense

[@mopargm9329]

Not the 8 speed. The police model had the Nag1 5 speed till 2022. They couldn't get the column shifter to work till then. Also i have a 13 SXT Blacktop fully loaded and the german ZF 8 speed with paddle shifters and the 8 speed shaves a full 2 seconds off 0-60. Also the 3.6 didn't come out till 2011. Also they do have a heavy duty suspension. Why do you make vids? You get sooo much wrong on so many cars. Also that infotainment is upgraded not the 8.4 inch uconnect but one step down. The base is a 4 inch screen. Also lol that rear seat is police spec no fold down armrest

[@VoltF1]

🤓

[@mopargm9329]

@@VoltF1 thanks it is good to actually know things

[@VoltF1]

@@mopargm9329 Sure your points are valid but the “why do you make vids” is idiotic, not everyone has the information of every single spec on a dodge charger pursuit. Calm down

[@damienlee1165]

You won't make a better video on every car now, will you?

[@mopargm9329]

@VoltF1 but why make vids with false info. It's bad in the car community