Compare the2027 Dodge Charger VS 2025 Lexus RC

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Dodge Charger 4-Door are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Lexus RC doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Charger 4-door are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The RC doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Charger has standard Rear Park Assist with Stop that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The RC doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Charger. But it costs extra on the RC.

The Charger offers an optional 360° Surround View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The RC only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Charger and the RC have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Dodge Charger weighs 850 to 2091 pounds more than the Lexus RC. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

There are almost 10 times as many Dodge dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Charger’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Charger has a standard 650-amp battery (800 optional). The RC’s 580-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

The Charger has more powerful engines than the RC:

	Horsepower	Torque
Charger R/T 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder	420 HP	468 lbs.-ft.
Charger Scat Pack 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder	550 HP	531 lbs.-ft.
Charger Super Bee 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder	600 HP	531 lbs.-ft.
Charger Daytona Scat Pack electric motors	670 HP	627 lbs.-ft.
RC 300 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	241 HP	258 lbs.-ft.
RC 300 AWD 3.5 DOHC V6	260 HP	236 lbs.-ft.
RC 350 3.5 DOHC V6	311 HP	280 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Car and Driver the Dodge Charger is faster than the RC 350 3.5 DOHC V6:

	Charger R/T	Charger Scat Pack	RC
Zero to 60 MPH	4.7 sec	3.7 sec	5.6 sec

On the EPA test cycle the Charger running on electricity gets better mileage than the RC:

			MPGe
Charger
	AWD	Scat Pack 305 Tires Electric Motors	93 city/79 hwy
		Scat Pack All Season 325 Tires Electric Motors	82 city/73 hwy
		Scat Pack Performance 325 Tires Electric Motors	80 city/70 hwy
RC
			MPG
	RWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/31 hwy
		3.5 DOHC V6	20 city/28 hwy
	AWD	350 3.5 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		300 AWD 3.5 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy

The Charger can travel with zero emissions for 223 to 267 miles (dependent on model). The RC can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Charger Daytona’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The RC doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Charger Six Pack’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The RC doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Charger has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The RC doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Charger’s optional launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The RC doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the Charger’s brake rotors are larger than those on the RC:

	Charger R/T	Charger Super Bee	RC	RC 350 F Sport
Front Rotors	13.9 inches	16 inches	13.2 inches	14 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	16 inches	11.7 inches	12.7 inches

The Charger stops much shorter than the RC:

	Charger	RC
70 to 0 MPH	151 feet	162 feet	Car and Driver

For better traction, the Charger has larger standard tires than the RC (245/55R18 vs. 235/40R19). The Charger’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the RC (F:305/35R20 & R:325/35R20 vs. F:235/40R19 & R:265/35R19).

The Charger’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the RC F Sport’s 40 series front tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Charger Scat Pack has standard 20-inch wheels. The RC’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The Charger has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The RC doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Charger’s wheelbase is 13.5 inches longer than on the RC (121 inches vs. 107.5 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Charger is 5.9 inches wider in the front and 6.1 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the RC.

The Charger Daytona Scat Pack Two-Door handles at .96 G’s, while the RC 350 AWD pulls only .86 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The front grille of the Charger Daytona uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The RC doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Charger Six Pack offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The RC doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Charger Two-Door a Large car, while the RC is rated a Subcompact.

The Charger has standard seating for 5 passengers; the RC can only carry 4.

The Charger has 19.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the RC (103.1 vs. 83.8).

The Charger Two-Door has .1 inches more front headroom, 2.4 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more front shoulder room, 2.1 inches more rear headroom, 9.9 inches more rear legroom, 11.2 inches more rear hip room and 6.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the RC.

The Charger Two-Door has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the RC (22.2 vs. 10.4 cubic feet).

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Charger offers an optional power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button. The RC doesn’t offer a power trunk.

The Charger offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The RC doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Charger 4-Door has two rear doors to provide better access for cargo and rear passengers. The RC doesn’t offer rear doors.

The Charger’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The RC’s cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Charger’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The RC’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Charger to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The RC doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Both the Charger and the RC offer optional heated front seats. The Charger also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the RC.

The Charger has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The RC doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Dodge Charger offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the front center console. The RC doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Dodge Charger comes in coupe and four door hatchback bodystyles; the Lexus RC isn’t available as a four door.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Charger as the 2026 North American Car of the Year. The RC has never been chosen.

The Dodge Charger outsold the Lexus RC by over seven to one during 2025.