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Traded 19' Charger HC for 21' GT500, Initial Comparison:

12K views 88 replies 21 participants last post by  666216Cat 
#1 · (Edited)
Just reached a little over 500 miles on the GT500. This car gets a lot of attention. Drawing small crowds when I take it out and stop somewhere in public. I’ll do my best to make a initial comparison to my 19’ Charger Hellcat in an organized manner.

Interior: The interior of the GT500 even though it is now over 5 years old is overall more modern looking than the HC. There are more areas with hard plastics than the HC, but the "high touch" areas are soft touch materials. The HC dash looks more premium, when compared to the stitching molded into the GT500 dash. The GT500 steering wheel is manual and not heated. Love the digital dash in the GT500 . The Base Alpine sound system in the HC is about the same as the B&O system. SYNC 3 is about on par with Uconnect. Overall I prefer the SYNC system better. Backup sensors and reverse mirror tilt not available on the GT500. I liked those features on the HC.

Exterior: not much to say here, fit and finish about the same for both, much prefer the looks of the GT500. Much more sporty, and Ford does better to distinguish the GT500 from other mustang Trims unlike dodge with the HC. Another note my base GT500 while it looks lower than the HC, it rides a little higher and does not scrape in places that my HC did. My exhaust would sometimes scrape coming in and out my driveway on the HC.

Transmission: the DCT is very nice. The torque converter 8 speed in the HC is also very nice. It is one of the best TC transmissions on the market. You could be fooled that it isn't a DCT. The only drawback to the GT500, and it’s just the nature of a DCT, it is more clunky at low speeds and does require more care when moving slowly, like in traffic, or when going up a hill. I have a sloped driveway so I know slowly backing in/out is heating up those clutch disks.

Suspension/Traction: Goes to the GT500 like riding in rails compared to the HC. Stock tires in the GT500 significantly better than the 275 P-Zeros on the HC. The wheels are much more difficult to clean than the HC 5-spokes and because they are gloss vice matte you have to be more careful to avoid swirl marks in the painted finish.

Engine/Performance: Throttle response on the GT500 is not as immediate as the HC. You can tell the GT500 does not have as much torque and it does not come on as low in the RPM range. This massive amount of torque was always immediate and significant at any speed in the HC. Making it feel more powerful in ways. The GT500 is definitely quicker it’s power comes in a more manageable way and is easier to put down. I miss the HC SC whine, but the GT500 exhaust more than makes up for it. Fords application of the active exhaust is more useful than the hellcat and quiet start is wonderful considering I leave for work most days at 4:30 AM. Further, fords application of the driving modes is much more refined and useful as a whole than the HC equivalent.

Overall, I am quite impressed and blown away by this machine. It is different than the HC in almost every way. Both are amazing for what they are, and both have their place. The HC is still a monster, but this GT500 is much more of a street legal race car in many respects.
 
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#3 ·
Thank you. I do miss the whine of the HC supercharger, I was just ready to try something new and this was a natural choice for me. I came from mustangs before I got my hellcat. I will also ad, that this GT500 spends a lot more time at the gas station. Seems like I fill up every other day now, due in part to a much smaller gas tank and slightly worse fuel economy. It also doesnt help that I stay in the gas to hear the glorious exhaust and keep it revved out into its power band.
 
#7 ·
i've been wanting to take a look at one of these but all the dealers in my area are still asking 20k over sticker and actually getting it.
 
#8 ·
Nice comparison, so how much ADM you pay to get your hands on one? 10k, 15k or 20k over MSRP?
 
#9 ·
Pics please or it didn’t happen 😁
 
#15 ·
I paid 4K over the sticker price out the door, including tax, title, fees, window tint, GAP, extending warranty, and PPF. Chassis number M0283. I got the charger originally for more passenger room but we never actually needed it. We always ride in my wife’s car when we needed more room. The GT500 looks significantly different from a standard Mustang. It shares only the door panels with the standard mustang. The fenders are actually widened not clip on units like dodge uses. (Fenders and Hood are also composite for weight savings). I got a very good deal on this and a good deal on my trade in. Similarly optioned GT500s are still going for 120-130 at auctions and dealerships. I walked out the door at 91k. There are less than 180 of these currently for sale nationwide. But good deals can be found.

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#16 ·
I paid 4K over the sticker price out the door, including tax, title, fees, window tint, GAP, extending warranty, and PPF. Chassis number M0283. I got the charger originally for more passenger room but we never actually needed it. We always ride in my wife’s car when we needed more room. The GT500 looks significantly different from a standard Mustang. It shares only the door panels with the standard mustang. The fenders are actually widened not clip on units like dodge uses. (Fenders and Hood are also composite for weight savings). I got a very good deal on this and a good deal on my trade in. Similarly optioned GT500s are still going for 120-130 at auctions and dealerships. I walked out the door at 91k. There are less than 180 of these currently for sale nationwide. But good deals can be found.

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Nice spec, that’s a good deal.
 
#36 ·
Dam they give tools to work on your new car, must be a sign of things to come.:)
There are typically more mustangs produced annually than Chargers/Challengers. However there are many more hellcats produced than GT500s which are limited production vehicles . I see many hellcats, in nearly every location I travel to. I have not seen another 2020/2021 GT500 on street, and have only seen 2 including the one I purchased in a dealer showroom. There are only about 180 for sale in show room across the country as of today. As for the tools those are to remove and reinstall the track handling pack components, adjust the carbon fiber wing, and remove/reinstall the front rain tray for track vs street use.
 
#25 ·
No heated wheel in a GT500? That's nonsense for such an expensive car. Do they at least have cooled & heated seats?

If the $ were the same, I'd sell my HC & get a current gen GT500 to replace it & DD that like I do my Hellcat. Why? Mainly b/c I like to turn as well & the market is nuts so I refuse to overpay just to add another toy b/c I was impatient lol
 
#43 ·
Heated/cooled power/memory seats are a standard option for the GT500, but when you spec the Recaro seats that are manual and not heated/ cooled. But to be honest in my 19' hellcat the heated/cooled seats did not work very well, and i could hardly tell the heated steering wheel worked. They did work much better in my 18' Daytona though. I dont miss them. I do miss the memory seat fuction but it is worth giving both up for the Recaro seats they are wonderful, at least for a guy my size 6'2 200lbs.
 
#28 ·
How is the panel gap around the rear tires and bumper? my brother bought a new gt500 sight unseen and sold it two months later because of the poor build quality. A Ford dealer paid him over MSRP so he broke even. he and i each ordered challenger super stocks about a month ago. I hope your car has better build quality!!!
 
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#29 ·
Its a great car!! Curious if either of the GT 500 posters here have taken both a hellcat and a GT500 to the drag strip for an apples to apples ( or at least fruit as DA and track prep would be different) comparison.. not just daily driving?
You should expect some fun jabs posting on a MOPAR site. 🤣
 
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#33 ·
I raced my brother’s GT500 6 times with my 15 hellcat….both on DRs, i beat him every time. he ran 11.1s to my 10.8s. The gt500 is not easy to get a good 60’ time. my 60s were in the low 1.6 s and high 1.5s….his best was in the 1.8s. the gt500 had at least 3 mph on me by the end of the race. with practice i’m sure he could have gotten the 60’ time down.
 
#32 ·
The subjects of the comparison and the order in which they were presented are a bit telling. We start with "interior," then "exterior", then "transmission," etc. What about "how the car drives?" There's a statement in "Suspension" about being on rails, but other than that, not much about how the car drives. Not saying that my judging criteria is any better than anyone else's. But if you're going to judge a GT500 against anything, you've got to talk about how the two cars handle and drive. I believe the Redeye WBs can be pretty formidable, but you need an enthusiast, driver-oriented, person to represent the car, especially against a GT500.
 
#51 ·
This was really a rushed initial comparison just to get the conversation started. More than willing to elaborate in areas that individuals are interested in. As far as handling/driving dynamics here is my assessment. And I am no professional in any sense, just an enthusiast that enjoys performance vehicle and occasional track time. In the charger it did handle very well for its size/weight. There were things about it that bothered me. When launching the vehicle from a stop or when accelerating from a roll the HC had the tendency to want to twist, and with lots of wheel hop. Going around turns it did well but I never felt a confident in the turn and could not achieve the same speeds I can in the GT500 in hard turns. The adaptive suspension in the HC does have different modes but they don't seem to adapt to a given driving situation within the mode, they seem to only adjust firmness of the shocks. In the GT500 you can feel that each wheel is adapting to the current situation, when launching at the drag stirp in drag mode you can feel the rear end soften up to transfer weight to the rear. when cornering you can feel the suspension work to keep the car flat through the turn. This was not the case in for the HC.
 
#49 ·
I agree with "mchulst" about the lack of distinction between the Hellcats (/Redeyes) and lessor Challengers and Chargers. Other than a few badges, what distinguishes the Hellcat from the V6, other than minor (hood and other) details that only Dodge knowledgeable people would discern? On the other hand, almost any moron can tell the difference between an M5 Bimmer and a 528? The M5 looks like a race-car and the 528 looks like a Soccer-Mom's car. The stealth guys like the lack of distinction I guess, but I don't like having my $90K super-charged, Trans-Am series looking muscle-car look like a $30K economy car. Sorry.
 
#52 ·
Before I got my Daytona, and my HC i always struggled to tell if I was pulling up to a v6, hemi or HC Mopar. I can easily tell now because I know the brand but I was a performance car enthusiast and could not easily spot the difference. Even now many times i have to get very close to a Mopar before i can tell what trim it is. I agree, if i am paying for a 90k car i want it to be flashy i want it to look like a damn 90k sports car...lol
 
#68 ·
No doubt the GT500 handles better than a Redeye WB. But a large component of that superior handling is the Cup Sport 2 tires on the GT500. The GT500 is a heavy car too, but yes, not as heavy as a Redeye WB. I'll bet the Bondurant/Radford Racing School instructors would produce some pretty good lap times in their Hellcats in comparison to the GT500. Again, I'm sure the GT500 corners better, but I believe the Redeye WB with comparable tires wouldn't be too far off.

Mchulst, beautiful car! I'd love to have one myself. Thanks for the write-up. But I'd love to have a C8 ZO6 too. Or a Camaro ZL1 1LE. I can only afford one though, and mine's paid for. So, for now I'm a Challenger HC RE WB guy. It's a great time to be a sports car/muscle car enthusiast.
 
#70 ·
I went from a Redeye to GT500. As for attention, it’s about the same. I got a ton of people taking random pics and vids of both cars. I do see more GT Mustangs on the road around here than Challengers. As for performance, the Redeye has instant neck breaking punch, the 500 pulls feel delayed vs the red eye (but it has much less torque and power so it’s expected). The 500 shines everywhere else vs the Redeye and feels like a true track car. As for fit and finish, I had no issues with either vehicle.
 
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