Compare the2023 Cadillac CT4VS 2023 Dodge Charger

Both the CT4 and Charger have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The CT4 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Charger’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

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 CT4 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Charger doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Cadillac CT4 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Charger doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The CT4’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Charger.

The CT4 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional HD Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Charger only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The CT4 has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Charger’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CT4 has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Charger.

Both the CT4 and the Charger have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The CT4 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car. The Charger’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the CT4 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Dodge covers the Charger. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Charger ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The CT4’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Charger’s (6 vs. 5 years).

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the CT4 have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of some of the engines in the Charger.

On the EPA test cycle the CT4 gets better mileage than the Charger:

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the CT4’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 Charger doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Cadillac CT4 higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Dodge Charger (1 to 5). This means the CT4 produces up to 47 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Charger every 15,000 miles.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Cadillac CT4 2.7 turbo 4-cylinder, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Charger.

The CT4’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs standard on the Charger SXT are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the CT4 has larger standard tires than the Charger (225/45R17 vs. 215/65R17).

The CT4 Luxury’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Charger SXT’s standard 65 series tires.

The CT4 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 Charger doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires available on the CT4 can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Charger doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

For better maneuverability, the CT4’s turning circle is .4 feet tighter than the Charger Scat Pack’s (37.1 feet vs. 37.5 feet). The CT4 AWD’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the Charger Scat Pack Widebody’s (38 feet vs. 39 feet).

The Cadillac CT4 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 650 pounds less than the Dodge Charger.

The CT4 is 11.2 inches shorter than the Charger SXT, making the CT4 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the CT4 Premium Luxury uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Charger doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

While the Charger 392 Hemi is not recommended to tow, any CT4 can tow a minimum of 1000 pounds.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Dodge. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 40% lower rating, Dodge is ranked 21st.

The CT4 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Charger doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The CT4’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Charger’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The CT4’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Charger’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

On a hot day the CT4’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Charger can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the CT4 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Charger doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The CT4’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Dodge charges extra for heated mirrors on the Charger.

The CT4 Sport offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Charger.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Cadillac CT4 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Charger doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Insurance will cost less for the CT4 owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the CT4 will cost $2045 less than the Charger over a five-year period.