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 are reminded to check the back seat. 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 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 1947 to 2101 pounds more than the Lexus RC. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.