The Dodge Charger has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The GranTurismo doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Charger’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GranTurismo.
The Charger has a standard blind spot warning system that 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 GranTurismo’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Charger has standard Rear Cross Path Detection, helping the driver avoid collisions. Maserati charges extra for Rear Cross Path on the GranTurismo.
Both the Charger and the GranTurismo have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available around view monitors.
The Dodge Charger weighs 1631 to 1766 pounds more than the Maserati GranTurismo. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.