Compare the2024 Dodge ChargerVS 2025 BMW 8 Series

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Dodge Charger have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The BMW 8 Series doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear 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 are reminded to check the back seat. The 8 Series doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Charger. But it costs extra on the 8 Series.

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 8 Series’ 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. BMW charges extra for Cross Traffic Warning on the 8 Series.

Both the Charger and the 8 Series have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Dodge Charger weighs 1147 to 1936 pounds more than the BMW 8 Series. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Dodge’s powertrain warranty covers the Charger 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than BMW covers the 8 Series. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the 8 Series ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 7 times as many Dodge dealers as there are BMW dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Charger’s warranty.

The Charger Daytona R/T Coupe’s standard electric motors produce 161 more horsepower (496 vs. 335) and 35 lbs.-ft. more torque (404 vs. 369) than the 840i’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder. The Charger Daytona Scat Pack Coupe’s standard electric motors produce 147 more horsepower (670 vs. 523) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (627 vs. 553) than the M850i’s standard 4.4 turbo V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Charger Daytona Scat Pack Coupe is faster than the M850i:

On the EPA test cycle the Charger gets better mileage than the 8 Series Coupe:

The Charger can travel with zero emissions for 216 to 308 miles (dependent on model). The 8 Series can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Dodge Charger higher (10 out of 10) than the BMW 8 Series (2). This means the Charger produces up to 40.6 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the 8 Series every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Charger’s brake rotors are larger than those on the 8 Series:

The Charger stops much shorter than the 8 Series:

For better traction, the Charger Daytona Scat Pack Coupe’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 8 Series (F:305/35R20 & R:325/35R20 vs. F:245/35R20 & R:275/30R20).

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 8 Series doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Charger’s wheelbase is 9.9 inches longer than on the 8 Series (121 inches vs. 111.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Charger is 3.9 inches wider in the front and 3.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the 8 Series.

The Charger Daytona Scat Pack Coupe handles at .99 G’s, while the M850i xDrive Coupe pulls only .98 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skid pad test.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Charger a Large car, while the 8 Series Coupe is rated a Subcompact.

The Charger has standard seating for 5 passengers; the 8 Series can only carry 4.

The Charger has 22.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the 8 Series (103.1 vs. 81).

The Charger Coupe has .2 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front legroom, 2.3 inches more front shoulder room, 3.3 inches more rear headroom, 7.7 inches more rear legroom and 10.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the 8 Series Coupe.

The Charger Coupe has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the 8 Series Coupe (22.7 vs. 14.8 cubic feet).

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 8 Series doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Charger has standard extendable sun visors. The 8 Series doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Both the Charger and the 8 Series have standard 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 8 Series.

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 8 Series doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

The Dodge Charger outsold the BMW 8 Series by almost seven to one during 2024.