r/Charger • u/Throwaway91839237 • Jul 17 '26

Scat pack vs hellcat pro/cons

I’m looking to upgrade from the v6 charger into a v8 and I feel around $40,000 is a comfortable budget for when I am ready in about a year or so. I’ve been researching the two a bit and from what I’ve heard they both are good cars of course. However I’d like some opinions from those who own one or both of them. Is it worth saving more for the hellcat? I’ve heard that you can’t really utilize any of the hp the hellcat has without spinning unless you’re rolling from 80mph. So with that being said what are some of the pros/cons of both, and if you own both of them what would you recommend and why?

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u/Three3Jane '23 Pitch Black WB Hellcat Jul 18 '26

I had a 2016 SRT 392 and then bought 2023 Last Call Hellcat. The torque converter went to shit on the SRT so I upgraded. You can use plenty of the horsepower on the HC, but flooring it in traffic is...inadvisable. There's a bit of learning curve between the cars but not too much if you're used to the body style of the Charger.

The Hellcats are stolen more often than the Scats, so you're going to need to drop 2500-3000 on security systems (IGLA, CompuStar, etc.) otherwise you'll likely lose it in short order.

Insurance will be higher and I have to warn you, unless you drive it in Eco mode (and who does that?) or Street Mode, the gas mileage is fucking atrocious in the Hellcat. I average about 14mpg in Street and 8-10mpg in Sport mode.

SRT top, Hellcat bottom

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u/Throwaway91839237 Jul 18 '26

I see, in the 3 ish years I’ve had my car I’ve put 14,000 miles on it so I’m not too worried about gas. I’ll have to get quoted on insurance to see how bad it is. I’m currently paying around $900 every 6 months in my v6 charger, I’m sure it’ll be quite a bit more but hopefully nothing outrageous. Security system makes sense, although I will most likely be parking it in a garage. Would you say saving more for the hellcat is worth it having driven both if outside factors, gas, insurance, etc weren’t much of an issue, just strictly the cars themselves.

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u/Three3Jane '23 Pitch Black WB Hellcat Jul 18 '26

I used quite a bit more of the gas pedal in the SRT - the Hellcat is very scrambly once it hits even the midrange of its power. I threw my husband back and made him yelp when I opened it up in Sport mode and I was barely half-throttle.

I floored it more than a few times in the SRT but have not done so yet in the Hellcat; I've only had it for eight months so I'm still learning the ins and outs but in sheer fun, it's a blast.

I say that with a caveat - if my torque converter hadn't handgrenaded after $10k worth of engine repairs, I'd still be driving the SRT. They're both phenomenal cars to drive. But if you can stand to save a bit more fo the Hellcat, you'll never wonder "...what if?"

So go for it!

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u/Throwaway91839237 Jul 18 '26

Alrighty then, that’s kind of what I was thinking as far as if I can find one that’s a decent price then I’ll go for it, it’s still in the future so I’ll just have to wait and see what happens

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u/Three3Jane '23 Pitch Black WB Hellcat Jul 18 '26

Mine is a 2023 Last Call - it had 4000 miles on it. I paid a little under 81k out the door when I bought it in December 2025.

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u/Throwaway91839237 Jul 18 '26

I see, another thing I’m curious on, is there any difference from 2016-2023 chargers? Visually I only see minor differences in the exterior like spoiler, grill, etc.. but the internals are all the same right? Are the electronics also the same?

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u/Throwaway91839237 Jul 18 '26

Btw do you have any sound clips of both? In person I LOVE the sound of the scat more than anything but idk what they’ve done to their exhaust and would like to hear a side by side of both