Compare the2026 Dodge ChargerVS 2025 Mercedes CLE

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Dodge Charger Four-Door are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Mercedes CLE doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The Charger’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 CLE.

Both the Charger and the CLE have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

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

There are over 6 times as many Dodge dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Charger’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Dodge vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Dodge above average in initial quality. With 30 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

The Charger has more powerful engines than the CLE:

As tested in Motor Trend the Charger Daytona Scat Pack electric motors is faster than the CLE 450 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Charger running on electricity gets better mileage than the CLE Coupe:

The Charger can travel with zero emissions for 223 to 267 miles (dependent on model). The CLE can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

The Charger has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The CLE doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Charger Scat Pack’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The CLE doesn’t offer launch control.

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

The Charger stops shorter than the CLE:

For better traction, the Charger has larger standard tires than the CLE (275/40R20 vs. 245/45R18). The Charger’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the CLE (F:305/35R20 & R:325/35R20 vs. F:245/40R19 & R:275/35R19).

The Charger Scat Pack’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the CLE’s standard 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Charger has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the CLE.

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 CLE doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Charger’s wheelbase is 8.2 inches longer than on the CLE (121 inches vs. 112.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Charger is 4.9 inches wider in the front and 4.9 inches wider in the rear than the track on the CLE.

The Charger Daytona Scat Pack Two-Door handles at .99 G’s, while the CLE 450 Coupe pulls only .91 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Charger Daytona Scat Pack Two-Door executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the CLE 450 Coupe (24.1 seconds @ .84 average G’s vs. 26 seconds @ .69 average G’s).

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

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Charger Two-Door a Large car, while the CLE Coupe is rated a Subcompact.

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

The Charger has 15.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CLE (103.1 vs. 88).

The Charger Two-Door has .5 inches more front legroom, 3.8 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 3 inches more rear legroom, 1.9 inches more rear hip room and 5.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the CLE Coupe.

The Charger has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the CLE Coupe (22.7 vs. 11.2 cubic feet).

The Charger’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children in the rear seat from operating them, but the driver can still raise and lower all of them with the lock engaged. Mercedes does not offer a locking feature on the CLE’s standard power windows.

Both the Charger and the CLE 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 CLE.

The Charger has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the car heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the CLE.

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 CLE doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

The Dodge Charger outsold the Mercedes CLE by over two to one during 2024.