GRM Review: AWD Dodge Charger

It makes total sense to give this car all-wheel drive.

Also: whale shark.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/new-cars/2013-58-charger-rt-max-awd/

(no, we didn't shoot this photo)

A friend of mine sold his WRX and got one of these. Less than a year later, he traded it in on a Fiat 500. The power was nice. Absolutely no question that it'll smoke my P71 in a straight line, and probably everywhere else, too. And that made him drive like a jerk. He knew it did, and he didn't like it. So he got the small, zippy Fiat that actually fits in his garage instead. Rumor has it he's now looking for a convertible in addition to it, since he has some extra change after the trade-in. Of course, I've informed him that the answer is always Miata.

Thanks for the review. Not that I'm looking for new or the V8 that was insightful. Had my sights set on an older SXT AWD 3.5HO as a DD, these are kinda rare and prices are still outta my budget compared to what other cars I could shop for similar money.

Online reviews of this model said the AWD sits 1" higher than RWDs and is a trade-off and well... just invest in a set of snows for the rear if AWD winter use is a primary consideration.

A buddy of mine killed his hemi C awd.....by doing of all things, donuts in the snow. Now he has a srt 8 charger.

@ David Wallens: Actually, I'm pretty sure it would smoke the E36 M3 out of a 68/69 Charger, or at least give it a run for its money...with the A/C on and radio blasting. Don't get me wrong. I think these things are the ugliest piles of E36 M3 "the new" dodge has ever made, and someone should hang for putting the Charger badge on it.

Also, you guys should really post some stats with these articles so we don't have to wander over to C&D or R&T to find them.

Alan, you don't have to order an SRT just to get a V8 in a 300. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) You can get the Hemi in the basic (if that's the word I want) 300C.

With the 3.6/8spd combo, i kind of feel like the 'normal' hemi, especially with the old 5spd, is an unappealing half measure between the very good v6 drivetrain and the very good SRT drivetrain which will get better with the 8spd.

Ive never been attracted to AWD on the big LX cars. Im sure it comes in handy in other parts of the country but for me it just seems like a good way to add weight and complexity and narrow wheel options.

White_and_Nerdy wrote: A friend of mine sold his WRX and got one of these. Less than a year later, he traded it in on a Fiat 500. The power was nice. Absolutely no question that it'll smoke my P71 in a straight line, and probably everywhere else, too. And that made him drive like a jerk. He knew it did, and he didn't like it. So he got the small, zippy Fiat that actually fits in his garage instead. Rumor has it he's now looking for a convertible in addition to it, since he has some extra change after the trade-in. Of course, I've informed him that the answer is always Miata.

switching from a WRX to one of these boats would disappoint anyone.

This is an old person's car. My dad whose pushing 70 would buy it.

A minivan would smoke the E36 M3 out of a 68/69 Charger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nAx2jtr3K8

kanaric, keep in mind that I switched to a P71 from a Miata. Aside from both being RWD, they have absolutely nothing in common. Yet I still like the P71. It's no Miata, for certain, but I'm not prepared to sell my P71 for another Miata right now, either.

Mmadness wrote: A minivan would smoke the E36 M3 out of a 68/69 Charger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nAx2jtr3K8

That's berkeleying awesome. RIP Tom.

I sat in a loaded up V6 one at a car show recently, and I really liked it. My long distance commute makes me want to get a big, stupid cruiser that eats up highway miles for my next car. 28-29mpg is pretty much what I get now in my 3 on the highway, but I think I would have to turn in my Man Card if I didn't get a Hemi-powered one.

I can't tell if I would hate it if I drove one, but that interior is seriously nice.

I looked at the previous model in the SLT V6 guise. I liked it. I imagine with the updated interior its much better. The new SXT is what the old SLT used to be.

I wouldn't get the AWD, I'd stick with RWD. Now that the V6 has 300 hp, the V6 Charger is no slouch anymore, not Hemi fast, but it can get out of its own way. With the eight speed trans, I can only see good fuel economy numbers.

this just reminds me that i'm one of only a handful of people on this site that wouldn't consider a new Charger to be a "big" car... it's a midsize, at best, with the Crown Vic being the last of the full size cars.

Mmadness wrote: A minivan would smoke the E36 M3 out of a 68/69 Charger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nAx2jtr3K8

What a worthless exercise. The Daytona was a homologation special built only to qualify the car for Nascar. It was so brutally fast on the superspeedways that it was banned. Trying to squeeze it around a tiny parking lot filled full of cones(you can call that racing-I don't) is a joke. Nothing is known about the condition of the Daytona, its tire pressures or even if they are tires less than 20 years old. I'm sure that a simple tire swap to comparable rubber with the Honda would eliminate the so-called difference. I understand that technology marches on-but stick a Hemi powered Daytona on some modern rubber, open up the exhaust(since, you know, thats what absolutely everyone did back then) and lets run it at Daytona. I'm guessing with tall gears it would still run 170-try that in your minivan full of bimbos and that fat perv of an announcer.

My dad really likes his 2010(?) Charger R/T Hemi/AWD with the Road and Track package. It makes beautiful noises at the top of the rpm range but you can't really hear much of that without going +100 mph. It's a great highway car and moving around 4 adults at high speeds.

forzav12 wrote:

Mmadness wrote: A minivan would smoke the E36 M3 out of a 68/69 Charger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nAx2jtr3K8

What a worthless exercise. The Daytona was a homologation special built only to qualify the car for Nascar. It was so brutally fast on the superspeedways that it was banned. Trying to squeeze it around a tiny parking lot filled full of cones(you can call that racing-I don't) is a joke. Nothing is known about the condition of the Daytona, its tire pressures or even if they are tires less than 20 years old. I'm sure that a simple tire swap to comparable rubber with the Honda would eliminate the so-called difference. I understand that technology marches on-but stick a Hemi powered Daytona on some modern rubber, open up the exhaust(since, you know, thats what absolutely everyone did back then) and lets run it at Daytona. I'm guessing with tall gears it would still run 170-try that in your minivan full of bimbos and that fat perv of an announcer.

I'm going to agree. That was a stupid comparison. Daytonas were meant for running top speed, not dodging cones in a parking lot, of course the minivan is going to be better.

Anyways, most "civilian" Daytonas were meant to go fast in a straight line, because that's what the customers wanted at that time.

In reply to forzav12:

And you're complaining about the weakness of every 60's era muscle car.......LMAO. They don't handle, I think that is the point of this video.

yamaha wrote: In reply to forzav12: And you're complaining about the weakness of every 60's era muscle car.......LMAO. They don't handle, I think that is the point of this video.

And you'd be quite wrong. Nobody says a 289 Cobra doesn't handle do they? Well, Sam Posey tested a Boss 302, a 454 ChevelleSS and a 340 Duster against a Cobra at Lime Rock. The Cobra beat the big block Chevelle by one lousy second around the road course. Plenty of sixties era muscle handles just fine. Many could be equipped with front and rear sway bars, stiff springs, quicker steering ratios and performance shocks. What most forget is that tire technology has advanced tremendously over the decades.

I wasn't complaining about the Daytona not being able to handle-just the ridiculous way the clown and his bimbos attempted to prove it.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

forzav12 wrote:

Mmadness wrote: A minivan would smoke the E36 M3 out of a 68/69 Charger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nAx2jtr3K8

What a worthless exercise. The Daytona was a homologation special built only to qualify the car for Nascar. It was so brutally fast on the superspeedways that it was banned. Trying to squeeze it around a tiny parking lot filled full of cones(you can call that racing-I don't) is a joke. Nothing is known about the condition of the Daytona, its tire pressures or even if they are tires less than 20 years old. I'm sure that a simple tire swap to comparable rubber with the Honda would eliminate the so-called difference. I understand that technology marches on-but stick a Hemi powered Daytona on some modern rubber, open up the exhaust(since, you know, thats what absolutely everyone did back then) and lets run it at Daytona. I'm guessing with tall gears it would still run 170-try that in your minivan full of bimbos and that fat perv of an announcer.

I'm going to agree. That was a stupid comparison. Daytonas were meant for running top speed, not dodging cones in a parking lot, of course the minivan is going to be better. Anyways, most "civilian" Daytonas were meant to go fast in a straight line, because that's what the customers wanted at that time.

You are correct for the most part. Most civilian Daytonas were sold to Nascar fans or those wanting something outrageous. They were very difficult to sell(as were the Superbirds) back in the day as those wanting street racers avoided them as the trick aero parts just added weight that didn't benefit the drag racer. The legendary street racer Big Willie being the exception(and he used 500+ cubes of Keith Black Hemi to motovate his Daytona!) Some were even converted to regular Chargers and Roadrunners so that dealers could move them off the lots.

My brother in law's is falling apart in a big way.