2017 Dodge Challenger GT: More At-traction!

PORTLAND, Maine – I reckon some may be tired of reading it in my stories, but I’ve been a diehard fan of AWD for decades. I’ve always advocated and recommended its purchase as an element of safety, exactly like stability control. Unlike the latter, AWD was never made mandatory on all cars and the extra coin required to acquire it is often the first reason for turning it down. Likewise, sporty coupes can sometimes be shunned by those looking for a true four-season car as very few can be delivered with AWD.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has heard your pleas and is pleased to announce that you may now purchase your (and mine…) favourite sporty coupe with AWD, as long as you were planning to get the V6 and the eight-speed autobox. Truth be told, I never once though that the Challenger needed another drivetrain option, but after having driven the car in various winter conditions, I can see why they did it.

• Also: 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon: Less Weight, Wider Tires
• Also: 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT 392: Fountain of Youth

The math

We learned that AWD-equipped vehicle sales were up 12% in 2016 and specifically up 17% for the Charger. As FCA USA dug deeper, they found that 50% of all Chargers sold above the Snow Belt (this includes Canada) featured AWD. Factor in Challenger buyers cross-shop the Charger and often end up with the four-door sedan because of AWD and you have yourself a business case.

So what’s it like? Exactly as you would expect, save for three important differences.

The glory of traction

The first is easy: AWD. The Challenger GT inherits the Charger AWD’s system with active transfer case and front axle disconnect. In clement weather, or normal driving conditions, the clutches in the transfer case are disengaged, thus all power is sent to the rear wheels.

A number of conditions will activate the clutches. Human intervention is one as the moment the “Sport” driving mode is selected, the “T-case” preloads the pack for immediate engagement. Otherwise, the car sorts everything out on its own. It looks for signs from the driver’s inputs, to road conditions and, interestingly, outside temperature. Throughout the day, the max reading we got was 42 degrees Fahrenheit (about 6 Celsius) and from the moment we set off from the hotel, AWD was engaged.

It’s interesting to note that a maximum of 38% of the engine’s torque can be sent to the front wheels and that depending on available grip, 100% of the traction can be provided by the axle ahead of the engine. How does it all work? The answer is quite well.

The roads we traversed, the snowy slalom and skidpad were expertly handled by the system. Wheel slip and instances of oversteer were solely the fault of the over-zealous driver. The torque proportion limitation practically ensures that understeer is all but impossible, which maintains a high level of driver involvement, and fun.

Unlike many front-wheel biased AWD systems, the Challenger GT’s propensity to rear-steer is very exciting, especially given that the ESP can be fully switched off. The front wheels basically serve to pull the car through “trouble.”

Power peak

The next element is performance. The 3.6-litre V6 provides generous amount of power, at high rpm. Peak 268 lb.-ft. of torque arrives at 4800 rpm while 305 horsepower waltz in at 6350 rpm. The AWD components add nearly 90 kg (200 lbs.) to the car and it is noticeable. The eight-speed automatic is ideally geared and brilliantly tuned, but the combination labours to get the Challenger up to speed.

If the throttle is held firmly against the firewall, things get exciting as of roughly 4500 rpm. In fact, you’d swear cylinders 5 and 6 have decided to burst to life. The V6’s note goes viral and the scenery begins to move, but a dragster this is not, unless there’s snow or ice on the road…

In pursuit

In order to counteract and better deal with the extra weight, FCA turned to the Charger Pursuit, aka the police car, for suspension components. They are beefier and designed for heavier duties. In theory, this strategy is brilliant as development costs are nil given that these are off-the-shelf parts. In practice, it works, and doesn’t really work at the same time.

The LX-derived platform, or LA in the current Challenger’s case, is a solid foundation on which to build crazy cars. Think Hellcat. Thus, on a normal road, the GT is riveted to the road with impressive road manners, better than what you get in an R/T. Sadly however, an uneven rough surface shakes fillings lose and will spill coffees. The feeling is that the springs provide no give beyond their initial mildly compressed state when at rest.

1971 was a good year

In GT guise, the AWD muscle coupe that is the Challenger GT retains all of its devilishly good looks. Unique to it are 19” Hyper Black wheels to go along with the standard fog lights, decklid spoiler and Challenger lines.

The base $38,545 price tag includes a large number of standard goodies. Given that this is a four-season car, the Nappa leather seats are heated and ventilated, the steering wheel is also heated and connected to a power tilt and telescoping column. And then, there’s the recently revised Uconnect 8.4-inch touchscreen display that is out of this world.

FCA won’t sell hundreds of thousands of Challenger GTs, but there no longer are any holes in the car’s lineup. As fun as it was putting the GT through its winter paces, even when shod with the standard Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires, make mine a 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker with a six-speed for summers, and I’ll find myself an Eagle Spirit SX/4 liftback for winters…