Best Muscle Cars
2017 Dodge Challenger GT Test Drive
By Dave Ashton
Some muscle car fans thought hell would freeze over before they would see a four-wheel-drive Challenger, but that’s exactly what’s happened. In a bid for a more worldly usable muscle car, you could argue a four-wheel-drive Dodge was inevitable. Here we see the first impressions of the new 2017 Dodge Challenger GT on the road.
The guys over at automobilemag.com put the new 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 Challenger GT through its paces, which has a eight speed automatic transmission with 305HP and 268 lb-ft of torque. The Challenger GT is still mainly a rear wheel drive vehicle, with front wheel drive engaged only when the car detects any slip or when the outside temperature drops, windshield wipers are engaged or the car is put in manual mode. It was said on initial impressions of driving around snowy New England that the GT took the track in its paces, but the suspension was slightly hard due to its standard performance suspension setup. Maybe a happy medium of suspension setup will be needed for a vehicle that wants to go off-road and hit the track.
On the Club Motorsports track wearing all season tires, the snow skidpad kicked in the front wheel drive, which emphasised safety rather than rearwheel fun. The takeaway here is that if you cherish drifting more than anything, stick with the rearwheel drive only Challenger. Grip and traction seem to be excellent and it can handle an auto cross track and bad weather extremely well. What you lose in a little rearwheel fun, you gain with added traction and stability.
Each GT comes with leather seats and heated steering wheel as standard, with a GT Interior package which gives you Nappa leather and suede performance seats, upgraded Alpine audio system and a sports steering wheel.
Price point and features seem to aim at the Dodge Challenger owner who wants the name and performance at a reasonable pricetag. With four-wheel-drive the new Challenger GT is hoped to hit a much wider market, giving the best of both worlds .At least now non-muscle car fans don’t have the argument that a Dodge Challenger is completely tail happy. You also don’t have to think twice about taking your muscle car into snowy conditions from now on.
Prices start at $34,490 for the GT and there is no sign of a V8 version coming any time soon, as the V6 seems to be Dodge’s best seller.
Price $34,490 (Base)
engine 3.6L DOHC 24-valve V-6/305 hp @ 6,350 rpm, 268 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm
Transmission 8-speed automatic
EPA mileage 18/27 mpg (city/hwy)
0-60 MPH 5.8 seconds (est)
Leave your comments below on what you think of the upcoming Challenger GT.
More Muscle Cars For Sale – http://fastmusclecar.com/muscle-car-for-sale/
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