The Dodge Charger is a well-known front engine rear-wheel drive four-door monster car made by Chrysler (which is known as FCA now). Are all Dodge Chargers rear-wheel drive just like the Dodge Viper? Fortunately, they aren’t, but there’s always ‘but’.
Rear-Wheel Drive vs All-Wheel Drive
There are nine Dodge Charger models currently on the market: SE, SE AWD, SXT, SXT AWD, R/T, R/T Road & Track, R/T Scat Pack, SRT 392, and SRT Hellcat. Some of them are rear-wheel drive, some of them are all-wheel drive. As you can see, SE and SXT models have both drivetrain options. If you want the all-wheel drive model, you will have to pay $2,000-$2,200 on top of the basic price of the rear-wheel drive model. Don’t rejoice too soon! Premium models like R/T, R/T Road & Track, R/T Scat Pack, SRT 392, and SRT Hellcat don’t have the all-wheel drive system even as an option. Furthermore, while Europeans continue to experiment with complicated all-wheel drive systems in sports cars and supercars, the technology remains ignored by major American automakers excluding Tesla Motors.
2016 Dodge Charger R/T © Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.
Automatic Front-Axle Disconnect System
Dodge Charger’s drivetrain system includes both an active transfer case and front-axle disconnect system. This system seamlessly transitions between rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive with no driver input required.
2016 Dodge Charger
This year’s Dodge Charger with all-wheel drive system is not especially expensive. The MSRP starts at $30,245 for SE AWD model and at $31,995 for SXT AWD model. The most powerful Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat with critically-acclaimed supercharged 707-hp 6.2L HEMI SRT Hellcat V8 engine (and, unfortunately, without the all-wheel drive system even as an option) costs no less than $67,645. There were rumors lately that Chrysler prepares a top-of-the-line version of the Dodge Charger with the all-wheel drive system but they were not confirmed.
