The Dodge Charger R/T AWD Is So Good, I Bought Two!

If you are a regular reader of MoparInsiders.com, you have more than likely seen articles about our long term Granite Crystal Metallic 2014 Dodge Charger R/T Plus AWD Sport. Yes, that is a mouthful. We have told you why we believe that the 2011-2014 Dodge Charger R/T AWD is the “Greatest All-Around Muscle Car” and that opinion hasn’t changed. But we do seriously believe it is an important piece of the performance puzzle that is missing from the Dodge portfolio.

Well when we were looking for a second vehicle, we didn’t hesitate to think about another 2011-2014 Dodge Charger R/T AWD.  The issue is since Dodge has quit building the car, it has become a challenge finding one in good shape with low miles. Luckily, the dealer I purchased my R/T Plus AWD Sport from happened to have a low mileage 2014 Dodge Charger R/T Max AWD.

Now, for those who don’t know about the different trim levels, the R/T Max was Dodge’s top of the line trim level on the 2011-2014 Charger models. It featured virtually every option as standard including 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen with navigation, heated and cooled front seats, adaptive cruise control (ACC) and even heated and cooled cupholders. The R/T Plus that we have is the mid-level trim, but the car has a lot of the equipment thanks to being optioned the way it is (but doesn’t have the R/T Max’s navigation and ACC system).

The R/T Max AWD doesn’t disappoint. While this car features the Bright White (now referred to as “White Knuckle”) paint, the car looks very different from our AWD Sport. The R/T Max features the Dodge crosshair grille in a chrome outline and 19-inch aluminum wheels, while the AWD Sport features the same wheels and grille design but are highlighted with gloss black features.

The R/T Max AWD still features the legendary 5.7-liter HEMI V8 with 370 horsepower and 395 lb.-ft of torque. Compared to the newer Charger models, the only real downfall of the car is the Mercedes-sourced W5A580 5-speed automatic. The transmission is fine at normal street driving and highway speeds, but when quickly coming to a stop or accelerating on a cold morning the 5-speed slams into the next gear jerking the car. We have had the issue with both R/T AWD cars and even after a software update from our Dodge dealer, the cars continue to do it in those situations.

Overall, we are quite happy with the additional Charger R/T AWD. The cars perform great in the snow-filled winter weather of Michigan and give the driver extra confidence when the roads are covered with snow, ice or heavy rainwater. While the R/T AWD cars aren’t the best in the fuel economy department, averaging 14 mpg in the city and 23 mpg highway (our real world numbers), the performance is good with that 370 horsepower HEMI under the hood. We are just hoping with wishful thinking that a HEMI-powered AWD Charger will return, someday soon.