Among Detroit’s three pony cars, Dodge’s Challenger is an oversize peg that fits in an altogether differently shaped hole than do the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro. The beefy two-door is by far the largest in its class, has the only usable back seat, and is the most powerful in 707-hp SRT Hellcat form. (At least, for now.) Approaching the end of a long life cycle that began in 2008, another class-exclusive boast rolls: “the world’s first and only all-wheel-drive American muscle coupe.”

For a segment so typically horsepower obsessed, braggadocio about the number of driven wheels is refreshingly offbeat. Even better for Dodge, it didn’t need to spend a lot of money on the effort. The Challenger shares its platform with the Charger sedan, which has long offered an all-wheel-drive option. Keen to cash in on its recent double-digit sales growth in AWD models, Dodge simply pillaged its parts bin for the Charger’s hardware and bolted it into the Challenger to hitch yet another model to the trend. Thus was born the Challenger GT. We’d like to imagine that the baptism included jeering and tomatoes thrown at the rear-drive-only Mustang and Camaro.

Stop Wondering Why There’s No V-8

Ford and Chevy could lob a few tomatoes back at Dodge, given that the GT can be had only with the base Challenger’s 3.6-liter V-6 engine. Dodge says the aim was to offer all-wheel drive to a maximum of customers, and since it sells more six-cylinder Challengers than those powered by any of the three available V-8s, the V-6 got the nod.

The 305-hp Pentastar V-6 isn’t a total letdown, even though the GT must contend with another 200 pounds or so of front driveshafts, a transfer case, and larger standard wheels. The extra poundage associated with all-wheel drive strains the six off the line, yet once the car is underway, the eight-speed automatic’s wide ratio spread keeps the V-6 huffing along. A Sport mode strips the transmission of its inhibitions, loosening the requirements for initiating downshifts and holding onto lower gears longer. Drivers can swat the shift lever or use small steering-wheel shift paddles to manually select ratios, but quick responses shouldn’t be expected.

The Challenger SRT models’ stiffer suspension tuning doesn’t mix with the GT’s AWD bits, so the GT supports its extra weight by borrowing heavy-duty springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars from the AWD Charger Pursuit cop car. Dodge says it tuned these components for slightly softened responses to suit the Challenger’s shorter wheelbase. The GT ably handles corners without dragging its door handles on the pavement, yet the ride is capital-F Firm. Over craggy Maine roads in the dead of winter, we experienced plenty of side-to-side head toss as wheels on the side closest to the road’s shoulder faithfully followed each wavy undulation, pothole, and crack. The ride quality is short of harsh, however, and at least wheel motions are decently managed, while the bodacious structure and tall-section tires isolate brutal impacts from the cabin. On smoother roads, the Challenger continues to be a quiet cruiser that drives big because, well, it is big.

So What About that AWD?

Chrysler’s all-wheel-drive system disconnects the secondary drive axle from the transfer case when maximum traction isn’t needed. In the Challenger, as in the Charger, that means the front axle can effectively freewheel, mitigating the typical fixed-AWD fuel-economy penalty and leaving the GT a de facto rear-drive car in most circumstances. When slippage is detected at the rear wheels or the temperature drops below a certain level, a clutch reconnects the front axle. During our drive the outside temperature never crested 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and according to the Challenger’s digital gauge cluster, we never dropped out of all-wheel-drive mode. Selecting the Challenger’s Sport mode or flicking the shift lever into its manual control gate also engages all-wheel drive.

Unsurprisingly, on dry pavement the GT feels exactly like a slightly heavier rear-drive V-6 Challenger. The only major tell from inside the car is a transmission-tunnel bulge providing space for the transfer case that intrudes slightly into the front passenger’s footwell. Plopping the GT onto a slick surface mixes up the calculus. Having once been party to an ill-advised road trip between Detroit and Chicago in a rear-drive Challenger R/T on summer tires during a blizzard, this author can speak to the vast difference all-wheel drive (and all-season rubber) makes in the Dodge’s ability to accelerate on a snow-covered surface. Instead of worming its rear end sideways and delivering a minimum of forward progress, the GT and its four driven wheels simply grab and go. Even when the tires slip, the car noodles around as one—no fishtailing—before scrambling forward, even in wet, thick snow that reaches the wheels’ center caps.

On a snowy road course Dodge set up for our drive, the Challenger and its Michelin Primacy MXM4 all-season tires delivered safe understeer when driven cautiously. As with other all-wheel-drive cars, judicious throttle use is necessary to overcome this tendency. Helpfully, the Challenger’s transfer case sends a maximum of 38 percent of available torque to the front wheels, so that even if both ends of the car have similar levels of grip, the front-to-rear torque split is rear-biased. Thus, flooring the gas rotates the GT into a turn; the rear-tire slip then signals the computers to send power to the front wheels, and you’re yanked through in a slight drift. Whether or not Challenger GT owners have the skills—or courage—to step on the gas during an icy-road slide, the capability to balance the car with the throttle is there.

Combine the Challenger’s newfound traction with its size, and you have the most practical muscle car extant. The GT can even claim another exclusive title: It’s the only five-passenger all-wheel-drive coupe available. We’d cap the realistic passenger count at four, the same as the Mustang and Camaro, although that same group would be mighty uncomfortable in the Ford and half would need to submit to below-the-waist amputations to fit in the Chevy. With its 16-cubic-foot trunk and split-folding rear seats, the Challenger can even handle a four-person weekend ski excursion, Dodge claims. There is atypical room for people and cargo, but we’re still coming to grips with the idea of any Challenger parked at a chalet.

Luckily, picking up the GT could be much cheaper than that fantasy. Pricing starts at $34,490, $6400 above a base Challenger SXT and even $505 above the Hemi-powered R/T. This is offset by a higher level of standard equipment than either of those models, including Chrysler’s latest 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen, 19-inch wheels, leather seats (heated and ventilated in front), and a heated steering wheel. Plus, you know, the Challenger GT is the only muscle coupe to give winter-weather buyers their two-door cake and a fork to eat it with, too. Isn’t that worth something, V-6 and all?

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