2019 Dodge Challenger RT Scat Pack Review: All Things to All People
Looks good, sounds good, and drives good, Dodge Challenger RT Scat Pack is an everyday muscle car that’s ready for any occasion.
It seems as if there is a Dodge Challenger variant for everyone, these days. Want to go drag racing? No problem, the Challenger Scat Pack 1320 will run consistent 11.70s in the quarter-mile, is road legal and costs just $45,000. Want to go really, really, insanely fast on a canyon road, or at a track day? Also not a problem, because the 797-horsepower, supercharged Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody exists.
And what if neither of those is just right for you? The widebody package is cool, but you don’t have $80,000, nor do you necessarily need almost 800-horsepower to commute to work, however, you still want a fun car. Well, Dodge has you covered there, too, because this is the 2019 Challenger Scat Pack Widebody, and, full disclosure, I think it’s actually the best of the bunch. Hear me out.
You can get into a Scat Pack for just $38,995, and it’s already a good amount of car for the money. That gets you a 6.4-liter, naturally-aspirated Hemi V8 engine, which produces 485 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque. It’s paired to a 6-speed manual transmission, though, an 8-speed automatic is also available. This test car has the stick, which is a good thing.
However, for an extra $6,000, you get the widebody package, which is so much more than the name implies. The swollen fenders not only look cool, but they house a set of 20-inch wheels, shod in 305-section width rubber. The stance on this thing is mean. Behind those wheels are the widebody package-specific upgraded brakes, cribbed off the Hellcat. They are six-piston Brembos up front and four-piston rear brakes, which are enormous. That six grand also adds three-mode adjustable Bilstein suspension. It’s a solid performance package for the cash.
How Does it Drive?
When I reached out to Dodge and requested some time behind the Challenger, I specifically requested one with a manual transmission. The highest-performing variants are automatic-only. It makes sense, that ZF 8-speed automatic is a really good transmission. So, I wanted to see if the 6-speed stick was worth taking a look at.
The powertrain pairing, between the 6.4-liter Hemi V8 and the 6-speed stick, is near perfect on the road. The engine, having 392 cubic-inches of displacement, has torque and usable power just off idle. It also sounds amazing through those pipes, which is something you will notice when rowing through the gears. The clutch and shifter are pretty friendly to use, overall, though, rather amusing, the shifter is canted over towards the driver. It looks and feels like an old school Mopar muscle car, and requires a good amount of forearm muscle to go through the gears. Once you get used to it, it’s a very enjoyable sensation, and very fitting for this large muscle car. As a manual transmission diehard, this is a very satisfying reassurance as fewer and fewer sports cars can offer this experience.
Interestingly, despite the hardcore performance credentials afforded to this car by the widebody package, I didn’t feel the need to thrash the Scat Pack to the absolute limit through the winding canyon roads outside of Los Angeles. Is the car capable of it? Absolutely (I verified this… for science). Those massive tires, paired with the adjustable Bilstein suspension, make this a genuinely capable canyon carver. Additionally, despite the 4,400-pound curb weight, those massive brakes reigned in the straight line speed, without fade or fault.
However, the Scat Pack does’t goad you on, like the crazier Hellcat models. Instead, I found myself winding out the Challenger at part throttle, just enjoying the overall experience. It’s a very charming car to drive, at pretty much every rate of speed.
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