[Greatday]

I'm looking at getting a 2013 Dodge Charger AWD. What is the black hood option? Why isn't the blacktop version offered for the AWD? Does the 6 cylinder have enough power to make it fun to drive? And does the smaller HEMI get decent gas mileage for practical use, and get around in snowy conditions?

 

[JoshMHam]

Not sure about the black hood thing.

I would assume the reason that there is no Blacktop or Rallye package is the rim size. It seems like they don't put 20s on the AWD version. Maybe somebody with more knowledge than me could explain why that is.

I have a 2012 Charger (RWD with V6). The V6 has plenty of power (292 hp) and easily gets 31mpg on the highway (in RWD). I enjoy it very much when I need, or want, to open it up. The 8-speed is a phenomenal transmission.

What types of cars have you driven in the past? If you haven't driven very powerful vehicles in the past (I used to drive a 2007 Saturn Ion), the V6 will be plenty.

Edit: If you can wait a year or two, the 8-speed transmission will be added to the hemis soon, giving you best of both worlds.

 

[Greatday]

I had a typo about the black hood, it should have been a black roof. I'm not sure about why they are charging so much for a black roof. Right now I have a 2012 Chrysler 200 (4 cylinder). It's nice but a little on the small side. I'm wanting something a little more sporty, somewhat decent on gas, and can get around in the snow. The all wheel drive would be great since we get a lot of snow in this area.

 

[JoshMHam]

If you are coming from a 4 cylinder, the V6 will be perfect. The AWD will take away some of your MPGs, but only when it is active (temps below 39F, windshield wipers are running, or it senses tire slippage). We haven't had any snow here in Detroit for me to try out my RWD yet. The e-shifter takes some time to get used to, but eventually, it becomes natural.

If you are above average height, be careful about getting a sunroof. Test drive one with and one with out, just to see how much headroom you have. I'm 5'11", and if I leave my sunglasses on the top of my head, they touch.

 

[TWX]

I've driven the Challenger with the 3.6, the 200 with the 3.6, and the Town and Country with the 3.6. I was happy with it in all three vehicles, and I like having plenty of power. I would think that it would be just fine in an AWD Charger.

Bear in mind that if you want some paint different and if they're charging an arm and a leg for an optional panel color change, that can be remedied aftermarket. Some dealerships will even do the work if they've got a competent body shop, and depending on the deal that you negotiate you might get a good deal. Dealers are often willing to make some simple concessions if they can get a sale. When we were looking at 200s, they were knocking around swapping out the cloth seats for leather if we decided to buy one.


I've driven the Challenger with the 3.6, the 200 with the 3.6, and the Town and Country with the 3.6. I was happy with it in all three vehicles, and I like having plenty of power. I would think that it would be just fine in an AWD Charger.

Bear in mind that if you want some paint different and if they're charging an arm and a leg for an optional panel color change, that can be remedied aftermarket. Some dealerships will even do the work if they've got a competent body shop, and depending on the deal that you negotiate you might get a good deal. Dealers are often willing to make some simple concessions if they can get a sale. When we were looking at 200s, they were knocking around swapping out the cloth seats for leather if we decided to buy one.

 

[Christopher]

I'm looking at getting a 2013 Dodge Charger AWD. What is the black hood option? Why isn't the blacktop version offered for the AWD? Does the 6 cylinder have enough power to make it fun to drive? And does the smaller HEMI get decent gas mileage for practical use, and get around in snowy conditions?

My guess is the black roof costs so much because the car needs to take two trips through the paint booth. I'm sure someone can tell me if this is wrong.

You can only get the 19 inch rims with the AWD. The Blacktop package has 20 inch rims which are not compatible with the AWD system. (Though I don't know why this is.)

Only you can know if the v6 provides enough power to make it fun to drive.

The gas mileage is plainly visible on the window sticker. Only you can determine what is acceptable to you.

My experience with an LX in snow required me to turn off the traction control to get out of snow in a parking lot, but other than that I experienced no problems.

 

[moparmodelfan]

My guess is the black roof costs so much because the car needs to take two trips through the paint booth. I'm sure someone can tell me if this is wrong.

You can only get the 19 inch rims with the AWD. The Blacktop package has 20 inch rims which are not compatible with the AWD system. (Though I don't know why this is.)

Only you can know if the v6 provides enough power to make it fun to drive.

The gas mileage is plainly visible on the window sticker. Only you can determine what is acceptable to you.

My experience with an LX in snow required me to turn off the traction control to get out of snow in a parking lot, but other than that I experienced no problems.

Maybe the AWD is not available on the 20" wheel cars due to the fact that they use a tire that is slightly lower profile.
The black roof I am thinking of when he mentioned that is the Daytona package but i believe that is a vinyl wrapped applied to the roof.

If you are coming from a 4 cylinder, the V6 will be perfect. The AWD will take away some of your MPGs, but only when it is active (temps below 39F, windshield wipers are running, or it senses tire slippage). We haven't had any snow here in Detroit for me to try out my RWD yet. The e-shifter takes some time to get used to, but eventually, it becomes natural.

If you are above average height, be careful about getting a sunroof. Test drive one with and one with out, just to see how much headroom you have. I'm 5'11", and if I leave my sunglasses on the top of my head, they touch.

We had some icy conditions up here in southern St. Clair County this morning. Went to stop and I slipped a little and when I stepped on the gas it slipped a little and fishtailed just a bit. I eased off the pedal and she pulled away fine. Like you I am waiting for the real snow to show up. First winter in 5 years with RWD. Had 4X4 last 5 years so it should be interesting.

 

[Christopher]

Maybe the AWD is not available on the 20" wheel cars due to the fact that they use a tire that is slightly lower profile.
The black roof I am thinking of when he mentioned that is the Daytona package but i believe that is a vinyl wrapped applied to the roof.


We had some icy conditions up here in southern St. Clair County this morning. Went to stop and I slipped a little and when I stepped on the gas it slipped a little and fishtailed just a bit. I eased off the pedal and she pulled away fine. Like you I am waiting for the real snow to show up. First winter in 5 years with RWD. Had 4X4 last 5 years so it should be interesting.

I think you're right. I don't know why I thought the roof was painted black.

 

[valiant67]

I went from a 2005 300C Hemi to a 2012 Challenger with the 3.6. I had driven the 3.5 powered 300 when shopping for the 300 and it just wasn't for me, so I bought the Hemi 300C. When I drove the 3.6, I didn't get the feeling it was lacking (to me) like the 3.5. I haven't regretted for a minute that my Challenger is a 3.6 rather than a Hemi. And this is with the old 5 speed auto, not the super cool 8 speed the Charger can have.

Granted I have never driven an AWD LX being in the south but the RWD 3.6 is pretty awesome.

 

[Greatday]

The black roof option is only available with the one silver colored paint. It does make sense that it could have a vinyl type coating like those older vehicles of the past. The price tag is almost $1000.00, pretty high for paint alone.

I'm just going to have to get out and test drive the Hemi and Pentastar engines. My biggest concern is after putting a lot of money into a vehicle, will I have the regret that I should have bought that engine/option. I'm located on the east side of Lake Erie where the cold winds dump feet of snow on us from Lake Erie. The AWD sounds like the safe bet, especially if it isn't engaged in warm non-slippery conditions which will give better gas mileage.

 

[chewie402]

Yes, The Black Roof is a Vinyl Wrap as opposed to being painted...and I believe it's available on all colors (I just built one on the website with a Copperhead Color, and Black Roof is an option). My main concern with the black roof is you're limited to Spray Waxes as opposed to paste wax. The Vinyl on the hood of my car has some scratches on it that it's accumulated over the years that wouldn't have shown up with paint.

I'm not sure where you live in regards to weather, but I live in North Central Indiana and I've been driving a RWD Charger Daytona (5.7L) as my daily driver since January 2006 and haven't had any issues (I don't even run snow tires). I did go off the road once, but that wasn't because the car lost traction, it was because I got disoriented in blowing snow out in the country. The Traction Control system is really good on these cars.

In regards to the sunroof...I'm 6'4 and don't have any Head-Clearance issues with the sunroof in my Charger (my previous car was a Sebring Convertible...so I had to have SOMETHING on the roof that opened lol).

 

[Mopar392]

You can get the Sport model on the AWD, which basically looks like a Roand&Track option.