2019 Dodge Challenger RT Scat Pack Review: All Things to All People
An Every Day Muscle Car
While the baritone blast emitted by the Hemi V8 dominates the Scat Pack experience driving around town, the Challenger proves virtuous in many arenas. This is very much an every day muscle car.
Unlike the Camaro SS, outward visibility is excellent. And, unlike either Camaro or Mustang, the Challenger has real, usable back seats, that can accommodate adults, and, even, people with legs. Credit due to the Challenger’s overall enormity, as it’s some 10-inches longer, overall, than Camaro or Mustang. With the two other muscle cars, as fun as they may be, their back seats are near useless.
Additionally, Challenger has an enormous trunk, regardless of vehicle segment. I personally, at 6’1″, am able to lay down in the trunk, and be very comfortable. At one point, a friend asked to pull this party trick, of sorts, and then told me to move over. It turns out that two full-sized adults can lay comfortably in the trunk of the Challenger. Hopefully there are no car thieves or serial killers are reading this.
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The interior comfort continue on with the tech and goodies. UConnect, which is Dodge’s infotainment system, seems trouble-free, and rather easy to navigate, though, it is something of a buttons fest. There are a lot of digital buttons to push on the screen. Though, I did run into issues with both the voice command prompts and navigation. The nav system works great, if you are parked. If you moving, at all, you are pretty much relegated to using your phone, because the system can be too clumsy to use.
Additionally, niceties, like heated and ventilated seats and the heated steering wheel, work well, and make for comfortable cruising, as do the seats in the Challenger. However, those large front thrones are a bit too wide, even for my 185-lb frame. Larger folks will be very comfortable in the Challenger. Overall, it’s a very pleasant place to spend time, in the front, or back seats.
Final Thoughts
For about $50,000, the Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Widebody ticks a lot of boxes. It’s a lot of fun to drive, even below jail speeds. Its large size means that has, by far, the most utility in its segment. And, this is a big one, it’s a car that you want to own and drive, every day.
While its competition have moved more towards the sports car side of the American muscle car spectrum, the Challenger hasn’t. It’s its own thing, and has an entirely different kind of charm, because of it. While I wouldn’t necessarily gravitate towards the Scat Pack for track day domination, like I would the Camaro, or being juvenile and setting off car alarms, like I would the Mustang, that’s quite alright.
Realistically, if you’re buying this car, it’s to use it on the road, like a real, every day car, and, in that venue, the Challenger is the real every day muscle car. The Scat Pack Widebody treatment means, however, that it can handle just about every aspect of driving that an enthusiastic owner may subject it to. The Dodge Challenger RT Scat Pack Widebody really is all things to all people, and it’s a damn fine muscle car because of it.
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