Great car, fantastic in the snow.

Originally set out to buy a 3.5 SXT, ended up with the 5.7 R/T with AWD. This car is fantastic. Constantly draws great reviews from all sorts of people young and old alike. When was the last time a group of teens gave you a complement on your station wagon? If you can be sensible with the throttle the 5.7 with it's MDS  will bring fuel economy numbers very close to the 3.5. To me it just didn't make sense to go with the SXT package when the R/T is way better equipped and brings similar fuel mileage. The AWD does knock your mileage back a little more, however I live in an area with pretty harsh winters. Take one part AWD and add 4 snow tires and this thing becomes an Abrams tank, nothing stops it! The traction control lifted straight from the c-class benz works flawlessly as does the ABS. I wanted a vehicle that would carry my family of 5 in comfort and safety, my son is over 6 feet tall and has tons of leg room in the rear, all of the Dodge LX cars have more rear leg room than any other car and many SUV's unless you want to buy a limo. I would say the published fuel mileage ratings are a little exaggerated, however for a 4000lb car with a 5.7L V-8, AWD and ample room for 5 adults its more than acceptable. Yes it does have more than it's share of blind spots, and I tinted the front side windows to match the tint on the rear door windows, which really doesn't help with visibility at night. I'm a car guy at heart and this car brings back the memories of some of my old muscle car days, except this one is reliable, starts, stops, turns, gets good mileage and has more air bags than you can imagine. I really enjoy driving this car and use it as my primary commuter vehicle (about an hour each way). My last car, a Volvo 850 went 400,000 km, the engine was never touched, and  the original wheel bearings, alternator, starter, clutch etc etc were still in the car when I sold it to the next owner. I'm not sure that a North American car will stand up as well as that, but with meticulous maintenance and relatively cheap parts (compared to Volvo prices) I hope to keep this car a long time.