New Car Overview of the 2005 Dodge Magnum Full-Size Wagon

Description: Full-Size Wagon
Base MSRP Range: $21,870 - $31,370
Invoice Price Range: $20,350 - $28,900
Where built: Canada

The new large-size sports tourer from Dodge is cast on a new platform of large-car scale with a powerful engine mounted up front and all torque directed to the big back tires to mark the first rear-wheel-drive (RWD) car from the Dodge brand in nearly 20 years.

Magnum carries an impressive collection of mechanical hardware to allow a vehicle of bold dimensions to act with the agility of a not-so-big machine tuned for sporty work. It also comes with a well-dressed passenger compartment set with two rows of seats for five and the appointments of a refined luxury car. Yet the body resembles the shape of a station wagon that's slammed and skewed to a hip and sporty mode.

Dodge offers three different engines to propel Magnum through three trims tagged as a base SE, luxurious SXT and the performance model, Magnum RT. Price-leading Magnum SE packs a dual-cam 2.7-liter V6 that produces 190-hp. Magnum SXT draws from a high-output V6 -- Chrysler's single-cam 3.5-liter six-pack that runs up to 250-hp.

Magnum RT scores Chrysler's Hemi engine with hemispheric combustion chambers. The Hemi 5.7-liter V8 makes 340-hp through an electronic automatic 5-speed transmission teamed with the AutoStick. And it has a MDS (multi-displacement system) that can switch seamlessly and transparently to fuel-saving 4-cylinder mode. Dodge adds another option to the Magnum line with an all-wheel-drive (AWD) system available for the Hemi V8 or 3.5-liter V6.