2011 Dodge Grand Caravan

Chrysler's on the right track with reincarnated Durango

Chrysler's on the right track with reincarnated Durango
From: USA Today, Friday, November 19, 2010
By: James R. Healey

Chrysler Group's Dodge Durango was a big, truck-based SUV, discontinued in 2008 when the market for such vehicles fell to pieces, as Chrysler itself was doing then, too.
Now, in what Chrysler would hope is a metaphor for the company, Durango's back, transformed and stunningly good.

It's bigger than its predecessor but drives smaller, thanks to new steering in the V-6 version and careful attention to weight balance.

It's hardly cheap, but the price range of roughly $30,000 to $50,000 is quite reasonable by today's standards for the size, features and capabilities.

Its standard Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 seemed powerful enough to make the optional Hemi 5.7-liter V-8, and its greater fuel thirst, unnecessary for most people, most of the time.

And, joy, the five-speed automatic transmission shifted with crisp, quick precision in all conditions.

Our test vehicle was a rear-wheel-drive V-6, and it enjoyed the benefits of lighter weight and better weight balance than the V-8 and all-wheel-drive models have. It was easy and pleasant to sling it through the corners and abrupt turns.

Durango's now a crossover — which means it's built using the unibody construction common to cars, rather than the body-atop-a-frame style of the previous Durango. In fact, it's a stretched version of the undercarriage used on Chrysler's latest Jeep Grand Cherokee, a pleasant-driving machine.

Crossovers usually weigh less than truck-style vehicles, so they get the same performance using smaller, more fuel-stingy engines. They also tend to ride more comfortably and handle more nimbly.

Engineers worked hard to keep the weight balance close to the ideal 50-50 front to rear. At worst, Durango has 52% of its weight on the front wheels.

For context, a typical front-drive sedan has about 60% of its weight in front, which is why the steering sometimes feels heavy and unresponsive.

One trade-off: To help with the weight balance, Durango's heavy battery is under the front passenger's floor. There are contacts under the hood for jump-starting, but to remove and replace the battery, you wrangle it through a floor access panel.

Durango had a remarkably tight turning circle, about the same as a midsize sedan. So not only did it feel nimble on the road, it could be swung about in town without the usual back-and-forth drill to grab a parking spot on the other side of the street.

Another delightful surprise: The optional navigation system is a Garmin unit as easy to use as the accessory units by Garmin, TomTom and others many people use in otherwise navi-less cars. And it's several hundred dollars, not a couple thousand.

What else was impressive:

•Performance. The V-6 was more than sufficient with three aboard and a few bags. If you tow or haul a lot, especially where it's hilly, you still might prefer the optional Hemi V-8, though.

• Interior. A sore point about Chrysler Group models in the past, it was a high-class cabin in the midlevel Durango Crew tester. Soft-touch materials, controls that were pleasant to operate, gauges you could quickly read.

•Styling. Had a hint of the "slammed" look of the discontinued Dodge Magnum wagon.

There's an aversion to wagons in the U.S., but not here. We think wagons are the auto equivalent of comfort food. They look right and are practical.

Durango still has the hunky stance of an SUV, but the hint of the Magnum wagon is a plus.

•Comfort. Seats — inconsistent in past products — felt quite accommodating. Second-row legroom was enough for your teen basketball player. The third row was mainly for kids, but easy enough to reach because the second-row fold-and-slide mechanism was easy to work.

Gripes?

Like most vehicles, Durango needs a better sun visor system. Sun-blindness was a big issue as we drove the winding roads along and near the Pacific Coast. Swinging the visor from front to side to front while driving can be a dangerous distraction.

You could say the same about most cars today.

Max cargo space is less than rivals'. The Chevy Traverse, for one, has more than 100 cubic feet with second and third rows down. Durango, about 85.

Overall, though, the 2011 Durango was a stylish, satisfying, sporty machine that would be high on our shopping list.

ABOUT THE 2011 DODGE DURANGO

•What? Full-size, seven-passenger, three-row, four-door crossover SUV, available with rear-wheel drive (RWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), in four trim levels.

•When? On sale in December.

•Where? Made in Detroit.

•Why? Still a market for big SUVs.

•How? Put different body, interior on a stretched Jeep Grand Cherokee chassis; share engines to cut costs.

•How much? Express starts at $30,045, including $850 shipping. Crew, $34,045. CrewLux, $39,045. Citadel, $42,795. Four-wheel-drive models are $2,000 more.

•How powerful? 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 rated 290 horsepower at 6,400 rpm, 260 pounds-feet of torque at 4,800 rpm. 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 rated 360 hp at 5,150 rpm, 390 lbs.-ft. at 4,250 rpm. Both use five-speed automatic.

•How big? A few inches shorter, narrower than rival Chevrolet Traverse. Durango is 199.8 inches long, 75.8 in. wide, on a 119.8-in. wheelbase.

Cargo: 17.2 cubic feet behind third row; 47.7 cu. ft. behind second row; 84.5 cu. ft. behind first row with second and third rows folded. Weighs 4,756 to 5,397 lbs. Carries 1,280 to 1,430 lbs. Tows 6,200 to 7,400 lbs. Turning-circle diameter, 37.1 ft.

•How thirsty? V-6 rated 16 miles per gallon in town, 22 (AWD) or 23 (RWD) highway, 18 (AWD) or 19 (RWD) combined. V-8 rated 13 (AWD) or 14 (RWD) in town, 20 highway, 15 (AWD) or 16 (RWD) combined.

Trip computer in rear-drive V-6 test vehicle showed 19.8 mpg (5.05 gallons per 100 miles) in brisk driving on winding two-lane roads. Regular specified for V-6. Midgrade recommended for V-8. Holds 24.6 gallons.

•Overall: Smooth, agile, handsome.