Dodge Durango reviews

2006 Dodge Durango Driving Impressions

With its size and refinement, the Dodge Durango can be a good compromise between the medium and extra-large SUVs available from other manufacturers. It's smooth and quiet, quite different from earlier noisy, rough-riding sport-utilities. Both V8 engines are good choices but for overall power, cost, and fuel economy we'd opt for the 5.7-liter Hemi.

The 4.7-liter V8 engine is competent, powerful and very smooth. It is rated at 230 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque, but it only gets 14/18 mpg with 4WD, using 87 octane.

The 5.7-liter Hemi is rated at 335 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of torque. That's a lot more power than the 4.7-liter, with around-town mileage suffering only slightly at 13/18 mpg with 89 octane recommended, 87 acceptable. For 2006, fuel economy is enhanced with the introduction of Chrysler's Multi-Displacement System on the Hemi, which disables four of the eight cylinders when cruising by deactivating the valve lifters. In our tests of variable displacement on other Chrysler products, we found the transition between cruising and power modes was nearly indiscernible. The Hemi seems like a good value. Plus, it can tow up to 8,950 pounds with the optional 3.92 rear axle, compared with 7,400 pounds for the 4.7-liter. Also, the two-speed transfer case comes standard with the Hemi 4x4, optional with the other engines.

Hemi, by the way, refers to the overhead-valve, hemispherical combustion chamber design, and harkens back to the late '60s when the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) Dodge Hemi Ramcharger ruled. Chrysler modernized the basic design in 2004 after it had been gone (but not forgotten) for decades. Still, the Hemi didn't feel like 335 horsepower to the seat of our pants. The 5.7-liter Hemi felt a little more powerful than the 4.7-liter, but it wasn't a night-and-day difference. The double overhead-cam, 5.6-liter, 305-horsepower Nissan Armada feels more responsive than the 5.7-liter Durango, which feels solid, but heavy.

We were most impressed by the five-speed automatic transmission that comes with both V8 engines. The shifts were incredibly smooth. Shifting up or down between third and fourth gears is undetectable. The transmission features a Tow/Haul mode, which holds the gears longer and will even downshift under deceleration, as might be needed with a trailer. It's cool when you come toward a turn at high speed and back off, and your automatic transmission drops a downshift for you.

The best fuel economy goes to the 3.7-liter V6, rated at 210 horsepower and 235 pound-feet of torque and 16/21 mpg. It comes with a four-speed automatic and is rated to pull a 3700-pound trailer.

The Durango has good brakes. When you need to slow down or stop, they'll be there. They're big vented disc brakes with twin-piston calipers in front, just the thing for slowing down this heavy beast. ABS helps the driver maintain steering control by eliminating wheel lockup, while electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) balances braking forces front and rear for more stable stopping. We slammed on the brakes several times from 70 mph and found the Durango stopped steady and true.

The current Durango represented a clean-sheet design when it was introduced as a 2004 model, with nothing borrowed from the Ram pickup (as before). New manufacturing processes resulted in a more rigid chassis, which benefits from hydroformed boxed frame rails, a new independent front suspension and innovative adaptation of a Watts link rear suspension with coil springs. Cornering and handling are excellent, maybe even superb, for a big SUV.

The ride quality is quite good, way better than the old Durango. There's a lot more travel in the suspension. The rack-and-pinion steering provides a 39.9-foot turning circle, three feet larger than a Ford Explorer, but pretty good for a vehicle of this size.

We found the Durango offered good, responsive handling over more than 100 miles of remote twi