Saturday, January 8, 2011

Dodge Durango - 3rd Generation

Back in 1998, the Dodge Durango is actually a sporty utility vehicle spin-off of the small Dakota pick-up truck. Then, it followed with a full model change in 2003 as a 2004 model, along with its Dakota cousin. When the Durango's birthplace, the Newark plant in Delaware, was shut down, most of them know that the Durango is dead, or so we thought. In the summer of 2010, the Dodge Durango is reincarnated and no longer the SUV version of the Dakota, which is scheduled to be euthanized this year, and now as a full-size crossover SUV ready to tackle on the GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, and now, the fifth-generation Ford Explorer as well!



2011 Dodge Durango




2011 Dodge Durango


Now evolved into a full-size crossover SUV, the third-generation Dodge Durango still carries the same Durango goodness now in its new form. On the design study, the new Durango has a hulking front face that impresses the crowd thanks to the newly revised Dodge signature grille. The rear view of the new Durango is somewhat like a Toyota Fortuner to me but I really like it. The new third-generation Durango is like the American Fortuner as we know it.

On the inside, the new instrumental panel on the new Durango really made a point and the leather seats are exquisite, making the driver and the passengers pleasurable to relax inside the new Durango. On the Citadel variant, you can see the words Citadel spelled it out on the front seats, plus it was covered in Premium Nappa leather seats. The egoist inside is somewhat an egoist quality for the Citadel variant on the new Durango.

The new Durango has an increased wheelbase of 3045mm (3030mm in the previous generation), decreased length of 5075mm (5100mm in the previous generation), width of 1925mm (1930mm in the previous generation) and the height of 1801mm (1890 in the previous generation). The downsizing makes it somewhat a point blank because the frame was based on the latest Jeep Grand Cherokee, but the increased wheelbase makes it a point. Anyway, the shorter height comes with big surprises if you know what I mean.

The new Durango has two available engines; one is the all-new 290-horsepower 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and the high-performance 360-horsepower 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine. Both of these are equipped with the 5-speed automatic W5A580 transmission. My pick would be the 5.7 V8 engine because its the most flagship of the Durango variants but I could just go for the new Pentastar 3.6L V6 engine because this is a new engine for the new car.

On the safer side, the new Durango has a wide range of safety features such as the Rain Brake Support, Ready Alert Braking, Antilock 4-Wheel Disc Heavy Duty Brakes, Hill Start Assist, Air Bags, Electronic Vehicle Info Center w/ Reconfig Display, HID Headlamps, Blind Spot and Rear Cross Path Detection, Adaptive Speed Control / Forward Collision Warning, Enhanced Accident Response System, and Forward Collision Warning. These features make the new Durango a safer crossover to rely on.

The new Durango has four different variants to choose from; the standard Durango Express, the advanced Durango Crew, the stylish Durango Crew Lux, and the flagship Durango Citadel.Depending on the variant, the available color variantions are;

1) Inferno Red Crystal Pearl

2) Bright Silver Metallic

3) White Gold

4) Natural Green Pearl

5) Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl

6) Blackberry Pearl

7) Dark Charcoal Pearl

8) Mineral Grey

9) Stone White

My thoughts about the Durango:
The Durango is now reborn in a form of a full-size crossover SUV and its major major opponents are the GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, or even the new Ford Explorer. Honestly, I think the new Ford Explorer is much better than the new Durango because of the advanced features that the Durango cannot have and the pricing is somewhat a winner for the Explorer because $28,190 (2,920,000 pesos as expected) is better than the new Durango's starter pricing of $29,195 (3,010,000 pesos as expected). Anyway, can the new Durango be the winner to the new line-up of Chrysler vehicles? I hope so, but the main targets could be average American families, executives, VIPs, especially the Mafia.

Photo: Chrysler Group, LLC

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