Dodge Durango

Dodge Durango Dodge Durango
First Drive Review

If chickens evolved at the same rapid rate as sport-utility vehicles, they'd pop out of the egg battered and fried. Just look at the Dodge Durango. When it was introduced for the 1998 model year, it was in many ways unique. By 2002, it was mostly obsolete.

The original Durango, which was based on Dodge's Dakota pickup truck, filled a profitable gap in the SUV market-it was smaller than a Ford Expedition and bigger than a Ford Explorer. It matched the behemoths of the class by offering V-8 power and topped the mid-size SUVs by providing a third-row seat. This combination of singular attributes, and distinctive styling, helped sell more than 150,000 Durangos in 1998, its first full year on the market. But by 2002, the competition matched or exceeded every one of the Durango's differentiating features, and sales fell to 106,925.

Dodge hopes the second-generation Durango-which is, as they say, all-new-will turn things around. But even with fresh hardware, Dodge is sticking to the same strategy that made the original truck a success-hit 'em where they ain't. Although the new Durango is larger than its predecessor in every dimension, it still slots in between the big and mid-size SUVs. It's five inches shorter than a Ford Expedition and 11.3 inches longer than a Ford Explorer.

That said, the new Durango is by no means modest in size or anything else. In its own way, the new truck's style is as assertive as the original's, which mirrored the look of the then-radical Dodge Ram pickup. The 2004 Durango's cruciform grille is proportionately as outsized as the grille in the latest version of the Ram pickup, and from there on back it gets even more massive. The Durango is shaped something like a hatchback elephant (no trunk), with bulging curves accented by big-eye headlights, concentric modeling around the wheel openings, and death-ray taillights.

Big the Durango looks, and big it is. It stretches to 200.8 inches over a 119.2-inch wheelbase. It's 76.0 inches wide and 74.3 inches tall. But at 4700 pounds, it weighs about the same as the old model, a feat Dodge says it managed because the Durango's clean-sheet design wasn't encumbered by compromises and took advantage of new manufacturing technology.

The Durango's chassis is, so far, an exclusive item. Its backbone is a robust hydroformed, box-section frame that anchors an independent front suspension and a coil-sprung, solid-axle rear suspension with a Watt's linkage to control lateral motions. The rear setup was chosen over an independent suspension because Dodge feels it's more durable and more suitable for towing-the Durango is rated to haul 8950 pounds. Other significant hardware includes four-wheel disc brakes-with 13.2-inch-front and 13.8-inch-rear rotors, standard ABS, and front-to-rear electronic brake-force distribution-lifted from the Ram-and rack-and-pinion steering.

The cumulative effect of all this gear is a truck that drives more like a big sedan. There's no slack in the steering, the ride is comfortable, and the handling is about as good as it gets for an SUV. The Durango is equally adept on fire-road-style off-pavement driving, although its way-high seating position tends to magnify side-to-side motions into a torso-and-head-toss tango.

Approaching the tiller is a step-up procedure (the optional running boards should be standard). But once nestled in the Durango's large, well-bolstered seats, the view is unencumbered, despite thigh-thick A-pillars, and the ambience is living-room large. There's the expected array of storage nooks, grab handles, and cup holders, as well as a so-called fast-food bin at the base of the dashboard's center stack, presumably to hold whatever super-size meals don't fit within the Durango's 102.4-cubic-foot cargo capacity. The rear doors open 84 degrees to ease entry to the 40/20/40 second row, which has reclining seats that flip and fold to make third-row access relatively convenient. Space in the steerage section is better than in most other SUVs, and the 50/50-split seats fold flat into the rear floor, opening up a full 48 inches of space between the wheelhouses. Safety stuff includes dual-stage front airbags and three-point shoulder belts for every seat.

Add to Dodge's list of catching up and moving ahead the Durango's powertrains. As in the original Durango, there's a V-6. This one displaces 3.7 liters, is rated at 210 horsepower, and is standard on two-wheel-drive models. There's an optional V-8, Chrysler's familiar 230-hp, 4.7-liter Magnum. The get-ahead motor is Chrysler's new 330-hp, 5.7-liter Hemi Magnum V-8. The first two engines provide acceptable performance, but the Hemi, which Dodge expects to account for 40 percent of sales, is the motor to have: It propels the Durango's tonnage around with admirable vigor.

After a brief on- and off-road encounter with the new Durango, we found it mostly likable. But that can also be said for most of the Durango's nearest smaller and bigger rivals. It's the most competitive segment in the entire market, and the introduction of this Durango will make it even more so.