WACKY BUT FUN
Dodge Durango SRT a well-rounded alternative to traditional family hauler
When my kids were young, the minivan was the only sensible vehicle for domestic duty. Still is, for that matter, but its terminal uncoolness has sent family types flocking to three-row crossovers — which, while not as practical, shuns the minivan with its more rugged all-wheel-drive disposition.
Then there’s the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT. Oh my. The SRT doesn’t so much shun the minivan as take it behind the gym, headbutt it and steal its lunch money.
Unloading the kids from this three-row mutha in the school parking lot will surely win you points with the youngsters, and probably garner a few sideways glances from adults. Key to the SRT’s swagger is its naturally aspirated 6.4-litre Hemi V8 that kicks out 475 horsepower, 470 pound-feet of torque and an exhaust note that goes from a deep-throated burble to all-out banshee wail, depending on the angle of your right loafer.
Factor in 20-inch black alloys, plus a plethora of functional air vents and intakes, and you’ve got a mighty imposing family hauler.
It would be all too easy to dismiss the Durango SRT as a dumb truck with an oversized engine, but that’s far from the truth. The denizens at SRT go to great lengths to engineer well-rounded vehicles (that happen to go like hell), and this latest offering from the go-fast lads follows that script to a T.
With a starting price of $72,495, and here optioned up to $83,833, the six-seat Durango SRT presents itself as a bona fide luxury crossover capable of coddling and spoiling with the best of them.
OK, so the interior quality isn’t up to European standards, but it’s a clean and ergonomically smart effort, here benefiting from upgrades that include supple Laguna leather, a rear-seat DVD system, a second-row console armrest and a stitched dashboard.
Standard features include a kickin’ Beats Audio sound system,
heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, a heated flat-bottom steering wheel, a power tilt/telescopic steering wheel and push-button start, plus a remote starter, LED fog lights, power lift gate and the uncommonly logical Uconnect infotainment system with an 8.4-inch touchscreen interface that, in my opinion, sets the template for usability.
It also includes Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, GPS navigation, SiruisXM Traffic Plus and more. The Technology Group, at a reasonable $1,400, rounds out the requisite tech count — adaptive cruise with stop and go, lane departure warning/assist, blindspot and cross-traffic warning, forward collision mitigation and advanced brake assist.
All well and good, but is this performance truck’s ride going to ruin my day? Fear not. Considering SRT spent a lot of time tuning the Durango SRT’s underpinnings on the challenging Virginia International Raceway, it delivers impressive compliance.
Yes, the ride is firm, but it’s a refined firmness, devoid of unpleasant crashes or knocks.
The steering is well-weighted, linear and directs the big barrel snout with surprising crispness.
The standard six-piston Brembo brakes respond with linear precision and feel as though they could stop a Peterbilt truck.
Its eight-speed automatic transmission is fantastic.
About the only real concession to true luxury here is the Hemi’s unrelenting soundtrack. On long highway hauls, the droning gets tiresome. While many performance vehicles offer complex dual mode exhaust systems that lend some civility to the proceedings, the SRT does without that frippery. It’s just loud. All the time. Chase the redline and it howls like Chewbacca passing a kidney stone. Full-throttle upshifts are punctuated by the stuff of a proctologist’s nightmare.
It’s a wacky thing, but damn, it’s fun. Minivans, hide your lunch money.
OVERVIEW
Overview: Muscle-bound, three-row crossover
Pros: Mega Motown motor, sorted chassis, luxurious
Cons: Loud, voracious thirst, price
Value for money: Actually, quite good
What I would change: Nothing. It’s perfectly nuts
How I would spec it: Ditch the rear-seat DVD screens. Kids have iPads
VEHICLE RATINGS
Value: 12/15
Drivability: 13/15
Quality: 7/10
Performance: 9/10
Fuel economy: 5/10
Safety rating: 8/10
Exterior: 8/10
Interior: 8/10
Storage and cargo: 5/5
Tech and toys: 4/5
Total rating: 79
Max rating: 100
Total percentage: 79 per cent