2021 Dodge Durango 392 | A Hauling Dinosaur –
My new 2021 Dodge Durango is parked right next to me, and in this video, I’m not just going to talk about the durango 392; I’m also going to talk about why this vehicle is the perfect example of the right vehicle for you, not necessarily being what other people would consider best in class, because if I had to choose the best mid-size three-row crossover in the United States today, this dodge durango wouldn’t necessarily be at the top of my list; instead, I’d probably The exterior changes are minor, and the interior changes are mostly cosmetic.
Under the hood, we don’t have too many changes.
The observant among you will notice that there is now a three-row grand cherokee, the grand cherokee l, which is one of the reasons why the Durango’s future is a little bit uncertain.
However, they did give this a refresh for 2021, so this is probably going to hang out for at least another year or two at 200.8 The fender flares on the base model Durango are only a few millimeters wider than the average compact or midsize crossover out there, the average highlander or pilar.
This is because the Durango was designed from the ground up to have pretty wide tires, even the base model Durango has 265 with tires on it, which are a decent amount wider than the average compact or midsize crossover out there, the average highlander or pilar.
The term “crossover” refers to a vehicle that combines car-like features with truck-like features, and to be perfectly honest, the Durango is one of the few row crossovers that is actually a crossover, because a highlander or a pilot have little in the way of truck-like features other than styling, whereas the Durango shares engines and transmissions with certain Ram pickup trucks.
The only real difference out back is the third brake light, which has changed just a little bit up there for some reason, the taillights are exactly the same, we have red turn signals, and then this led race track that runs from one side to the other if you get the srt models then we get really really big exhauts Although the durango is available with a v6 engine, the entire reason to buy this over the competition is because there are three different v8 engines under the hood.
The ones on the outside relieve pressure from under the hood air would actually exit right there and this one helps direct air on top of the engine to help cool things down this is not a forced induction engine in any durango so there’s no intercooler or anything like that to cool under the hood although the durango is available with a Because of the durango’s age and general design, the evaporative emissions and exhaust power and torque are a little below what we see in the ram 1500 with a very identical 5.7 liter engine, or you can get this one here, which is the one that I received the 392 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque.
It’s a 6.4-liter hemi with 475 horsepower and 470 foot-pounds of torque.
It’s worth noting that in addition to producing nearly 100 pound-feet more torque than the 5.7 at its peak, it also produces about 100 pound-feet more torque right around 1500 rpm, making it ideal for towing.
Finally, we have a 6.2 liter supercharged v8 engine that you can no longer buy because all of them have been claimed, but if you were lucky enough to get your hands on one, it would produce 710 horsepower and 645 Another reason to consider the Durango is that if you want a vehicle in this size category with a two-speed transfer case, you can get that on the 5.7 liter, so if you’re looking for something a little bit more rugged in terms of off-road ability, that model might be the right fit for you.
It’s basically been borrowed from the Jeep Grand Cherokee because the Durango is essentially a three-row Grand Cherokee front seat comfort is definitely a high priority.
If you get the top end trims, you get a multi-way power driver seat with four-way adjustable lumbar support, a powered tilt telescopic steering column that’s memory linked to a two-position memory over there on the door, and a power passenger seat with the same range of motion as the driver’s seat.
On the other hand, if you’re a shorter driver, you should be aware that we do have a foot parking brake right here that can get a little bit The red shoulder belts are available in all six seating positions, which is a nice touch.
Moving back into the second row, you’ll notice that the second row seats do not slide forward or backward, so there’s no way to apportion space more equitably between the second and third rows, but we do have a reasonable amount of legroom in here 112.4 inches of combined legroom, which is comparable to the chevy traverse or the kia sorento.
This model has the captain’s chairs in the middle, there’s also a bench depending on the trim that you get, or you can get a center console here, which I find a little bit annoying because it’s a little bit more difficult to get into than the honda pilot and a few inches more than the highlander but overall the interior is definitely very similar to the highlander and pilot in terms of size and scale scooting over here to the right side this model has the captain’s chairs in the On the other hand, we have that high towing capability 6200 pounds with the 3.6 liter v6, 7 400 pounds with the base 5.7 liter v8, and 8700 pounds optional with the 5.7 standard on the six four and six two.
You’ll also find a full-size spare tire in most models, but because of the large tire and wheel size on this particular vehicle, we get a very eccentrically shaped compact spare right back there in the spare tire well, and then dodge gives us standard run flat This car has the traditional huge v8 sound that is very enticing, as is its performance number.
This model went from 0-60 in just over 4.1 seconds, and if you want to go even faster, you can get the hellcat model, which will take things to the absolute insane next level.
You might be wondering how this is so much faster than the 5.7 liter engine or some of the competition, even though 470 horsepower is less than some other options out there.
The big reason for this is that, in addition to having more power, it also has a much more aggressive final drive ratio than the regular 5.7 liter engine.
Another difference between the 5.7 and the 5.7 with toe and go is that if you get the toe and go option, it gets the same rear axle ratio and front axle ratio as this model.
Remember that 0-60 performance isn’t just about the engine; it’s also about the transmission, final drive ratio, and tire size.
The wrangler 392 is quite heavy, only about 200 pounds or so lighter than this Durango, which is a very heavy three row crossover thanks to that big v8, but the wrangler also has wider diameter tires on it, which affects the mechanical advantage that the engine has against the road, and that’s the main reason why it’s a few tenths slower.
I’ll get into this a little bit later, but it’s worth noting that the explorer st is not only the fastest version of the explorer, but it’s also the only other rear wheel drive entry in this segment and the only entry that comes close in terms of power.
However, because of the way that vehicle was designed and, of course, the fact that it doesn’t produce quite as much oomph as we find in this, it’s actually in a slightly different performance category below this This stopped in an impressive 110 feet if you get the summer tires on it this model does not have the summer tires on it so I opted for the all-season tires which stretched the six to zero stopping distance for this model out to 115 feet that’s definitely an impressive stopping distance for a vehicle this heavy it all has to do with the tire size 295 with tires all the way around i’ve gotten a lot of comments and questions about the durango and its handling ability so lee i’ve had If you get the v8 engines, they’re obviously heavier and more weight is on the front axle, but regardless of how you slice it, less of this vehicle’s weight is going to be on the front axle than something like an honda pilot or a highlander, and it’s also going to have a very different driving dynamic because it’s one of the very few non-sports cars in the mainstream segment that has a perfect weight balance.
If you get the adaptive suspension, however, the character of the vehicle changes, and it feels much more planted and sorted.
The suspension is firmer, and it controls the rear suspension a lot better, so you’ll notice a little less lift in the rear.
You can certainly push this a lot harder than you probably should, and that’s always been the problem with some of Dodge’s srt vehicles to be perfectly honest.
Keep in mind that adaptive dampers are necessary for the proper operation of not only the performance systems, but also the towing ability in the back.
They help keep the suspension from bottoming out in the back if you have a lot of tongue weight on the back.
One thing that has always struck me as odd about the Durango lineup is that we don’t get the adaptive air suspension that we do in the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
In terms of fuel efficiency, the less said about it, the better.
I reset my trip computer 400 miles ago and haven’t done any towing so I can try and be a little bit fair on the fuel economy average i’ve been getting 14.9 mpg over that 300 miles so as far as fuel economy goes I guess i’ll give this a d question mark because i’m not sure what you could compare this to other than maybe a high performance bmw x7 or a mercedes-benz gls but those are a In terms of performance, the bmw x7 could be a better contender, albeit it won’t tow nearly as much as the durango, however certain models and years of the x7 can potentially tow up to 7,000 pounds.
If you want to go close to the durango’s level of performance in the x7, you have two possibilities.
The x7 m50i will get you from zero to sixty in 4.5 seconds and will set you back 99 800 dollars.
The alpena xb7 will get you from zero to sixty in four seconds flat and will set you back 144,300 dollars.
Now, to be clear, I’m not saying that the durango is a competitor to the x7 or the mercedes-benz gls because I’m just smushing these two together here obviously they’re in It’s one of my favorite huge suvs in the US right now, but they’re going to be a lot more costly, so depending on precisely what you’re looking for, that’s as near as you can go since there’s really nothing else on the market that can perform like this, I suppose you’d say.
Durango Durango Durango Durango Durango Durango Durango Durango Durango Durango Durango Durango Dur Let’s look at the ford explorer st next, which is supposedly in between the 5.7 liter and 6.4 liter engines in terms of performance in the durango lineup, which is why it’ll be less costly at $54,740, or around ten thousand dollars less expensive, which is fairly sensible.
The explorer is no slouch, doing 0-60 in 5.2 seconds, but it is a full second slower than the durango.
The explorer has a similar driving nature to the durango because it is also a rear-wheel drive unibody vehicle, and these two are currently the only ones in this segment.
However, it is clear that Ford did not design the explorer to directly compete with the durango srt.
The explorer has a reasonable amount of power from its twin turbo v6 engine, but that v6 delivers power in a different way, and it also does not deliver as much power or torque as the durango.
My overall impression of the Durango is that it is a very niche product.
If you’re looking for a regular v6 three-row vehicle, there are better options out there, but if you’re looking for something with a v8 engine in this price range, it really is the only option.
If you’re looking for something that can tow those heavier weights while still being mid-sized, easier to park, and drive around than a full-size suv, this is going to be the One of the reasons I leased a Dodge Durango instead of buying one in 2018, which led to me getting this Durango 392, is that I was hoping the explorer would be very similar.
I was hoping for something new and fresh with high towing capabilities, but the reality is that so few people tow with a midsize crossover that Dodge has the market cornered and nobody else has seen the need to try and enter this segment.
The engine sounds great, it’s a lot of fun, and it makes an excellent tow vehicle as a result of the general design of the vehicle, which is why they were able to bump towing capacity quite so high and interesting little specification here that I’ll end the video with is that I was able to calculate a 0 to 60 run in the vehicle with a trailer attached to it and it managed 0-60 in 5 seconds with my usual gps monitoring equipment on the vehicle.
I’ll see you all later, you