High Power in a Three-Row Package

The Dodge Durango has always been the Dodge of SUVs. Even its slower versions were quick, and the company was not afraid to throw its biggest engines under the hood. To wit, for 2023 Dodge is bringing back the supercharged Hellcat engine to the Durango, but for 2022 the Durango SRT 392 is the top dog.

The Durango landed in the late ’90s to battle the Ford Explorers and Jeep Grand Cherokees of the world. The market has only seen three generations since then, but the SUV has been updated continuously over the last 10 years.

For 2021 the Durango received a light restyling with a new bumper, new grille textures and new wheel designs. It added new LED headlights, LED daytime running lamps and a new spoiler. The badges on the SRT models are in satin. It still seats seven passengers with three rows of seats and can tow 8,700 pounds.

The interior got a redesign too with a new driver-centric cockpit, instrument panel, center console and door uppers. Like the Dodge Challenger it has a 10.1-inch touchscreen in the center of the dash angled towards the driver with Uconnect 5 software. A digital information cluster is standard and customizable, giving drivers whatever information they need.

Drivers now have easier access to the comfort controls with dedicated buttons for heated and cooled seats. Toggle switches bright accents and accent stitching is standard across the Durango range. The center console offers more storage and new interior colors are available too.

This SRT model comes with unique features including a unique SRT “Smoke Show” start-up animation, a unique serpentine font used throughout the Durango display system, and SRT Performance Pages, which provide information on vehicle performance, including timers, g-force, gauges, engine and dyno readouts. All Durangos have drive modes for Track, Sport, Auto, Snow, Tow and Custom.

As far as non-luxury automakers go, Dodge is the king of driver’s seats. They are soft and comfortable, and have good side bolsters to keep the driver in place during more spirited maneuvers. It has adjustments for the seat bottom as well, to help get the correct driving angle.

The upgraded Uconnect 5 system was flawless with standard Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and wireless charging. The screen has big mode buttons that are easy to find while driving, and three big dials control volume, tuning and climate, making that an easy change when driving as well.

There is room in the second row for three adults. That row folds down to access the third row, which should be saved for small children. That third row also folds flat, offering a ton of cargo space when only carrying five passengers.

Firing up the 6.4-liter V8, the Durango rumbles from the dual exhaust with everything feeling more angry than the average SUV. The V8 makes 475 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque in this application with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive.

Takeoffs, though loud, are surprisingly smooth from the Durango. Shifts are easy, until the driver really shoves the pedal down, in which case the vehicle will leap forward. With all wheel drive there’s no wheelspin no matter how hard the driver takes off. In perfect conditions and using the launch control function the Durango DRT 392 will get to 60 miles per hour in just 4.4 seconds while the quarter mile goes by in 12.9 seconds.

The 2022 Dodge Durango comes with more than 60 available safety features, including standard blind-spot monitoring, seven standard air bags, full-length three-row side-curtain airbags, standard front-seat-mounted side-thorax air bags, front-row active head restraints and standard trailer-sway control. Forward collision warning with crash mitigation, adaptive cruise control, Rear Cross Path detection and Uconnect Access with 9-1-1 call are optional.

The Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee are still the main competitors to the Dodge Durango. The most powerful Explorer comes with a twin-turbocharged V6 and delivers 400 horsepower while the Grand Cherokee offers a 5.7-liter V8 making 357 horsepower.

The 2022 Dodge Durango SRT 392 starts at $61,195. The Explorer ST is much less expensive at about $50,000 while the V8 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk comes in at $55,425, though it only offers two rows. To get a third row, buyers would have to step up to the Overland L trim, starting at $61,225.

The Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride also have three rows, but neither offers a V8 if that’s what a buyer is looking for. However, with V6s they’re not annoyingly slow, rated at 291 horsepower.

If aggressive speed is on a buyers list, the Dodge Durango should be the first stop. More off-road inclined customers would probably like the Jeep more, and the Explorer splits the difference.