Any reason why the 03 Dakota with 4.7 auto gets better EPA ratings that an 03 Durango with the same equipment? The OLD MPG ratings are even further away with the Dakota rated 15 to 20 while the Durango is rated 14 to 19. What is the difference to make this much difference?
Thanks
bob

 

One word.... Aerodynamics.... Also keep in mind that those Dakota EPA rating is for a 2WD model and the Durango rating is for a 4WD model so the Durango is gonna have the added weight of the extra equipment for 4WD. That equals to a little heavier of a foot to get the wheels moving, then equals a little more fuel burned...

 

the durango is considerably heavier than a dakota, even in the same driveline setup, think about this for a second

the durango and dakota use the same frame, however the dakota is (from the drivers door back) ONLY sheetmetal (the bed) while the durango has 2 rows of seats, 3 walls of sheetmetal, a longer roof, lots of glass, and all the liftgate hardware to make it work, ever 100 lbs added is approximately 2% drop in mpg

so 20 * .96 (roughly) =19.2, and honestly i think 400lbs additional is a little low, i know the 4wd front driveline is roughly 200 lbs on its own