My brother has a Murano (2006?) and the tranmission failed after three months. Replaced under warranty and has been alright since,
FF

 

I have owned a 2000 and a 2004 Nissan Frontier. Never had a failure, however one look under the hood at all the hoses, wires, etc going everywhere shows you that it is under-engineered. Take off a few body items here and there and you will see simple attachments and again, under-engineering.

Sorry to hear about your brothers transmission. Doesn't make it a bad brand, just not top of the line either.

IndyDurango

 

Consumer Reports is, sorry for lack of a better word, a Yuppy Magazine that is 100% biased towards the Japanese Imports. It's almost impossible for them to rate one of the Big Three over the Japanese Manufacturers. Let's look at facts though:

1. The Pathfinder has a narrower track than the Durango and a higher center of gravity. While that means it will do narrow trails much better, it also means it is more susceptible to rollovers than the Rango is.

2. Road & Track rated the Durango in a 5 Vehicle comparison. Nissan came in way behind the Rango. http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/...son/index.html

Hope this helps you out.

 

Ya, it does seem like many of the consumer mags pretty much rate Dodge products poorly and imports favorably before the review even starts. We really like the Durango best so far because it will pretty much meet all our requirements, but all I can find is the 4.7. I'd like to find a 5.7 with MDS.

Can you guys tell me what some of your real world MPG's are, and what motor you have. Thanks.

 

I have a 5.7L and average high 13. Alot of modifications probably do not help me, though,
FF

 

You don't buy a Durango looking for good MPG. It delivers in 100s of other ways, but good MPG isn't one of them regardless of year/motor combo.

IndyD

 

True, but when there are some competing SUV's averaging 17-22 mpg, it makes it hard to still look at the Durango, no matter how well it meets all our other needs. I accept bad gas mileage in my Ram. It has 6" lift and 35" mud tires on it, and I can 11-12 mpg. If your telling me the Durango only gets 1 mpg better then that, that's hard to ignore. This will be my wifes daily driver/kid hauler/grocery getter.

 

I have a 2006 Durango Limited, Hemi, 4x4 (of course, I'm in the snow belt), all the toys except for the U-Connect and I pull 17 MPG in the City (mind you, city means non-expressway only) and 21-22 on the highway. Keep in mind, I don't pound on it and it's not modified. Are these numbers high for a Rango? Yeah, they are. But it shows that you can pull respectable numbers out of it if you behave.

Now, what can it do? I've had Expeditions park on my rear bumper before when I was cruising the h-way at about 70. A nice simple punch of the gas and within a few seconds the hemi is at 90 and several hundred feet ahead. It's fun to watch the look their face as it roars and leaves them like they're sittin' still.

Your not going to find awesome mileage in the Rango, but you can find decent.

Now, to find a Hemi. That is the hard part I admit. Might I suggest using Autotrader.com or Cars.com and just begin to search. It took me 3 weeks to find one, and I was looking specifically for the Limited w/Hemi & DVD only. What? I'm short, I need the adjustable pedals, the kids need the DVD since we do an hour long drive every 2 weeks and the Hemi, well that's just because I wanted it.) I only found about a dozen in my area and maybe 50 from chicago to NYC. Be prepared to do some hard looking, don't take the first one you see either. I saw many of them that had been beaten before I finally chose mine.

In the end, I have to admit the Hemi is 100% worth every second I spent searching for it alone.

 

Well, so far, everything I have seen through all the usual search methods has been the 4.7. I have found only one hemi in all my searches to date, and it is an '08 for sale by private party. It's a beauty though. It has 10500 miles on it and loaded to the gills. In our price range too. It's a ways away though, but if we decide on the Durango, it might be the first one I go look at if I can't find any other 5.7's.

My concern is that in the real world, people are getting 13-14 mpg. If it is more like 17-18 mpg, I can live with that, and there is little else out there that will compete with the D on the other requirements we are looking for, esxcpecally if it has the 5.7.

You all have been very helpful so far. Thanks again.

 

The 2008 you are looking at with the 5.7L has MDS and any highway driving will have good milage.

IndyD