Well personally I've had two Jeep Wranglers and four Grand Cherokees (three were the ex's daily drivers) but I'm not an SRT or R/T kinda guy. My Wranglers were weekend warriors and I fished bass tournaments for almost twelve years and bought the wife new GCs every three years with the thought of having a 2nd tow vehicle for vacations or if my trucks ever went down and I needed to get the boat to a tourney.

Almost pulled the trigger on a 'Rango a couple of times, but I guess I just have a "Jeep thing" and have owned seven of them, besides the two Wranglers and four GCs I also owned a big, honkin' J10 pickup way back when.

So give me a big, strong, utilitarian V8 4x4 and you can keep all the cushy stuff and the sports car wannabe SUV crap, whether it be a Grand Cherokee or a Durango. But that's just me...

 

Thanks to all for the replies. I actually really like the chrome accents on the Citadel so that's no reason to abandon it for me. My 07 GC SRT8 has a lot of chrome too. And the cooled seats is a plus as well since I live in Florida.

I do realize I will be downgrading performance handling and horsepower which bums me out a little, however, like I said its all relative because after u have an srt8 awhile, sometimes you just want a quiet, smooth ride. I will miss it though. Chrysler way overpriced the new SRT8 in my opinion though, and the jeep line in general. Otherwise I'd be in another one.

I may look at changing the suspension, brakes, intake, and exhaust in the citadel down the road to beef up the performance a little.

Thanks for all your thoughts! Keep them coming please!

 

All the more reason to start out with the R/T. None of that will come cheap!

 

Now that you have the family, you'll be glad you got the D because you are going to need the third row real soon. And the Citadel is a better choice because you'll also be using the roof rack eventually, and it's nice to have all the goodies for the family. You've got the same engine as the RT, and while it's no SRT8, it is powerful enough when you really need it (which is rare once your kids are in the car).

If you must sport around, get yourself something additional that's small and fun that a car seat won't fit in, and leave the Durango at home. An RT is a poor substitute for this, and IMHO just a visual appeal thing for those who need it.

 

+1000

Thanks for this! You have described pretty much how I feel at this point.. It's nice to hear some logical validation from someone else. I appreciate all the other responses as well, and although I love performance, it's time for a family centered ride. With the SRT8, it's very tough to lay off the gas pedal. The truck just wants to be driven fast. Although its sporty, it's a rougher ride on bumps, and that can be tiresome after awhile as a daily driver for years. Love the brakes and acceleration though all the time.

If all goes well, I'll pass the D to my wife shortly and get a sporty soft riding daily driver for myself, that's if the economy ever recovers with confidence.......

 

I also dislike the excessive chrome but there are just enough nice little extra things on the Citadel that you just can't get on an R/T so we went with the Citadel.

If you really like the R/T, at least one could eventually lower a Citadel and cover up the chrome.

 

I'm a former Jeep GC SRT8 owner and now have a 12" R/T. The Durango is a slug compared to the Jeep but the RT handles almost as well and brakes as well also. I miss that explosive power of the Jeep but the Durango drives and rides so much better. The quality of materials on the Jeep is junk competed to the durango. Much nicer vehicle.