This was posted on dodgedurango.net but may bear repeating here. The gang on the other site believed a better comparison would have been made if they used a V6 vs HEMI but, the reviewers give some excellent points





URL to the other Dodge Forum
http://www.dodgedurango.net/forums/d...ison-test.html

 

Nice find....Love my DD!

 

I was swayed mostly by Edmunds and Consumer Reports' early articles on the DD. We drove a '13 and really like it but the dealer (in Feb. 2013) would give me only $5500 on an '06 Pacifica with 65K miles, (I later sold it for $8500) so we walked.
I found a bone stock '12 Crew in Chattanooga with 21K miles and asking only $24K, about $4K under book value at the time. (It was at a Ford/Chrysler dealer and he had it 90 days and was going to take it back to auction the next day. He REALLY needed to get his money back.)
I've been very happy so far. Lots of room (6'2" 275#), comfortable, stylish, easy to handle and gives good mpg even at 75-80. My favorite feature is the back-up camera. I've had a glitch with the "Easy Exit" function with the driver's seat that has been resolved. No problems with the heads or TIPM -- yet (?).
The car is almost out of warranty for the 3/36 bumper-to-bumper coverage and we are debating whether or not to get an extended warranty, even though Consumer's Reports recommends against it.
If it got stolen tomorrow I'd definitely go get another one, this time with a Hemi. :-) Why? Because I can.

 

Thanks for all of the input so far. Was able to check out the DD (and all the others) at the ATL auto show this past weekend. There really are a lot of things to like about the Durango. Is there any update or discussion to follow regarding it's possible end of life? Considering the reviews I have heard and read it would seem more appropriate to double down on this set-up in hopes that it can gain traction in this space. Maybe even slap a Chrysler badge on one and make it the 'upscale model' with slightly less aggressive styling.

Anyway we still have it on the list. Plan to start test driving soon. The end of life thing might kill it for me though as that would seem to really hammer the resale (more so than American cars already get hammered).

 

There has been nothing official from Dodge about the death of the DD. And even if it does parts will be plentiful for years to come. As for resale, it appears to have little effect on the price. As an example, Chrysler stopped making Pacificas in 2008 and in April of 2013 I sold my bone stock '06 Pacifica Touring with 65K miles to a private party for $8500. If you check AutoTrader and Cars.com for that car you'll see the retail prices are still in that neighborhood. So, what ever hit I took it wasn't much.

 

End of life is not likely (there's been a Durango for a looong time) and shouldn't affect resale much. What you have to worry about is gas prices. If they really spike, you'll be hurting, and no one will want your car. Better to lease then.

As for the Toyota, my cousin has one and after he and his wife drove my D, they were sorry they bought a Highlander.

 

It's NOT going away. It's market share is growing and it's already doing very well.

 

This sounds True, my son's mother has a Hyundai Santa Fe and her parents have a Toyota Highlander as well, and in his opinion(granted he is 17 feels that the Rango drives better and has a better feeling of quality. He thinks the Toyota feels cheap inside while he says it feels like the Hyundai is going to tip over in comparison. I can concede with that and like C&D stated, the Durango drives like a Charger.

Chris

 

2013 hemi crew. Flawless in 17,000 miles so far.