Durango V6 driving review vs. V6 FWD USA Competition.
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Durango V6 driving review vs. V6 FWD USA Competition.
Most people post questions, but I wanted to add a topic about the competition. Maybe a little vain and pompous, but F*** it, I'm not doing this for ad dollars. That and now that the 2014 is out I've been daydreaming about getting a new Durango and have been testing out the competition. Not that I wanted too really. I had a fender bender in a parking lot and then my neighbor rear ended my car recently while it was parked on the street. Thus I rented an Explorer for and an Acadia for each over a week.
Anyways here are my impressions. The end result is I think Durango is the winner. Mostly because the driving dynamics. Both the Acadia and Explorer V6 engines were sprightly (quick to rev high) but as a FWD competition it felt like its losing control. The Acadia was the worst in this regard, it was like the car's front wheels left the road or something as it was just veering sideways. The Explorer was ok, it didn't flail about when gunning it for power but it was strained to deliver power making a straining noise and its got this pull feeling from the FWD that lacks any fun. For me the Durango feels like a sport car digging its heals into the ground and rocketing forward when I want get the power going.
1. Explorer - 2014. (3rd place)
Overall - Everything about the Ford requires 4-5 steps to do anything. Just a bunch of complexity. If I want to fold the 3'rd row I have to follow a bunch of steps. I couldn't fold the second row either. The center console also was too complex without any tactic buttons and only touch sensitive pictures for A/C.
Driving Dynamics: not as bouncy as the Durango can be on the dips in the road but I felt a lot more. Heck I hit a dip on the freeway, and it felt really bad. Like I fell out of a seat onto my spine. Dear god it hurt.
Engine: There is low end torque available, not bad. But when accelerating to merge on the freeway the engine sounds really stressed and its guzzling fuel. At constant LA freeway speed (70-80mph) its about 10-15% lower fuel economy than the Durango.
Transmission: for the most part in the beginning it was problematic but after awhile it was eager to downshift and rev the engine. Not a lot of issues here.
Interior: Cushy but temperamental seats. Most annoying memory seat of my life. Every time I stopped the car the seats would start moving all the way backwards. Otherwise when it was staying put I enjoyed the seat until I felt the car kick my spine above. I’m not kidding, it hurt. Also interior lights unlike the Durango would not shut off. Apparently Ford doesn't allow you to turn it off? Woke up the kid sleeping in the backseat when I stopped. Otherwise the folding third row was just as counter-intuitive and annoying to deal with. Nothing is simple. It requires 4-5 steps to fold the seat or to raise it up. Note 3rd row headrests are laughably large and I had to stop and open the tailgate to lower them after my kid was there.
Style: It looks admittedly good IMHO, but not as sexy as the Durango.
Price: Lowest model doesn't have as much as the Durango and still costs $$$$ more.
Conclusion: 11 days, I sort of like the look and the front leather seats. But it drove like a Durango that got out of shape needing to rev a lot to get power. It also felt bloated. While its only 3 inches wider the doors are so thin that I couldn't put my elbow on them, it felt like a foot. Also the doors closed like they were soda cans. Mileage was 19mpg on a trip that I get 21 mpg with the Durango.
2. Acadia 2014 (8- days) 2nd place. Wrong wheeled drive.
Overall - I hate the look. It is like an animal that got a nose job. The back end and front don't look they really go together. Interior: center counsel was good (better than Ford's overly complex attempt at tech and dash). Mileage was expected to be terrible from the revving and it actually returned 18.9 mpg on my weekly commute that I average 20/21 mpg in the Durango.
Driving Dynamics: problems, strongly accelerating and the car moves sideways or feels like its twisting sideways. Then I want to merge and accelerate and the car felt like its bouncing sideways onto the lane, it was almost out of control. Otherwise fine over bumps didn't really notice a difference verse the Durango for the bumps in the road.
Engine: there is power but the body/frame cannot handle it. It didn't sound as strained as the Ford and felt like it had the most torque of the bunch.
Transmission: I didn't like it, Ford's 6-speed was better here. The Durango 5-speed does a good job so I never really had any complaints against it. Hard to compare. The Acadia drove me nuts though on gear changes for awhile until I found a good spot.
Interior: the one I rented was a luxury car price, but Ford had better front seats than the Acadia by far. GM's Acadia is like they put leather on a plastic beach chair and said now give us $2K for that. Little to any comfort padding. They're not worth the money. For the Durango I don't have the fancy adjustable seats and I would like more lumbar support. The Durango seats are middle ground between not enough and super comfy.
Style: The nose looks fine, the body looks diseased.
Price: Like the Ford costs $$$$ more and offers less standard items.
Conclusion: Mileage was fine, engine is a FWD mistake, style is lacking beyond the hood. Seats needed some cushions. Second row captain chairs were a plus.
3. Durango -2011 [First place]
Overall: It’s a SPORT utility vehicle with RWD and has a 500+ mile range. I had to fill the explorer twice in one week! What a drag. My Durango hardly sees a gas station and the FWD cars have tiny girlie tanks that needed constant attention.
Driving Dynamic: best ride. Most comfortable of the 3 on my daily commute. Explorer handles one of big bumps better as it didn’t bounce up and down, but the Explorer also sucked at another one at speed and kicked my spine. When accelerating the RWD feels fantastic.
Engine: feels great when it is over 3500 rpm (for instance going 40 to 80 mph). Of the 3 it doesn’t want to rev as high but the trade-off is better fuel economy.
Transmission: No issues. I don’t ever feel like it is in the wrong gear as the Acadia/Explorer.
Interior: looks great, not overly complex. However blue U-connect console and red accent lights on dash looks schizophrenic to some. While I thought it was good to be different to avoid being bland, I’ve had people point it out. The 3rd row is fine for even adults and those 3rd row headrests fold flat at the touch of a button.
Style: Awesome.
Price: most affordable.
Conclusion: best tow rating and gas mileage (see link below). Most likely to buy (again). Also had the best price.
Fuel Economy:
https://www.fuelly.com/car/dodge/dur...sDriver/147336
Anyways here are my impressions. The end result is I think Durango is the winner. Mostly because the driving dynamics. Both the Acadia and Explorer V6 engines were sprightly (quick to rev high) but as a FWD competition it felt like its losing control. The Acadia was the worst in this regard, it was like the car's front wheels left the road or something as it was just veering sideways. The Explorer was ok, it didn't flail about when gunning it for power but it was strained to deliver power making a straining noise and its got this pull feeling from the FWD that lacks any fun. For me the Durango feels like a sport car digging its heals into the ground and rocketing forward when I want get the power going.
1. Explorer - 2014. (3rd place)
Overall - Everything about the Ford requires 4-5 steps to do anything. Just a bunch of complexity. If I want to fold the 3'rd row I have to follow a bunch of steps. I couldn't fold the second row either. The center console also was too complex without any tactic buttons and only touch sensitive pictures for A/C.
Driving Dynamics: not as bouncy as the Durango can be on the dips in the road but I felt a lot more. Heck I hit a dip on the freeway, and it felt really bad. Like I fell out of a seat onto my spine. Dear god it hurt.
Engine: There is low end torque available, not bad. But when accelerating to merge on the freeway the engine sounds really stressed and its guzzling fuel. At constant LA freeway speed (70-80mph) its about 10-15% lower fuel economy than the Durango.
Transmission: for the most part in the beginning it was problematic but after awhile it was eager to downshift and rev the engine. Not a lot of issues here.
Interior: Cushy but temperamental seats. Most annoying memory seat of my life. Every time I stopped the car the seats would start moving all the way backwards. Otherwise when it was staying put I enjoyed the seat until I felt the car kick my spine above. I’m not kidding, it hurt. Also interior lights unlike the Durango would not shut off. Apparently Ford doesn't allow you to turn it off? Woke up the kid sleeping in the backseat when I stopped. Otherwise the folding third row was just as counter-intuitive and annoying to deal with. Nothing is simple. It requires 4-5 steps to fold the seat or to raise it up. Note 3rd row headrests are laughably large and I had to stop and open the tailgate to lower them after my kid was there.
Style: It looks admittedly good IMHO, but not as sexy as the Durango.
Price: Lowest model doesn't have as much as the Durango and still costs $$$$ more.
Conclusion: 11 days, I sort of like the look and the front leather seats. But it drove like a Durango that got out of shape needing to rev a lot to get power. It also felt bloated. While its only 3 inches wider the doors are so thin that I couldn't put my elbow on them, it felt like a foot. Also the doors closed like they were soda cans. Mileage was 19mpg on a trip that I get 21 mpg with the Durango.
2. Acadia 2014 (8- days) 2nd place. Wrong wheeled drive.
Overall - I hate the look. It is like an animal that got a nose job. The back end and front don't look they really go together. Interior: center counsel was good (better than Ford's overly complex attempt at tech and dash). Mileage was expected to be terrible from the revving and it actually returned 18.9 mpg on my weekly commute that I average 20/21 mpg in the Durango.
Driving Dynamics: problems, strongly accelerating and the car moves sideways or feels like its twisting sideways. Then I want to merge and accelerate and the car felt like its bouncing sideways onto the lane, it was almost out of control. Otherwise fine over bumps didn't really notice a difference verse the Durango for the bumps in the road.
Engine: there is power but the body/frame cannot handle it. It didn't sound as strained as the Ford and felt like it had the most torque of the bunch.
Transmission: I didn't like it, Ford's 6-speed was better here. The Durango 5-speed does a good job so I never really had any complaints against it. Hard to compare. The Acadia drove me nuts though on gear changes for awhile until I found a good spot.
Interior: the one I rented was a luxury car price, but Ford had better front seats than the Acadia by far. GM's Acadia is like they put leather on a plastic beach chair and said now give us $2K for that. Little to any comfort padding. They're not worth the money. For the Durango I don't have the fancy adjustable seats and I would like more lumbar support. The Durango seats are middle ground between not enough and super comfy.
Style: The nose looks fine, the body looks diseased.
Price: Like the Ford costs $$$$ more and offers less standard items.
Conclusion: Mileage was fine, engine is a FWD mistake, style is lacking beyond the hood. Seats needed some cushions. Second row captain chairs were a plus.
3. Durango -2011 [First place]
Overall: It’s a SPORT utility vehicle with RWD and has a 500+ mile range. I had to fill the explorer twice in one week! What a drag. My Durango hardly sees a gas station and the FWD cars have tiny girlie tanks that needed constant attention.
Driving Dynamic: best ride. Most comfortable of the 3 on my daily commute. Explorer handles one of big bumps better as it didn’t bounce up and down, but the Explorer also sucked at another one at speed and kicked my spine. When accelerating the RWD feels fantastic.
Engine: feels great when it is over 3500 rpm (for instance going 40 to 80 mph). Of the 3 it doesn’t want to rev as high but the trade-off is better fuel economy.
Transmission: No issues. I don’t ever feel like it is in the wrong gear as the Acadia/Explorer.
Interior: looks great, not overly complex. However blue U-connect console and red accent lights on dash looks schizophrenic to some. While I thought it was good to be different to avoid being bland, I’ve had people point it out. The 3rd row is fine for even adults and those 3rd row headrests fold flat at the touch of a button.
Style: Awesome.
Price: most affordable.
Conclusion: best tow rating and gas mileage (see link below). Most likely to buy (again). Also had the best price.
Fuel Economy:
https://www.fuelly.com/car/dodge/dur...sDriver/147336
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 844
Likes: 1
From: Houston, Texas
"Driving Dynamics: problems, strongly accelerating and the car moves sideways or feels like its twisting sideways. Then I want to merge and accelerate and the car felt like its bouncing sideways onto the lane, it was almost out of control"
Yep same issue with the Pilot. Tons of torque and power for a 6 but no control when you put your foot in it. Dangerous.
My impressions of the explorer were very similar. Nice car, but drove too much like a car and was very uncomfortable for anyone over 5'11". Rode in a buddies loaded explorer yesterday and couldn't wait to get back into my Durango.
Yep same issue with the Pilot. Tons of torque and power for a 6 but no control when you put your foot in it. Dangerous.
My impressions of the explorer were very similar. Nice car, but drove too much like a car and was very uncomfortable for anyone over 5'11". Rode in a buddies loaded explorer yesterday and couldn't wait to get back into my Durango.
