[Drivesthebeast]

Well, today we drove the 1st vehicle on our short list of possible Escape replacements. It was a 2011 Dodge Durango Citadel, with AWD, the Hemi, and all the toys. I know that the 11's have a 5 spd, and the 12's have a 6spd, and that the ones next year might get an 8spd, but I gotta say...I was impressed.

The engine is actually configured to operate as a V-4 whenever possible with the MDS being deployed (denoted by an "ECO" being displayed in the driver info screen), and you know what...it works! I couldn't feel ANY transition from V-4 to V-8...and when the Hemi was engaged in full-force, it had tons of torque

The seats and other creature comforts where too many to look at or try during our small drive around the neighbourhood, but they felt comfy, the layout of all the controls was nicely done, and there was a lot of room in the cargo hold as well. Even behind the 3rd row, the rear cargo area was decent.

I'll post more thoughts later, but all in all, a really nice vehicle!

[smith21]

had one as a rental for a few weeks and had to say it was fairly comfortable. Did a 5 1/2 hour drive it in even and can't say i was too sore after it like i have been with other SUV's or cars...have to agree with u that dodge made a decent vehicle here...but i'd still stick with ford in the long haul lol

[adamzx5]

The fam has a 2004 durango limited with the hemi. Its just a torque monster.

[Mystake]

I strongly disliked the 2nd gen durangos... but I miss my 2001. Had a 5.9L and it too had gobs of power. By far my favourite truck.

I wonder what their gas mileage is now like?

[NikiterZTS]

Off topic
Has anyone checked out those new 2012 SRT-8 Jeeps yet?
Dang! 6.4L 465bhp
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/10586...ive-photos

[Flofocus]

can you tow anything with the srt8? The previous you could not - due to the center exit exhaust.

[GFXjamie]

the new durangos are a very nice vehicle. I can say myself having driven one they are a wiked truck. very comfortable and very powerful

if they are running an 8 speed down the road, it would be the truck to have IMO with all the creature comforts, fuel economy at that point along with power delivery. would be hard to beat in its own segment

[Drivesthebeast]

The truck had tons of punch, and while one could become addicted to that much torque, you can always drive it properly, and like GFX already mentioned, you CAN get awesome fuel economy with a V8 like this one, as you don't have to make the engine make any effort to accelerate or hold a speed. I know a V8 Durango would likely eat my Escape for fuel economy, as mine's got a 3.0L, 4spd auto, and full time AWD that can't be deactivated. I find I have to thrash the drivetrain in the Escape to get it to move with a sense of urgency, and also for making quick passes at highway speed too. The Hemi would do the same work with 1/3 of the throttle.

We will have to take a longer harder look at one of these again, but my wife also wants to look at the Traverse (which to me means LTZ or nothing), Acadia (SLT or better plz), and possibly the new Explorer and even the Flex (AWD 3.5TT only for me!). I really want a full sized SUV like a Tahoe/Yukon or a Aspen or Expedition, as the dealerships are practically giving them away (they are the Anti-Christ of vehicles as far as the tree-hugging NIMBY types are concerned) that not everyone wants anymore. But the wife wants to look only at CUV's, and the new Durango is the closest to a full size SUV as I'm gonna get.

Ultimately, if we want to do things right, I think we buy a lease returned or Demo CUV when the Escape is almost (or fully) paid off, get rid of the Escape, and buy a 2nd car to pop around town in...I'm thinking 1st Gen Foci, maybe an 04...

Anyways, I'm curious to see what's out there (just gotta stop researching used Nissan Skyline importing stuff...lol)

L8tz

[NikiterZTS]

(11-02-2011, 02:40 AM)Flofocus Wrote: can you tow anything with the srt8? The previous you could not - due to the center exit exhaust.

Apperently yes, up to 5000lbs.

Another off topic: My buddy in 2002 S4 (450whp/450wtq) raced my other bud in Jeep SRT-8 (500whp).
S4 took him by 3-4 cars. What a race!

[Mystake]

just remember that dodge trannies aren't known for their durability.

[adamzx5]

(11-03-2011, 02:43 AM)Mystake Wrote: just remember that dodge trannies aren't known for their durability.

Unless your being a twat , they will last a really long time.

[Scorcher000]

(11-03-2011, 04:04 AM)adamzx5 Wrote:

(11-03-2011, 02:43 AM)Mystake Wrote: just remember that dodge trannies aren't known for their durability.

Unless your being a twat , they will last a really long time.

No even if your not a twat lol. My moms Journey is 17 months old. 1 Tranny and 2 rear ends. But Chrysler keep replacing the rear brakes every time we had it in and never really looked at the leaking oil pan and transfer case lol.

I have a friend with a 1500 Ram and after his 4th Tranny finnaly went and traded in for a F-150.

I've witnessed people park the 1500 Ram, in 2 different cases, and have it roll out of Park and hit the vehicle opposite to it.

They make really nice looking cars and trucks. I love the SRT line up and the new Charger is Sexy!!!. But never will I personally own one. Either it's just me but the quality isn't there. But some can say that about Ford and other companies too. Theres an ass for every seat lol.

[ZTWsquared]

(11-03-2011, 10:33 AM)Scorcher000 Wrote:

(11-03-2011, 04:04 AM)adamzx5 Wrote:

(11-03-2011, 02:43 AM)Mystake Wrote: just remember that dodge trannies aren't known for their durability.

Unless your being a twat , they will last a really long time.

No even if your not a twat lol. My moms Journey is 17 months old. 1 Tranny and 2 rear ends. But Chrysler keep replacing the rear brakes every time we had it in and never really looked at the leaking oil pan and transfer case lol.

I have a friend with a 1500 Ram and after his 4th Tranny finnaly went and traded in for a F-150.

I've witnessed people park the 1500 Ram, in 2 different cases, and have it roll out of Park and hit the vehicle opposite to it.

They make really nice looking cars and trucks. I love the SRT line up and the new Charger is Sexy!!!. But never will I personally own one. Either it's just me but the quality isn't there. But some can say that about Ford and other companies too. Theres an ass for every seat lol.

It's not just you ... Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler are all near the bottom in the latest J.D. Power 2011 vehicle dependability study.

http://www.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease...ID=2011029

[adamzx5]

(11-03-2011, 11:04 AM)ZTWsquared Wrote:

(11-03-2011, 10:33 AM)Scorcher000 Wrote:

(11-03-2011, 04:04 AM)adamzx5 Wrote:

(11-03-2011, 02:43 AM)Mystake Wrote: just remember that dodge trannies aren't known for their durability.

Unless your being a twat , they will last a really long time.

No even if your not a twat lol. My moms Journey is 17 months old. 1 Tranny and 2 rear ends. But Chrysler keep replacing the rear brakes every time we had it in and never really looked at the leaking oil pan and transfer case lol.

I have a friend with a 1500 Ram and after his 4th Tranny finnaly went and traded in for a F-150.

I've witnessed people park the 1500 Ram, in 2 different cases, and have it roll out of Park and hit the vehicle opposite to it.

They make really nice looking cars and trucks. I love the SRT line up and the new Charger is Sexy!!!. But never will I personally own one. Either it's just me but the quality isn't there. But some can say that about Ford and other companies too. Theres an ass for every seat lol.

It's not just you ... Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler are all near the bottom in the latest J.D. Power 2011 vehicle dependability study.

http://www.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease...ID=2011029

All north american vehicles have the worst quality lets face it. They are getting better though. Its because the companies know they have us by the balls , with cheaper prices and looks. As long as there is people to buy the crap they put out now they wont fix the quality of the vehicles. Fords decision to bring some of there euro line up over here will help them greatly. They way I look at it people there make alot less then us , so in order to sell them cars they have to be reliable or else they will loose alot of money in Europe. Imo

[Flofocus]

My Nitro's tranny shifts very hard, always thought there was something wrong with it but it hasn't crapped out on me.....yet. I've brought it to the dealership to complain about it, they said it needed a new flash as part of a recall that will fix the issue, they did the flash and nothing improved so now I just live with it.

[OAC_Sparky]

(11-03-2011, 02:43 PM)adamzx5 Wrote: Fords decision to bring some of there euro line up over here will help them greatly. They way I look at it people there make alot less then us , so in order to sell them cars they have to be reliable or else they will loose alot of money in Europe. Imo

You're wrong, people in Europe don't make less money than us; on average they make more or the same, with much more time off. Also, much of the workforce is unionized. Almost every German one is.

Where the difference lies is the availability of an established, reliable means of mass transit; because of this a car becomes a LUXURY which means they can charge more money, which in turn means that they can make a higher quality product. Part of the reason we didn't get the Euro Focus earlier is because people wanted the Focus to stay cheap, the tooling for ours was already paid for. Ford didn't want to invest the money at the time because the ROI wasn't there yet.

Example: A Focus RS, is about $50,000 in Canadian dollars. Most people here would not pay $50,000 for any Ford, let alone a Focus. You get the average Focus tire kicker into a showroom (ie many here) and you hear waaawaaawaaa $30,000 for a Focus. Well, if you want a $15,000 car, that's what you get. That's why early NA Focii had issues, because people whined about the price so they had to make it cheaper in order to sell.