We all know Dodge’s formula for spicing up their car and truck line by now. Lift the hood, cram as much engine under there as you can and then launch it out into the world.
Dodge’s 2018 Durango SRT follows that same formula, and this one will be something to be reckoned with in the race to get home after soccer practice. By shoving the same 392 cubic-inch mill found in the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT under the hood, Dodge has created a formidable three-row SUV that should get your groceries home well before the ice cream melts. Dodge is claiming the 475 hp/470 lb-ft V8 will launch you and your clan from 0-60 in 4.4 seconds and accomplish an NHRA-certified quarter mile in the 12s. New higher-rate springs and rear sway ensure that you can actually take curves too instead of just living your life a quarter mile at a time.
It doesn’t matter how quickly you can get your new family cruise missile up to terminal velocity, though, if you can’t haul it back down to Earth with some sort of control and composure. Dodge has that handled too. Six-pot Brembo calipers on the front, with four-pots aft, clamp down on massive vented rotors, ensuring you stop as well as you go.
With this great power comes great responsibility. All that horsepower and handling isn’t any good if you can’t use it safely and correctly, so Dodge is treating every new Durango SRT owner to a day at Bob Bondurant’s School of High Performance Driving. Unless you plan on taking your truck to the track, it’s probably the best way to really understand what your new rocket is capable of.
Of course, you’ll get all the comfort and convenience expected of a model’s flagship, like heated and ventilated seats, lots of leather and suede, an infotainment screen and a 506-watt sound system. You can even get real carbon fiber trim.
Just so nobody mistakes your truck for their own boring, pedestrian Durango after the PTA meeting, special wheel flares, badges, black wheels, a lowered stance, unique hood and model-specific bumpers make it obvious that this ain’t your ordinary Dodge.
Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT starts around $66,000, so I wouldn’t expect this sibling to be much different when it drops this Fall.
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