Dodge Durango third generation

The story

The third-generation Durango dropped the truck frame of its predecessors and borrowed much of its underbody from the Jeep Grand Cherokee, keeping rear-drive proportions, V8 power and serious towing while finally gaining a civilized ride and a cabin worth sitting in. Then Dodge kept turning the dial. An 8-speed automatic arrived in 2014, the SRT with its 6.4-liter HEMI in 2018, and in 2021 the supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat, with 710 hp, a claimed 0-60 mph time of about 3.5 seconds and the same 3,946 kg (8,700 lb) tow rating.

Its age has turned into an advantage. Rivals have downsized to turbo sixes, fours and hybrids, leaving the Durango almost alone as an attainable V8 family hauler, and it still offers 4 engines running from sensible V6 to gloriously unhinged. It keeps proper buttons, it drinks heavily, and owners adore it anyway. In 2025, its best year since 2005, it accounted for roughly 80 percent of everything Dodge sold in America. A successor is planned, and it inherits a very hard act to follow.