You could make a case that more is not necessarily better.
If we’ve learned anything over the last decade, it’s that excess breeds more excess. The value size leads to super size, and the super size leads to Christmas Eve marathons of Honey Boo Boo. It just ain’t pretty.
For too long, SUVs grew, grew and grew beyond the limits of what our roads could handle and beyond what our shores could extract from the center of the earth and wisely, we retreated. However, there are some automotive vestiges from the “naughty aughts,” and they’ve learned their lesson.
Behold the 2014 Dodge Durango, which after returning from a short hiatus several years ago, has been freshened this year. The biggest difference this time around is the inclusion of more forward gears, from five to eight, and a slick new exterior.
More, in this case, really is better.
First, the Durango’s powerplant didn’t change from 2013. The same 3.6-liter V6, 290-horsepower mill is the main attraction. A 5.7-liter V8 is available, which produces 360 horsepower, and would be the likely pick for Durango buyers looking to tow bigger toys (its tow rating is 7,400 lbs. compared to the six’s admirable 6,200 lbs.) but the smaller engine is really the best option for most of the Durango’s duty.
Mainly that duty is shuttling families around town, to school and back, practices and dinners, recitals and you get the idea. That’s where the newly planted ZF eight-speed transmission makes hay. The three more forward cogs helps the Durango muster nearly 10 percent better fuel economy (in all-wheel drive it manages 17/24 mpg) and a much smoother ride than the outgoing five-speed.
All that is good news considering the seven-passenger SUV is really unchanged on the inside. Since it’s reintroduction into the lineup a few years ago as Dodge’s body-on-frame SUV variant of the very good Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Durango’s interior has been focused on families looking for anything other than a minivan to haul their kids around. For that, there are available DVD — with Blu-Ray! — screens in the back, along with a host of other goodies that’ll drive the price of this SUV well toward $50,000. Pricing starts at around $31,000, but like most others in its class can be littered with options that turn window stickers into window billboards.
For drivers and passengers, the Durango receives Chrysler’s updated display and information dash displays. An 8.4-inch display for navigation, climate controls and audio controls are easy to use and see (although some functions like the heated steering wheel and rear view mirror dimmer functions are buried in menus) as is the 7-inch customizable instrument cluster. The cluster first appeared on the Dodge Dart and has been making its way around the Chrysler group, and mostly it’s easy to use without being cumbersome.
Interior materials have been freshened up too, and the soft-touch materials and stitching throughout are thoughtful touches that otherwise make a sea of black look mildly interesting. Despite the Durango’s fairly mundane duty, the dash layout and accents actually make the big SUV feel somewhat sporty — even if the 0-60 time is somewhere around 8 seconds.
Our 2014 Durango Limited with all-wheel drive, rear seat entertainment and a premium package blew well past $45,765, which can be a bit pricey for a Dodge, especially when you consider the competition such as the Nissan Pathfinder. The Durango doesn’t feel as cramped as others, and considering the materials on the inside, actually holds its own against SUVs like Mercedes’ GLK and Audi’s Q7. Additional goodies like adaptive cruise and lane-departure warnings can be fitted to the Durango, further adding to its safety cred.
Driving the Durango isn’t a mess either. Our tester, fitted with the V6 was sedate and quiet, without a lot of body roll going around corners and up mountains. The 290 horses is plenty adequate for running up and down mountain passes and the ZF’s box doesn’t make a habit of searching for the right gear when passing.
It’s a sane, smart way to haul sizeable families and Dodge did well by freshening up a car that was fairly good to begin with. I guess more is better in certain circumstances after all.
Aaron Cole is managing editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at acole@aurorasentinel.com