2024 Dodge Durango Review: V8 Powered Beast!

Last week, I got to keep the 2024 Dodge Durango RT for a while and in this article, I’m going to tell you everything about one of the last living pure-Dodge products before we get into EVs in the near future. 

Under the hood, lives a naturally aspirated 5.7-liter HEMI V8 that is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. This 5.7-liter HEMI puts out 360 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque. The fuel economy is 14 MPG around town and then 22 MPG on the highway. 

The Exterior Is Old, But It's Still Relevant

In terms of the exterior design, it definitely needs a newer approach and advanced design language, but I’d say it’s cool, just if you are someone for futuristic design, then it’s not for you. Starting with the hood, it has some cool vents which look absolutely fantastic. 

The headlight design here is quite new and it gives the front a fresher look. Then it has the grille all over the front and the bumper that makes it look as aggressive as you’d expect from a mammoth SUV like this. 

It definitely feels like a hardcore performance SUV up front. 

Around the side, the 2024 Durango gets 295-45 R20 section tires in both axles, and it’s got Red SRT Brembo brakes, and I have to say that the contrast looks very sporty with the gunmetal gray alloys.  Since it’s a luxury SUV, and not so much off-road focused, it has got body-painted fender flares instead of matte black cladding, and you have a HEMI badge on the front fender. 

Zoom out and you’ll find that the 2024 Durango might look pretty conventional in terms of an SUV but overall it does convey the approach of a sleeper on the highway!

At the back, you have the signature light-bar tail-lamp design of the Durango, and below that you have the iconic R/T badge in chrome. Oh, and you’ve got double exhaust tips which means real business, because these days, most carmakers prefer having fake exhaust tips to look sporty. And there goes my big thumbs up to Dodge for being real.   

Interior Feels Premium, But Not The Best

Popping inside, you have soft-touch plastics on the door panel and it’s got a dark trim down below making it look a bit more performance-oriented. The stitching on the seats looks great, it has got the Dodge logo and it’s perforated down the center portion. Getting inside in the second row is easy, and you’ve got decent legroom, seat back-pockets, air vents, and USB ports, and you can adjust the climate with a console-mounted on the roof.

Talking about the roof, it’s got good headroom as well, so you’ll be pretty comfortable in the second row for sure. As for the rear seats, those are for kids in almost all the SUV segments, and in that respect, they’re quite nice in quality and space. 

Now, coming to the front seats, the door has got some more controls for operating the windows, mirrors, door locks, and memory seats. The seats are just as nice and comfy as the others and these are power adjustable. 

Coming to the dashboard, it’s covered in soft-touch leather with stitching going all across the dash. The steering wheel is also covered in thick soft-touch leather, and it houses various controls including the infotainment, cruise control, etc. It’s got the paddle shifters at the back, and what I like most about this setup is the semi-digital gauge cluster. 

Yes, the 2024 Dodge Durango R/T gets a partially analog and partially digital gauge cluster, with a rounded screen in the middle while the tachometer and temperature gauge are analog. With the red accents, it just makes you feel like you’re in a serious machine. 

Now, into the touchscreen display, the reverse camera sucks. It does the job but it feels ancient. For the rest of the infotainment system, it’s got dual-zone climate control settings in the touchscreen, and the response time is quite good. I like how Dodge has managed to set it up inside the dashboard and not put it out of it like most companies do these days. 

Down below, the 2024 Durango gets quite a lot of physical buttons including the volume knob and the air-con adjustment knob, which is always better than having just a touchscreen to operate the necessary options. 

Drive Impression: The Elephant Of The Room

First of all, the exhaust note is a blessing! My god, the raw sound of an American V8 beats everything else almost other than a Lamborghini V12, or a Lexus V10. I mean it’s not the best but V8s are some of the best-sounding engines ever and I’m glad that we still have our chance to get one of these practical V8 SUVs in 2024.

Now, coming to the driving part, the seats are pretty comfortable and suit fine even if you do a bit of hardcore maneuvers. It does feel like an old vehicle as it is one, but the engine and the transmission, the ZF 8-speed unit work fantastically well with each other.

In terms of handling, I won’t say it’s as dynamic as a Cayenne or even a Q7, but unless you’re planning on regular track day sessions, you really don’t need to worry. 

There are three important aspects of the Dodge Durango to be judged on, the sound, the acceleration, and the handling.

The sound is great, acceleration is thrilling, but the handling is a bit on the mammoth side. It does feel like a minivan with a lot of power under the hood. 

Conclusion:

In 2024 you have a ton of options if you wish to get a family SUV and most of them get turbocharged 4-cylinder engines or sometimes V6 ones. If you want better power and a bit better acceleration, then you probably need to get a hybrid as it assists with an electric boost in most cars. 

However, the sheer raw V8 powered sleeper SUVs are very rare in the current US car market, and with time, they are on their way to extinction. Hence, till the time SUVs like the 2024 Dodge Durango continue production, if you want a V8, get it home, and you’ll probably never regret compromising a slower SUV. 

In the end, the 2024 Dodge Durango is not the best SUV in the segment, even with the R/T version, it lacks a lot of features and new-age updates that most of its competitors offer. But, in terms of the feel of driving, the 2024 Durango is one of the best options you are looking at.