If you want a HEMI V8, forget the Hellcat—the Durango R/T is nine-tenths of the car without all the costs
December 15, 2024 at 12:38
PROS ›› Reasonable base price, good handling and comfort, spacious cabin, many physical controls, great towing capacity CONS ›› Abysmal fuel consumption, lots of hard plastics, pricey packages, shows its age against the competition
The 2025 Dodge Durango R/T isn’t just another SUV, it’s a time capsule (in more ways than one) that bellows V8 thunder in a market increasingly obsessed with whisper-quiet EVs and soulless hybrids. Dodge knows this thing is an ancient artifact, but they also know their audience: Mopar loyalists who’d rather eat kale chips than give up the roar of a Hemi.
This vehicle marks the end of an era at Dodge. The Charger is making a comeback for 2025, but in an all-new, electrified form that ditches Hemi power altogether. The Challenger? It’s gone, retired to the great burnout competition in the sky. And the Hornet? Let’s just say it’s more of a silent cricket than a buzz in Stellantis dealer lots.
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That leaves the Durango as the last way for Mopar fans to get a Hemi V8 in something that isn’t a truck or a Jeep. At the same time, this is an SUV that hasn’t seen a major generational improvement since 2011. That’s right, it’s been nearly 15 years of what is largely the same Durango under the skin.
To find out if a car nearly old enough to get its own learner’s permit is worth buying in 2024, we just tested the latest, and the last Hemi-powered version, of them all. This is a 2025 Durango R/T 20th Anniversary Premium trim and it’s not cheap. The base price for this trim is in the low $50,000 range. Ours, with its Customer Preferred package $(9,985) and Tow N Go package ($5,990), rings up for $72,460. Don’t let that dissuade you just yet.
QUICK FACTS
Before the pricey packages, this car still comes with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8, an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and, in our case, four-wheel drive. Rear-wheel drive is available too. It has a sport-tuned suspension, a sport mode, seating for six or seven, and a modern infotainment system. Over the course of a week, we drove this all over Little Rock, Arkansas. We hauled gear, people, bikes, and more. We tested its acceleration, handling, and braking prowess. Here’s what we learned.
Powertrain
The V8 under the hood of this Durango is basically unchanged from when it arrived in this platform in 2011. It still makes exactly the same power, 360 hp (268 kW), and the same torque, 390 lb-ft (528 Nm), as it did back then too. While the lack of progress on that front might concern some, consider two main counterpoints.
First, 360 horsepower is still far more than most SUVs in this class offer even now. Second, Dodge supplements the lineup with the 392 and Hellcat versions of this SUV for those who need even more speed. Still, we think this one is just peachy and we’ll dig into that more in our driving impressions.
What’s nowhere near class-leading is the fuel economy this SUV manages. According to the EPA, it’ll score 14 mpg in the city, 22 on the highway, and 17 combined. In our week with the car we managed 16.1 mpg, which isn’t surprising given the playful way this car invites its driver to partake in a little speed.
Interior
Photos Stephen Rivers for Carscoops
The Durango cabin might be another one of its biggest drawbacks. Only a few moments in any of the seats will give away that this is an older design. The dash doesn’t have a single gigantic monolithic infotainment system combined with the gauge cluster. The materials are softer both in design and feel than in many rivals. The seats are big and spacious rather than angular and slim.
That doesn’t make it bad on its own though. The seats are very comfortable, including the third row where even taller folks can easily fit. They even have adequate bolstering which is rare these days in a three-row SUV. Sure, it feels like there is a metric ton of cheap plastic on the door panels but Dodge spent money where people will touch the panels most and it shows.
I didn’t miss having some monolithic infotainment system either. Uconnect tends to be quick, easy to navigate, and features good graphics even on what many would consider a smaller screen (10.1-inches) found in this Durango. What’s better, though, is that this SUV also has a full array of physical buttons.
I don’t just mean a dial and a power button for the media or climate control switches. It has those in addition to driving mode switches, a mute button, a screen off button, and then even more on the steering wheel. Do I continue to hate the half-flappy paddle on Stellantis products like this? Absolutely. Is it nice that they’re trying to give customers more with three steering wheel buttons in addition to the gear paddle? Yes, I suppose.
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In addition, Dodge includes several little touches that amp up the interior experience. This SUV has two USB ports, two USB-C ports, and even an AUX port. It has a wireless device charger, tri-zone automatic climate control, and a huge panoramic sunroof. Behind the third row, you’ll find 17 cubic feet of space for cargo. Should one need even more, the Durango tows up to 8,700 pounds, which is outstanding in this segment.
Drive Impressions
Photos Stephen Rivers for Carscoops
Enthusiasts will immediately appreciate the growl produced when the Durango wakes up. It’s a playful and appropriate reminder that this isn’t a turbocharged hybrid four-cylinder or something akin to that. Think of this as sort of an old-school muscle car that fits six or seven and you’ll be on the right track.
One benefit of this car’s design dating back to 2011 is that it features underpinnings related to Mercedes and its M-Class of the time. Now, the M-Class isn’t exactly a canyon carver, but compared to most of Dodge’s direct rivals, it might as well be. This SUV weighs over 5,300 pounds but it drives much lighter. The steering feels great and thanks to a wide stance and 295-section-width tires, it grips in the corners and holds a line remarkably well.
This particular example also has big Brembo brakes that, while expensive to maintain over time, do an excellent job at reeling this SUV in. On top of that, they feel very easy to modulate which only improves driver confidence toward the limit of what the Durango can do.
The gearbox is mostly good, too. Eight speeds feel like perhaps one or two too many, as this Dodge sometimes seems to hunt for the right cog. Once it’s found, though, the performance and shift quality are genuinely good. Even those silly half-paddles produce a satisfying reaction when engaged.
What’s most fun is how the engine feels to drive. This isn’t a lightning-quick SUV. According to Dodge, it’ll do 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds. The best we could manage was 6.66 seconds on an un-prepped roadway. Both of those figures are slower than my 2010 Ford Flex Limited. I’ll tell you though, the Durango is still more fun to drive.
The engine is responsive, eager, and again, sounds fantastic. Dodge imbued this car with a sport-tuned suspension, excellent dampers, and tough sway bars that keep it flat in the corners. Thanks to a rear-wheel-drive bias in the 4WD system, it’s more athletic when pushed hard. My Flex is the opposite, it understeers at the limit and that’s what the vast majority of current SUVs do too. In that respect, the Durango continues to stand out in this field despite the age of its platform.
In addition, Dodge includes several performance pages in the infotainment system and gauge cluster that encourage drivers to test their skill. That includes several timers for things like the quarter mile and 0-60 sprints. There is a G-meter to see how hard you can corner, and even an onboard “dyno” to display power output. More cars should encourage drivers to test their skills, and most importantly improve them over time like this.
Here’s maybe the most important part though. This is still a six or seven-person family hauler. On the highway, in residential areas, and on less-than-perfect city streets, the suspension is soft enough that it’s comfortable, calm, and composed. Dodge found a really good balance between outright stiffness for performance and softness for comfort.
Comparisons
Photos Stephen Rivers for Carscoops
There is little question that the Durango is outmatched by many of its competitors in the current market. Most feature newer and more innovative technology. Many are more comfortable. Some are far more capable off-road. Almost all of them get better fuel economy. Practically none of them drive the same way though. On top of that, have fun trying to tow anywhere near the 8,700-pound limit of the Durango in just about anything else in this segment.
Notably, price is a big factor here too as, at $72,460, we’re driving an SUV that costs almost as much as a Durango 392 ($76,460). In this pricing bracket, the BMW X6 and Porsche Macan are on the table as well. Those searching for outright performance above all other factors should consider those too as well as the Genesis GV70. At the same time, none of those rivals features a third row or the same kind of towing capacity.
Interestingly, we think there’s a bit of a hack here to be had. Forget the fancy Customer Preferred package and just get the Tow N Go with a normal Durango R/T. You’ll still get big brakes, 20-inch wheels, 295-section-width tires, a Hemi V8, and you’ll pay right around $55,000 based on current incentives. That’s a sincerely capable performance package that will run circles around just about anything else in the segment.
Final Thoughts
The Durango R/T isn’t going to win any green awards, it’s not going to wow technophiles, and it’s not even going to win all that many drag races. What it will do though is go down in history as a classic SUV. As time rolls on, we won’t remember this Dodge as one that wasn’t as fast as a four-cylinder Porsche Macan. We won’t think of it as missing the hands-free driving capabilities of a Tesla Model Y.
We’ll look back on it as one of the very last reasonably priced, V8-powered, performance-oriented, elegantly simple three-row SUVs ever made. It is absolutely a future classic in my mind and likely an affordable one given that there are two even more powerful Durangos to choose from.
A decade from now, when some folks are trying to figure out how to fix their 10-year-old well-out-of-warranty car with a mild hybrid, a twin-scroll turbo, or some other super complex (and undoubtedly cool in its own right) technology, Durango R/T owners will still have a relatively straightforward powertrain to manage. Not only that, but they’ll have one that makes them smile every time it fires up.