2014 Dodge Durango R/T
It’s no secret that the Dodge Durango is one of the most underappreciated seven-passenger crossovers on the market today. Built on the same platform as the hot-selling Jeep Cherokee, it offers unrivaled driving dynamics, a high quality interior and good value. Professional auto journalists have been signing its praises for years, and it has placed highly or won many tests against better-selling competitors such as the Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander.
Recently shoppers have begun to notice it more, with much of the new awareness coming courtesy of the tongue-in-cheek ads hosted fictional news anchor Ron Burgundy. The Durango most often seen accompanying the blustering character is the sexy looking R/T model, all monochromatic menace hunkered down over 20-inch wheels, thanks to springs that are lower and stiffer.
This Durango should be the one most coveted by enthusiasts such as myself, and I admit to really looking forward to time with it. I had been very impressed with the two Limited models I’d spent time in over the preceding years, the latest of which I talk about here.
Visually, this Dodge nails it, the R/T’s blacked out trim and lower ride height helping to overcome the sleek, wagonesque silhoette that many women seem to find offputting. Inside the lack of faux wood trim is refreshing, and the overall very high quality of the materials used in the Durango Limited continues. The uConnect infotainment interface continues to improve in performance, there’s just the right amount of room for mainstream family duties (slightly more than the Highlander) and when you pull away, the throatier exhaust that comes with the R/T shows promise.
Unfortunetly, from then on the sportiest Durango starts to loose some if its charm—in comparison to the Limited and Citadel models, at least. The exhaust farts out a very artificial note on full-throttle upshifts (though it sounds good the rest of the time), leading most passengers to comment on how ‘red neck’ it sounds. The R/T is no faster than any other V8-powered model, meaning the Hemi runs like competitors’ six-cylinder models. That’s due to its solid but heavy structure, and shorter gearing would help the cause of the R/T here, perhaps imbuing it with the urgency now lacking.
The chassis tuning, almost perfect in the Limited, is undermined by the lower, stiffer springs and beefier antiroll bars, too. This Dodge feels stiff-legged, lacking the wonderful pliancy of the other trim models. The steering also feels heavier and, for lack of a better term, gloopier. And subjectively, this Durango doesn’t handle any better than the others, either. Braking seems about the same as other V8s, however.
All in all, the R/T comes across as a missed opportunity. Give it adjustable dampers, shorter gearing and suddenly it wouldn’t seem all talk and no walk. Such changes would also help offset the loss of ride quality and sophistication that makes the Limited so endearing.
EPA ratings: 14/23mpg
Price as tested: $43,075
Here is what Dodge has to say about it.
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