The 2014 Dodge Durango has stood out as the most attractive eight-speed vehicle among scores of new vehicles just unveiled at the ongoing New York International Auto Show.
New vehicle enthusiasts say Dodge can take a bow for giving the seven-passenger vehicle a fresh look and a well-rounded boost.
Built by Chrysler Auto Group, the three-row family performance SUV features advanced design and premium class-exclusive features.
According to autoblog.com, this new SUV is built on the Dodge brand’s pillars of performance, style and innovation, delivering a new standard state-of-the-art class-exclusive eight-speed automatic transmission that improves fuel economy up to nine per cent.
President of the Dodge brand, Reid Bigland, was quoted as saying, “When the Durango was first launched in 1998, it represented a breakthrough in power, size and style.
“Now for 2014, we’re upping the ante by making it our most technologically advanced, fuel efficient and dramatically styled Durango ever. With countless class-exclusive features and best-in-class attributes, the new 2014 Durango represents the ultimate no-compromise full-size SUV.”
Some of the vehicle’s unique features are the Chrysler Group’s award-winning Uconnect Access, easy-to-use touch-screen technologies and the Dodge brand’s signature racetrack LED tail lamps.
Auto analysts recalled that in 2011 when Dodge re-introduced the Durango, it immediately earned accolades even from critics. Its combination of sleek yet muscular lines, comfortable three-row seating, large cargo volume, class-leading power, driving range and towing capability and overall driving enjoyment was unlike anything ever seen in the SUV segment before, says autoblog.
It adds that for the 2014 Durango, the engineers and designers at Dodge have made the ultimate “no compromise” SUV even better.
It says, “The new 2014 Dodge Durango takes everything that customers love about Durango and adds the latest advancements in technology to enhance its design, capability and functionality.
“With a new standard eight-speed automatic transmission, improved fuel economy and performance, new LED exterior lighting, two new interior touchscreens, a new programmable instrument cluster, and an available high-definition dual-screen Blu-ray entertainment system, the 2014 Dodge Durango reaches even higher levels of sophistication building on its proven performance, utility and comfort.”
Engine
The vehicle comes with a 3.6 litre V6 engine with an optional 5.7 litre V8 engine.
According to an autoblog.com, Dodge has fitted an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard equipment to both the 3.6-liter V6 (290 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque) and the optional 5.7-liter V8 (360 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque) which should improve both performance and economy.
It says the eight-speed automatic transmission will significantly boost the vehicle’s fuel economy.
Exterior
The new Durango is built with more purposeful look courtesy of effective nose and tail tweaks.
Its front fascia also has a slimmed-down version of the signature split-crosshair grille with a raised bumper and bolder lower apron.
This is complemented by new headlamps that upgrade from projector beam to bi-xenon HID units on the R/T and Citadel and LED running lamps on all but the base SXT.
Out back, all Durango models are fitted with a new full-width LED “racetrack” tail-lamp and feature a tidier integration of the trailer hitch.
Interior
The 2014 Durango enhances its three-row seating with a major cabin recasting, starting with an all-new dash that brings a programmable instrument cluster with a 7.0-inch TFT display like the one used in the Dodge Dart compact sedan.
The Durango’s redesigned centre stack houses a five-inch or 8.4-inch touch-screen to accommodate the latest strain of the Uconnect or Wi-Fi-capable Uconnect Access systems featuring new voice-recognition navigation.
The Durango’s centre console also benefits from a major redo, replacing the conventional shift lever with a new rotary-type selector.
Rear-seat passengers will also experience a great deal of comfort in the 2014 Durango with a new dual-screen DVD/Blu-ray entertainment system.
Seating
it comes standard with seven-passenger seating and luxurious second-row captain’s chairs.
The seats can be converted to as many as 50 different configurations.
And families with three or more children should find the new Durango’s captain’s chairs interesting with pass through especially helpful as two car seats can stay latched into the second row seats, and there is still easy pass-through for passengers to walk between to get to the third row.
The second-row captain’s chairs will also make adults feel like they are riding in first-class, with comfortable bucket seats with individual armrests.
