{"id":26429,"date":"2020-12-03T12:54:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T16:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=26429"},"modified":"2020-12-03T12:54:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T16:54:46","slug":"payne-review-dodge-durango-hellcat-is-hulk-on-wheels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/payne-review-dodge-durango-hellcat-is-hulk-on-wheels","title":{"rendered":"Payne review: Dodge Durango Hellcat is Hulk on wheels"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n<\/div>

Dodge\u2019s muscular lineup has always struck me as an Avengers comic book. There\u2019s Challenger. And Hellcat. Demon and Charger. So what to make of a full-size\u00a0SUV\u00a0joining the team, the 2021 Durango SRT Hellcat?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s call it Hulk.<\/p>\n

Get it in green. It\u2019s the perfect color for this huge, 5,710-pound, 710-horsepower beast that was once called Bruce Banner \u2014 er, Dodge Durango.<\/p>\n

Its capabilities are stupefying, comic-book stuff. Zero-60 in 3.5 seconds officially. I did it in 3.4. With launch control. You’ve got to take it out on the road with the kids: With all-wheel drive, this Hulk is a stable genius compared to its rear-wheel drive Charger Hellcat mate.<\/p>\n

Find a deserted road on the way to school. Press the Launch button on the console (yes, there really is a button called Launch on the console). Mat the brake, mat the throttle, release the brake. Hulk explodes\u00a0forward like a CGI action sequence, all four wheels churning in perfect harmony. The supercharger is screaming, the\u00a06.2-liter V-8 roaring \u2014 if you can hear it over the kids\u2019 cheers. It\u2019s epic.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Try that in the Dodge Charger Hellcat and it\u2019ll turn your hair white. With 707 horsepower running though just the rear wheels, it\u2019s a challenge even for modern electronics systems to channel the power. I tested the Durango Hellcat back-to-back with an upgraded 797-horsepower Charger Hellcat Redeye in North Carolina this fall, and the Durango beat it to 60 every time thanks to superior traction \u2014 and despite Hulk\u2019s added weight and ungainly appearance next to the sleek Charger.<\/p>\n

The Charger Hellcat (and sister\u00a0485-horsepower Scat Pack) is one of my favorite sedans. But it\u2019s hard for even this car disciple to deny that the Durango Hellcat is the superior family vehicle.<\/p>\n

Not only does Durango accommodate six comfortably with its palatial third row seat \u2014 your 6-foot-5\u00a0correspondent could sit behind himself sitting behind myself in the third row \u2014 but it comes with significant interior upgrades you can\u2019t get in the Charger.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Chief among these is adaptive cruise-control which the Durango possesses and the Charger Hellcat does not. That low Hellcat face is handsome compared to Hulk\u2019s meaty mug, but it comes at a sacrifice of airflow which the hungry, supercharged monster under the hood demands. The radar brick simply takes up too much grille space. Not so with the taller Durango, even though it feeds the same V-8.<\/p>\n

I find adaptive cruise essential in Hellcats \u2014 not just for easier highway driving \u2014 but to regulate them in heavily policed speed limit zones. Believe me, this beast is so effortlessly quick\u00a0you\u2019ll find yourself at insane speeds very quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, officer, but you say I was going HOW fast?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Durango also gains (along with the new Chrysler Pacifica minivan) Fiat-Chrysler\u2019s latest Uconnect 5 infotainment system. Uconnect has always been an ergonomic gem \u2014 Dodge-Chrysler cockpits are generally the easiest to use in the industry \u2014 and Version 5 continues to lead the way with an enlarged 10.5-inch screen (compared to the Charger\u2019s old 8.5-incher), quicker response, Android operating systems and excellent voice commands.<\/p>\n

\"Storage<\/p>\n
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The Durango even excels on the track (yes, I took it to Carolina Motorsports Park) despite its higher center of gravity. Screwed to the ground with advanced shocks, the all-wheel drive system allows you to mat the throttle out of turns. By contrast, the rear-drive\u00a0Charger is more nervous on exit and therefore more of a handful to drive. You gotta\u00a0track the Hulk to believe it. Dodge even offers a free driver\u2019s\u00a0school at Bondurant Raceway in Phoenix.<\/p>\n

That said, Hulk could use a few beauty pointers from its Charger siblings.<\/p>\n

The Charger Hellcat Widebody is one of the most sinister, reptilian designs conceived. With its glowing LED lamps and swollen hood, it looks like something that migrated from Skull Island to exterminate the Prius species. Durango Hellcat, on the other hand, looks like, well, a Hulk. You might think twice about bringing it home to mother.<\/p>\n

SUVs are hard to make sexy. But may I suggest widebody fender flares like the Charger Hellcat? And perhaps an elongated roof-spoiler like some of Durango Hellcat\u2019s smaller, hot-hatch car brethren? Widebodies have been a boon to Charger and Challenger sales \u2014 and they are practical, too.<\/p>\n

Doing zero-60 launches on the way to elementary school won\u2019t come cheap. The Durango Hellcat comes in a healthy $10,000 north of its Charger equivalent. But can you put a price on a child\u2019s smile?<\/p>\n

Mommy, can we please hear the Hulk roar one more time?<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Vehicle type: All-wheel drive, four-door, six passenger SUV<\/p>\n

Price: $82,490, including $1,445 destination charge ($89,965 as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: Supercharged\u00a06.2-liter V-8<\/p>\n

Power: 710 horsepower, 645\u00a0pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n

Transmission: 8-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.5 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 180\u00a0mph; towing capacity, 8,700 pounds<\/p>\n

Weight: 5,710\u00a0pounds<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA est. N\/A (9.9 mpg observed)<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs: Ferocious AWD performance; interior sanctuary<\/p>\n

Lows: Gulps fuel; exterior design needs some love<\/p>\n

Overall: 4\u00a0stars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dodge\u2019s muscular lineup has always struck me as an Avengers comic book. There\u2019s Challenger. And Hellcat. Demon and Charger. So what to make of a full-size\u00a0SUV\u00a0joining the team, the 2021 Durango SRT Hellcat? Let\u2019s call it Hulk. Get it in green. It\u2019s the perfect color for this huge, 5,710-pound, 710-horsepower beast that was once called […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26429"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26429"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26430,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26429\/revisions\/26430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}