“I’ll take a minivan.”
That’s what I told the Enterprise folks at the Boston Logan Airport location when making my reservation a timely eight weeks in advance. Apparently Enterprise and I don’t share a common definition for the word ‘reservation’. The bubbly clerk was delighted to tell me that I would receive a ‘major upgrade’ due to the error and at no additional charge I could have the Patriot Blue 2006 Dodge Durango that was parked out front. She even winked and assured me that I would look so much cooler in an SUV. I’m traveling with an infant – I think ‘cool’ is off the table for a while. So we loaded the behemoth and set about our four day romp through New England.

As I was loading our stuff I couldn’t help but wonder why the rear deck was so high. Same as on the Jeep Grand Cherokee I drove recently – birds of a feather I guess. Sixty percent of the rear seat folded flat and I was easily able to fit two enormous (the size of footlockers) suitcases, a large folded stroller and a number of smaller bags. The rear seat had the necessary LATCH system and installing the car seat was a breeze. We climbed in and were off.


Interior

Getting into the Durango is a step up (for most) which can be assisted by the smartly located grips on the A-Pillars. The manually adjustable front buckets were reasonably comfortable for the duration. Chrysler did a fair job of carving out enough leg, thigh, shoulder, head and whatever other kind of room you can think of. A large center console separates the front seats and is augmented by deep map pockets and a smaller glove box. The dash is simple and functional and makes use of those standard Chrysler whitish, bluish backlit gauges. The air conditioner controls are straightforward and intuitive and the rear A/C was a really nice bonus. The rear can be controlled from the front or back with the driver getting an override. We were in New England in mid July during a heat wave and the Durango had no trouble keeping us cool. The stock stereo comes with a CD player and six (I believe) speakers. It’s junk. If you’re looking into this vehicle I would suggest finding out if an upgraded system is available and then try to hear it before committing. It wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me if I was going to buy this truck but I would replace the system as quickly as possible. Driver visibility is exceptionally good. The large (power) mirrors are phenomenal and the glass all around is oversized and provides a commanding view.

Overall the interior is pretty nice, if a bit bland. The one thing I would question the design gurus on would be a way to lower that rear deck to make it more user friendly to the under-six-foot crowd. I suppose it would lose its ‘SUV stance’ and become a little more minivan-like if you did that, and that would probably have a negative impact on sales to a certain segment. Form or function? Hmm – sounds like a question for the bean counters.


Exterior

I’m conflicted here. I do kinda sorta like the look of the vehicle a little, but not really. I think they could have done a lot better. When the first Durango hit the streets I was excited about it. An SUV that strayed from the box, and looked damn good doing it. It was aggressive. It was sexy. It was everything GM’s ‘burbans and blazers weren’t. I haven’t had time to read the trade rags for a while now and I have no idea why Chrysler decided a bigger Durango was a better Durango but they went about it all wrong. They fluffed and fattened the original to beef up the dimensions and wound up with what looks like a Durango that let herself go. Those familiar sleek, sultry lines are underneath it all somewhere – but you gotta take your eyes out of focus and squint a little bit to catch a fleeting glimpse of it. Like Kirstie Alley. For my money they should have left well enough alone and started from scratch if they felt the need to make a larger SUV.


The drive

Once I was on the road I have to admit that I was glad for the screw up. It was more comfortable than the minivan would have been. My tester was a 4x4 which also nets you Chrysler’s 4.7 liter ‘magnum’ V8. Her 230 ponies are backed up by 290 foot pounds of torque which is enough to move this two and a half ton piggy down the road with little effort. The Green Mountains of Vermont were conquered with ease.

Etymologist’s Corner
One day Samuel de Champlain was cruising down Lake Champlain (named after him) when he looked to the shoreline and said ‘Yo, check out all them green mountains over there!’ Of course old Sammy was French (or Canadian – is there a difference?) so when he said all that, the words ‘green mountains’ came out as ‘vert monts.’ Given the French’s mysterious inability to annunciate most final consonants, it’s easy to extrapolate how Vermont’s name came to be.

The Durango isn’t a sprinter off the line but be careful on the highway. The size and weight throw you off a bit and there were a number of times that I looked down and realized I was creeping up on ninety. Cruise control came in handy after that. The five speed automatic never had to hunt for a gear. The brakes were big enough to trick you into feeling like you were driving a much smaller vehicle but the turns will keep you in tune with the fact that you’re driving a truck. It handles like a boat but I don’t hold that against it. There are plenty of smaller ‘car based’ SUVs to choose from if the handling is out of your comfort zone. With reasonable caution and common sense it’s no problem keeping body roll to a minimum. Road and wind noise are negligible. It’s a quiet, confident ride and of course all the expected safety acronyms apply. I didn’t have an opportunity to throw it into four wheel drive but I expect that it must be much appreciated during those long New England winters.


Final thoughts

If I were in the market I wouldn’t buy this truck based on its looks alone. It’s certainly not the ugliest truck on the road but for that much money I’d pick a truck that doesn’t remind me of a bloated D-lister. I’d probably be more ‘into’ the truck if it was optioned with Chrysler’s 318 engine, or better yet a 360 – but that brings me to my final concern, fuel economy. The advertised 14/18 seems correct and after spending two hundred dollars in gas over that long weekend I really have to question the value of Enterprise’s free upgrade.

Did I enjoy it? Yeah, I did.
Would I go out of my way to drive one again? Nah, I’ll call around until I find a minivan next time.