We purchased a Durango Limited in January 2005. We opted for the Hemi. This is a great vehicle. The pick up and overall power is great.

Before buying I did a lot of research. Most people seemed happy with the car, but complain about the gas mileage. I think the mileage is decent considering the size and power of the motor. We are getting 16mpg ( and it seems to be improving over time) in town and have not taken it on a real road trip yet. Keep in mind for us to go to town or get home we have to travel a steep curving canyon road that is not condusive to good mileage. Having just come out of an F350 Powerstroke, I have found the mileage quite comparable and gas is cheaper than diesel where I live.

The Hemi is much quieter than the Powerstroke and I always thought the powerstroke was relatively quite for a diesel (compared to the dodge). For an engine this powerful you can not hear it and it is smooth. Seeing as I drive on a canyon road daily I have gotten a good feel for the responsiveness, and could not be happier with it. For this size vehicle it responds excellent (it is not a sports car). The Durango handles wonderfully. I was surprised at how tight it can turn, important to me when in a tight parking lot. I have had to stop extremely quickly because the canyon has many blind corners that can have “surprises” waiting for you such as deer and I have not come close to hitting one, whether I swerve to miss them or brake. Another example coming home last Sunday there was a rock slide around one of the blind corners. We had no problem stopping to miss it. In the past Durango has been said to have inadequate brakes that is no longer the case.

The one big difference in handling with the Durango verse the F350 that took some getting used to is the gearing. Because the F350 is intended to tow it has what I call granny gearing and thus does not speed down hills unless you want it to. The Durango clearly is not geared for towing, it wants to run down hills, and I have to down shift to control the speed so I do not have to ride my brakes. The Durango, with the Hemi is rated to tow 10,000 lbs and I do intend on towing a utility trailer with it but have not done so yet.

Because we bought the Limited we got leather power seats. The driver’s seat is very comfortable and has memory setting that can be programmed to reset to each drivers preferences with the door remote. The adjustable foot pedals also adjust to the memory setting with the remotes. I find the passenger seat, which is electric comfortable as have my friends. My husband was a little disappointed that unlike the drives side it does not have an adjustable height. It tilts, goes forward and back but not up and down. Both seats have lumbar support. Our friends have ridden in the middle row and said it is a comfortable ride but I do not have first hand experience with it.

If you have kids and opt for the DVD player you may want to bypass the sunroof. The sunroof is a great feature and not having kids I would have chose the sunroof over the DVD only the vehicle I found a good deal on had both. The sunroof causes the DVD player to be installed further back then it would normally be. This makes the picture difficult to see from the middle row, though it is excellent for the back row.

Also if you have kids or will be using the back row regularly for passengers I would consider the limited or the one right below it. They have a full depth back row. In the lower end packages the back row is too narrow to sit in comfortably for very long.

My biggest complaint with this car is the storage space. I have never had a vehicle before that has so little storage. The only significant storage space is the center counsel storage that is deep enough to lose things in. Only the drives seat has a pocket on the back of it. The glove box just fits the folder that comes with the vehicle with the manuals in it, no room for anything else. In the back there is a very small "cubby" under the floor. I originally wanted to keep the wireless headphones for he DVD there but then there is no room for things like jumper cables. Living in the mountains of Colorado I have always carried a down jacket and snow boots in my car. There is nowhere to store these. You can not put anything under the rear seat, especially if you expect to be able to fold it down. The middle row has the jack under it.

My only other disappointment is the GPS navigation system. I would buy an after market one if you want a navigation system. It uses proprietary software that frankly is not all that good. If you live in the city and stay in the city or on major highways it might suffice. However the Garmin GPS's are much better. They will give you the names and addresses of restaurants, stores and gas stations on your route. The Dodge GPS will show you that there are restaurants and gas stations, ATMS/Bank and etcetera in the area but do not tell what the restaurants is or which bank you ware approaching. The one nice thing about the navigation system is the display you get for the GPS and radio. The system will even kept track of the maintenance schedule for the car. However it is a very expensive reminder system.

If you can overlook the lack of storage, I am considering putting a Yakima rocket box on the roof, this is a great car. It is comfortable, powerful enough the Colorado high country, handles great in the snow and on mud roads, and has room for you and your friends.

Amount Paid (US$): 37,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: Limited