2011 Dodge Durango

Dodge has revealed its all-new 2011 Durango SUV. The good news for those who like breeding, or have lots of friends and enjoy being the designated driver, is that it still comes with three rows of seats.

However, unlike the previous generation Durango, this one uses unitary construction instead of having a separate chassis and body. In fact, it shares its basic architecture with the recently launched Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class / M-Class / R-Class family.



Given that, perhaps it’s no great surprise that the latest Durango has ended up looking very similar to the Grand Cherokee. But that’s not a criticism, and the styling is much better than on earlier versions, especially around the front. Dodge is claiming luxurious materials for the cabin, as well as twenty-two different seating configurations. Inexplicably, though, it has not bothered releasing any interior images at this stage.

Engine choice will be either a 3.6 litre Pentastar V-6, or the 5.7 litre HEMI V8 which can be run in ‘Multi-Displacement System’ mode - i.e. using only four cylinders - to save fuel. Both will be available with all-wheel drive.



As expected, there’s no sign of a diesel, probably because not many would be sold in North America. Nevertheless, Dodge is saying the Durango has excellent fuel efficiency, and it’ll be able to travel 500 miles on a tank of fuel. Unfortunately that’s the only figure provided, and it’s actually really meaningless unless the size of the tank is known.

Sales are due to begin towards the end of this year. The prospects of the Durango making it across to Europe are slim as, under Fiat control, only niche Dodge products such as the Viper, Charger and Challenger are likely to be sold here. Even re-badging the Durango as a Fiat isn’t in the company’s plans.