I've had my Durango for about 3 months and about 3,000 miles. I thought I'd share some of my observations so far. I've been on the forum for about 4 months and have posted a bit but thought I'd hold off on something comprehensive until I'd had a decent amount of time with the Durango. Still, I'm driving a new car so these comments still reflect the new car experience. Typically I find that certain issues crop up over the life of a car and others go away as you become more accustomed to the car. I expect a little of both with the Durango but I also think I have a pretty good feel for the car at this point.
First, here's what I got. 2015 Limited AWD, billet grey, nav, sunroof and power liftgate. My previous car was a 2009 Mazda CX-9 Touring AWD which accumulated 112,000 miles. I'll sprinkle in some comparisons between the Durango and CX-9 because both cars are fresh in my mind. I'm pretty familiar with other cars in the segment but not as much as these two.
Of the options I got, I would have preferred no power liftgate but I was happy to get a deal on a 2015 and couldn't afford to be too picky with options when shopping limited inventory of the outgoing model year. I have taken advantage of the power liftgate from time to time but find it an annoyance more than a convenience. I'd much rather have a gate that I could swing open or closed in half a second than waiting for the power mechanism to do the same over 5 seconds. This has nothing of course to do with the Durango but rather my distaste for the feature in general.
Buying experience: I hate buying cars and never feel like I got a good deal. I know many people who know nothing about cars, do no research and leave the dealership thrilled because they got a couple thousand dollars off MSRP or because the dealer "threw in" some option or coverage at no additional cost. I'm not one of those people. I was helped by a nice enough salesman who knew less about the Durango or about his own inventory than I did based on a test drive, some research and a scan of the dealer's web site. The initial price they offered was way too high and above the price that the dealership was advertising. After a bunch of discussions with layers of "managers" and far too much time in the shop we agreed on a price that was good based on my research. Did I do a lot better than MSRP or the initial quoted price? Yes. But it's not like I got some unbelievably great deal either.
Initial quality: The Durango probably comes in average here. My particular example had some prep issues with stains on the fake chrome roof rails (that were solved at the dealer with some compound) and some inexplicably warped seals around the rear windows. The dealer has ordered new seals and the parts are in. I'm going to see if sitting in the warm sun might straighten the seals out because I'd rather not have the dealer take the door or window assembly apart and possibly cause more damage. The car is still new but everything seems pretty well screwed together. I'm impressed by the stiffness and overall the car feels more "solid" than my CX-9 did.
Exterior: I like the Durango's styling. My color which is essentially light grey, is not the best color for the Durango but it hides the dirt pretty well. I don't usually pick a car based on color but if I did I like the Durango in the dark grey or white better. I also like it without the roof rails but I need them for a cargo box and small boat that goes on the roof. Some of the exterior trim feels cheap an poorly assembled. The black on the pillars between the windows, the plastic chrome strips below the doors, etc. Some of these pieces seem to be of low quality and look like they could peel right off.
Interior: This is a mixed bag. The interior is useful for sure. Storage is good for the class although maybe not at the top. I like the double tiered console/armrest and the cubby in front of the shifter is very useful. The styling is nice although I could do with a little less of the fake chrome. It's not so much the look which is fine but the glare and the reflections. For example, you see the chrome of the left dash A/C vent reflected in the left side mirror all the time. Some materials feel better than others. The chrome ring in the center of the steering wheel and around the center stack feel like they are stuck on with double sided tape in a few spots and that's it. When you touch it you don't get a sense of high quality. The ceiling fabric looks ok but if you touch it there's a lot of give. The cover to the center console storage area opens feels cheap but not as cheap as the overhead sunglasses compartment which is hard plastic and has no damping
Switchgear: Most of the things you touch feel great. I don't love the rotary shifter. You can see my (and others') comments elsewhere in the forum but in short, I prefer the feedback of a lever that moves to distinct positions for each selection. The knobs generally have a nice feel to them and most have a knurled rubber effect that feels and works great. Some of the buttons aren't quite as great but OK for the class. The hazard light button isn't as prominent as it is in some cars. The buttons on the front of the steering wheel feel a little cheap and I've never been a fan of Chrysler's buttons on the back of the steering wheel. The paddle shifters feel great. They are metal and operate smoothly and confidently as if they came from a much more expensive vehicle. You'll also find a beautifully crafted knurled metal ring to control the rear wiper on the wiper/turn indicator stalk. The rest of the stalk is fine but feels cheap compared to that ring. You wonder if the design teams ever met each other. Power windows move up and down slowly but this may be a safety thing as I'm noticing it on other new cars.
Seats: The leather is soft but is already showing some wear and creasing from climbing in/out. The front seats are comfortable for long drives. There's good side bolstering on the back but I find the seat bottoms a little flat. The bottoms are longer than my CX-9 which I appreciate but shorter drivers may not. I've used all three rows and while comfort diminishes as you move back, all rows are near the top of the class. The seatbacks are comfy and the headrests are very soft and well positioned. (My CX-9 had the worst headrests that forced your head forward and killed your posture in the name of safety.) Seat heaters seem fine. I wish I got the ventilated seats as the weather has begun to warm up.
Visibility: Pretty good overall. Much better than my CX-9. The rear camera with the guidelines is fantastic. I wasn't expecting the guidelines to be that useful but they are. The side mirors don't offer quite as much adjustability as I'd like but they are large enough.
Performance: The Durango looks big and surprises with it's agility. Turning radius is great. I wouldn't be surprised if it was best in class despite the long wheelbase, thanks to a longitudinal engine layout. I park on city streets and parallel park every day. The Durango can work its way into spots that my CX-9 couldn't even though it's an inch or two longer. I have the V6 and think it's a fantastic engine. The Hemi is obviously better for certain applications and many people like it's acceleration, noise, character, etc. For me, the V6 is more than adequate. I find it smooth, powerful enough for anything I ask of it and I actually like it's sound a little bit. It's much better than the 3.7L V6 I had in my CX-9. (That V6 is not in the recently updated CX-9 but it remains in several Ford products.) I find the 8-speed transmission to be a mixed bag. Combined with the V6 it delivers pretty good mileage. I'm averaging 20-21 mpg in mixed driving including NYC traffic and a good amount of highway time as well. I calculate this myself and it usually comes in 1-2 mpg below the trip computer's numbers. I find that the transmission will occasionally confuse itself but under normal acceleration and hilly highways it manages to shift pretty smoothly and appropriately. I do like the way it will downshift when going downhill or in corners. That aspect of the programming is nice but it's probably what contributes to the occasional rough shift when the transmission isn't in sync with what the driver wants. I will say that my CX-9 with a 6 speed shifted smoother than the Durango but it's not a huge difference.
The handling of the Durango is very good for the class. The ride is a little stiff (even with the 18” wheels on the Limited trim) but not harsh. The car handles very confidently and the weight balance is near perfect (possibly an advantage over the Hemi). The stiff suspension does get a bit upset, particularly by bumps while going around bends or corners. Not terrible but the CX-9 handled that sort of thing much better. The biggest shortfall of the Durango vs. CX-9 is in steering feel. The CX-9 was probably at the top of the class, with steering that made the car feel much smaller than it is. (I don't know if this is retained in the new CX-9.) The Durango may be second best but the gap is very wide. You feel no connection to the road through the steering wheel. Some people like this as it could feel more relaxed. I don't and find that I have to work harder over long trips to constantly make steering corrections. When there is a stronger connection you can make the corrections almost instinctively.
I've had the Durango loaded up as part of a school camping trip and it handled perfectly. 2 large heavy coolers, many other heavy items like water, watermelons, etc. Lighter stuff filled the Yakima skybox on the roof. The car pretty much drove the same way it does when it's empty. Pretty impressive. I did the same haul in my CX-9 and the weight in the back had a significant impact on handling and braking.
Accessories: I've posted before about the roof rack which I find OK. I like the convenience but find it less flexible than aftermarket options. I'll probably be getting the OEM hitch at some point...not for towing but for a bike rack.
Tech: Uconnect is pretty great. Hard to get excited about this stuff because it will be out-of-date within a couple of years but I like it. The system is fairly responsive. Most of the features are easy to find. There's a good balance between the controls on the screen and the physical knobs/buttons on the center stack. Satellite radio works well as does standard radio. I don't love the Uconnect assumes you want to play music from your phone's playlist every time you plug it to USB but that's a minor issue. Navigation is pretty good but I don't find the traffic information (provided by satelite) to be all that accurate compared to Waze or Google maps. A recent upgrade offers Siri compatibility which is a little overblown. You could access Siri by bluetooth before if you held the button on your phone. This update allows you to use the steering wheel button but otherwise you don't get much more functionality. It would be nice if they offered Apple Carplay as an upgrade but I'm doubtful.
HVAC: Seems pretty good. The car heats and cools pretty quickly and the fans are quiet enough...definitely quieter than the CX-9 was. There's the ability to sync the rear climate with the front but there's one glitch where it will blow cold air on the feat of the 3rd row even though the front is calling for the upper vents only. I can select the upper rear vents manually through Uconnect and all is good but I'm not sure why this doesn't sync.
Overall: I'm enjoying the car. It's a good balance of the features that I need. I'd like there to be more steering feel. Perhaps that's been improved in the 2016 which has different steering settings. I like the handling, the tech, the engine and the interior comfort. I'm impressed by the way it handles loads and fuel economy has been good for what it is.
First, here's what I got. 2015 Limited AWD, billet grey, nav, sunroof and power liftgate. My previous car was a 2009 Mazda CX-9 Touring AWD which accumulated 112,000 miles. I'll sprinkle in some comparisons between the Durango and CX-9 because both cars are fresh in my mind. I'm pretty familiar with other cars in the segment but not as much as these two.
Of the options I got, I would have preferred no power liftgate but I was happy to get a deal on a 2015 and couldn't afford to be too picky with options when shopping limited inventory of the outgoing model year. I have taken advantage of the power liftgate from time to time but find it an annoyance more than a convenience. I'd much rather have a gate that I could swing open or closed in half a second than waiting for the power mechanism to do the same over 5 seconds. This has nothing of course to do with the Durango but rather my distaste for the feature in general.
Buying experience: I hate buying cars and never feel like I got a good deal. I know many people who know nothing about cars, do no research and leave the dealership thrilled because they got a couple thousand dollars off MSRP or because the dealer "threw in" some option or coverage at no additional cost. I'm not one of those people. I was helped by a nice enough salesman who knew less about the Durango or about his own inventory than I did based on a test drive, some research and a scan of the dealer's web site. The initial price they offered was way too high and above the price that the dealership was advertising. After a bunch of discussions with layers of "managers" and far too much time in the shop we agreed on a price that was good based on my research. Did I do a lot better than MSRP or the initial quoted price? Yes. But it's not like I got some unbelievably great deal either.
Initial quality: The Durango probably comes in average here. My particular example had some prep issues with stains on the fake chrome roof rails (that were solved at the dealer with some compound) and some inexplicably warped seals around the rear windows. The dealer has ordered new seals and the parts are in. I'm going to see if sitting in the warm sun might straighten the seals out because I'd rather not have the dealer take the door or window assembly apart and possibly cause more damage. The car is still new but everything seems pretty well screwed together. I'm impressed by the stiffness and overall the car feels more "solid" than my CX-9 did.
Exterior: I like the Durango's styling. My color which is essentially light grey, is not the best color for the Durango but it hides the dirt pretty well. I don't usually pick a car based on color but if I did I like the Durango in the dark grey or white better. I also like it without the roof rails but I need them for a cargo box and small boat that goes on the roof. Some of the exterior trim feels cheap an poorly assembled. The black on the pillars between the windows, the plastic chrome strips below the doors, etc. Some of these pieces seem to be of low quality and look like they could peel right off.
Interior: This is a mixed bag. The interior is useful for sure. Storage is good for the class although maybe not at the top. I like the double tiered console/armrest and the cubby in front of the shifter is very useful. The styling is nice although I could do with a little less of the fake chrome. It's not so much the look which is fine but the glare and the reflections. For example, you see the chrome of the left dash A/C vent reflected in the left side mirror all the time. Some materials feel better than others. The chrome ring in the center of the steering wheel and around the center stack feel like they are stuck on with double sided tape in a few spots and that's it. When you touch it you don't get a sense of high quality. The ceiling fabric looks ok but if you touch it there's a lot of give. The cover to the center console storage area opens feels cheap but not as cheap as the overhead sunglasses compartment which is hard plastic and has no damping
Switchgear: Most of the things you touch feel great. I don't love the rotary shifter. You can see my (and others') comments elsewhere in the forum but in short, I prefer the feedback of a lever that moves to distinct positions for each selection. The knobs generally have a nice feel to them and most have a knurled rubber effect that feels and works great. Some of the buttons aren't quite as great but OK for the class. The hazard light button isn't as prominent as it is in some cars. The buttons on the front of the steering wheel feel a little cheap and I've never been a fan of Chrysler's buttons on the back of the steering wheel. The paddle shifters feel great. They are metal and operate smoothly and confidently as if they came from a much more expensive vehicle. You'll also find a beautifully crafted knurled metal ring to control the rear wiper on the wiper/turn indicator stalk. The rest of the stalk is fine but feels cheap compared to that ring. You wonder if the design teams ever met each other. Power windows move up and down slowly but this may be a safety thing as I'm noticing it on other new cars.
Seats: The leather is soft but is already showing some wear and creasing from climbing in/out. The front seats are comfortable for long drives. There's good side bolstering on the back but I find the seat bottoms a little flat. The bottoms are longer than my CX-9 which I appreciate but shorter drivers may not. I've used all three rows and while comfort diminishes as you move back, all rows are near the top of the class. The seatbacks are comfy and the headrests are very soft and well positioned. (My CX-9 had the worst headrests that forced your head forward and killed your posture in the name of safety.) Seat heaters seem fine. I wish I got the ventilated seats as the weather has begun to warm up.
Visibility: Pretty good overall. Much better than my CX-9. The rear camera with the guidelines is fantastic. I wasn't expecting the guidelines to be that useful but they are. The side mirors don't offer quite as much adjustability as I'd like but they are large enough.
Performance: The Durango looks big and surprises with it's agility. Turning radius is great. I wouldn't be surprised if it was best in class despite the long wheelbase, thanks to a longitudinal engine layout. I park on city streets and parallel park every day. The Durango can work its way into spots that my CX-9 couldn't even though it's an inch or two longer. I have the V6 and think it's a fantastic engine. The Hemi is obviously better for certain applications and many people like it's acceleration, noise, character, etc. For me, the V6 is more than adequate. I find it smooth, powerful enough for anything I ask of it and I actually like it's sound a little bit. It's much better than the 3.7L V6 I had in my CX-9. (That V6 is not in the recently updated CX-9 but it remains in several Ford products.) I find the 8-speed transmission to be a mixed bag. Combined with the V6 it delivers pretty good mileage. I'm averaging 20-21 mpg in mixed driving including NYC traffic and a good amount of highway time as well. I calculate this myself and it usually comes in 1-2 mpg below the trip computer's numbers. I find that the transmission will occasionally confuse itself but under normal acceleration and hilly highways it manages to shift pretty smoothly and appropriately. I do like the way it will downshift when going downhill or in corners. That aspect of the programming is nice but it's probably what contributes to the occasional rough shift when the transmission isn't in sync with what the driver wants. I will say that my CX-9 with a 6 speed shifted smoother than the Durango but it's not a huge difference.
The handling of the Durango is very good for the class. The ride is a little stiff (even with the 18” wheels on the Limited trim) but not harsh. The car handles very confidently and the weight balance is near perfect (possibly an advantage over the Hemi). The stiff suspension does get a bit upset, particularly by bumps while going around bends or corners. Not terrible but the CX-9 handled that sort of thing much better. The biggest shortfall of the Durango vs. CX-9 is in steering feel. The CX-9 was probably at the top of the class, with steering that made the car feel much smaller than it is. (I don't know if this is retained in the new CX-9.) The Durango may be second best but the gap is very wide. You feel no connection to the road through the steering wheel. Some people like this as it could feel more relaxed. I don't and find that I have to work harder over long trips to constantly make steering corrections. When there is a stronger connection you can make the corrections almost instinctively.
I've had the Durango loaded up as part of a school camping trip and it handled perfectly. 2 large heavy coolers, many other heavy items like water, watermelons, etc. Lighter stuff filled the Yakima skybox on the roof. The car pretty much drove the same way it does when it's empty. Pretty impressive. I did the same haul in my CX-9 and the weight in the back had a significant impact on handling and braking.
Accessories: I've posted before about the roof rack which I find OK. I like the convenience but find it less flexible than aftermarket options. I'll probably be getting the OEM hitch at some point...not for towing but for a bike rack.
Tech: Uconnect is pretty great. Hard to get excited about this stuff because it will be out-of-date within a couple of years but I like it. The system is fairly responsive. Most of the features are easy to find. There's a good balance between the controls on the screen and the physical knobs/buttons on the center stack. Satellite radio works well as does standard radio. I don't love the Uconnect assumes you want to play music from your phone's playlist every time you plug it to USB but that's a minor issue. Navigation is pretty good but I don't find the traffic information (provided by satelite) to be all that accurate compared to Waze or Google maps. A recent upgrade offers Siri compatibility which is a little overblown. You could access Siri by bluetooth before if you held the button on your phone. This update allows you to use the steering wheel button but otherwise you don't get much more functionality. It would be nice if they offered Apple Carplay as an upgrade but I'm doubtful.
HVAC: Seems pretty good. The car heats and cools pretty quickly and the fans are quiet enough...definitely quieter than the CX-9 was. There's the ability to sync the rear climate with the front but there's one glitch where it will blow cold air on the feat of the 3rd row even though the front is calling for the upper vents only. I can select the upper rear vents manually through Uconnect and all is good but I'm not sure why this doesn't sync.
Overall: I'm enjoying the car. It's a good balance of the features that I need. I'd like there to be more steering feel. Perhaps that's been improved in the 2016 which has different steering settings. I like the handling, the tech, the engine and the interior comfort. I'm impressed by the way it handles loads and fuel economy has been good for what it is.
