[Mr. Bill]

Hi Everyone. My company car lease ends in June and I am trying to decide between the Durango SRT and the Jeep Trackhawk. My current company car is an Audi RS5, which I really like. However, my wife and I bought a weekend vacation home with lots of open space, so we are constantly hauling kids and stuff back and forth, and no one wants to ride in the back of a sport coupe for the 80 minute drive. Gas, insurance, repairs, etc. for the company car are on the house, so there is good reason to want to use the work vehicle for our weekend excursions. Although I want something more practical, I don't want to give up too much excitement in the name of practicality, so a high powered SUV seems to fit the bill. I have considered a pickup truck, but the full size ones are too big for daily use in suburbia, and they are generally not much fun to drive. I have considered the German high HP SUV's, but they are too expensive (the car lease allowance is $1,050/month and after that I pay out of pocket for the excess). At the end of the day, the two vehicles that fit my needs and desired price points are the SRT and Trackhawk. I rented a Durango GT for a couple of weeks last month while traveling on business, and found the vehicle to be very livable, but thought it would probably be much more fun with a couple hundred extra horsepower. After scouring this forum and the Trackhawk forum for information as well as reviewing the multitude of tests online, I have boiled the general strengths of each vehicle as following:

SRT:
Three row seating with reclining captain chairs in the second row, so the kids will be happier.
Cheaper - it will definitely fit within the budget while the Trackhawk will probably go over.
Can be purchased with integrated roof rails which I need for my Thule top box.

Trackhawk:
700+ hp - who doesn't want that?
Seems like the Trackhawk might get better gas mileage. While I am not so concerned about the gas mileage, I am concerned about range. The one thing I hate about my Audi is having to fill the tank so often (every 230 miles, give or take).

I still have a few months to decide, but would like to hear from those who are in the know. Is there anything I am missing in my search? Are there any other vehicles that might fit the bill? Thanks in advance. Phil.

 

[craigffb]

Some may disagree with me but I don't think the two trucks your comparing are in the same apple cart. The SRT Grand Cherokee would be a more equal comparison. Then it would be simply down to inside space, and two rows vs three. I don't think the Trackhawk is gonna get better gas mileage either....Supercharged vs N/A. Also I'm almost 100% sure you can get MOPAR cross bars for the Jeep...just not sure if they work with the SRT or the Trackhawk.

 

[Mr. Bill]

Thank you. I don't disagree with your first statement. If the Durango came with the Hellcat engine, my search would be over. The cross bar tip is helpful, since not being able to put a top box on the Jeep could be a determining factor.

 

[MikeD1]

^^^ what Craig said !!

You are comparing 2 very different animals that are not even in the same price bracket ($65K vs. $100K).

Having driven both an SRT 392 Challenger and the Hellcat, they are very different driving experiences even tho they basically the same in most other respects.
I went with the Hellcat (my toy) and the Durango R/T as a DD. When it comes down to it, you can't really make use of the 707 HP 99% of the time, but it's great fun to have on tap.

If you need the 3rd row, the SRT is the only viable option.

 

[Mr. Bill]

My guess is that I can make a lot more use of 707 HP if all four wheels are pulling instead of two. I really wish Dodge came out with an AWD Challenger Hellcat, in which case, I would have that car on the list as well. Even so, I think/hope the SRT might have enough HP for me, but my Audi has 450 hp (although not as much torque), and that was a power drop from the modified Audi TT RS that I had before that. I would have to drive the Durango SRT for a week or two to be sure the power is what I want, but I don't think the dealer is going to go for that request. Also, the Durango I would get would be around $70k-$75k and the Jeep would be around $85k-$90k, so the price spread is comparatively smaller. I see both vehicles starting to be listed on Autotrader in my area for less than MSRP, which makes the Jeep more attainable. The MSRP on my Audi was about $88k, and I was able to lease that car for an amount pretty close to my allowance.

 

[Gregtay]

I had an RS5 Cabriolet and switched to the Durango SRT... my plan was to get a Trackhawk but my wife has a 2016 Jeep SRT and the Trackhawk just didn’t offer all that much more from a DD perspective. Yes, 700HP would be awesome... but 475 offers plenty of smiles. I haul kids, a boat, and my bicycles around a lot, so the DSRT won me over.

I’m about to jump in a flight but I’ll write more later on a comparison of the RS5, JSRT and DSRT. Can’t provide much on the TH as I never finalized my order or drove.

The thing I miss the most from the RS5 is the dual clutch and the music from the exhaust when you downshift with the exhaust baffles opened.


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[MikeD1]

Pricing must be different in the north. Here (500 mile radius) it's easy to get $6 - $8K off the SRT, but the TH's are all priced right around MSRP (or higher) with most in the $95 - 100K range.

As for the power, I wasn't referring to being able to put it to the ground, but rather just how much of it you can actually use in daily driving given traffic, enforcement, crappy/distracted drivers etc. I live in a semi-rural county and really don't get to let the Cat stretch it's legs all that much. In town there is still traffic, country roads there is always some bumpkin or old fart doddering about, ppl staring at their phones etc. and then there is the ever present (these days) state & county boys running radar/laser to raise revenue.

If you are somewhere that affords the opportunity to 'romp' on a regular basis, then I'd got for the TH without question.

Seriously doubt a dealer will let you take an SRT on anything other than a short test drive. You might be able to scrounge around and find a place that will rent one for a week.

 

[Gregtay]

Pricing must be different in the north. Here (500 mile radius) it's easy to get $6 - $8K off the SRT, but the TH's are all priced right around MSRP (or higher) with most in the $95 - 100K range.

As for the power, I wasn't referring to being able to put it to the ground, but rather just how much of it you can actually use in daily driving given traffic, enforcement, crappy/distracted drivers etc. I live in a semi-rural county and really don't get to let the Cat stretch it's legs all that much. In town there is still traffic, country roads there is always some bumpkin or old fart doddering about, ppl staring at their phones etc. and then there is the ever present (these days) state & county boys running radar/laser to raise revenue.

If you are somewhere that affords the opportunity to 'romp' on a regular basis, then I'd got for the TH without question.

Seriously doubt a dealer will let you take an SRT on anything other than a short test drive. You might be able to scrounge around and find a place that will rent one for a week.

I had a dealer let me take a DSRT on a demo for the day, no issues. It is actually what sold me on getting one. Took it home, let my wife drive it and let the kids check it out. I didn’t buy the one I demo’ed or from that dealer, found one across town with the option I wanted and gave that dealer that had it a chance to sell it to me at my price and they did.

And give TH a little more time... they are still just arriving at dealers and there was a stop sell for the last month, so things are still rolling out. In a few months when all the ones that were preordered are delivered and dealers have them sitting on their lots I am expecting $10k off or more will be pretty easy to get and a year from now even more. The total market for a 100k Jeep w/ 700hp is pretty small.


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[Gregtay]

BTW... if you follow the TH threads it is common to get THs for 2-3% under invoice, many dealers have offered this on new orders, etc. you do not need to pay MSRP for anything FCA sells.


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[Cannonball74]

I'm thinking I need to find a new company. :bugeyed:

 

[cambo]

I'm thinking I need to find a new company. :bugeyed:

Do you get a company gas card as well ?

Mr.Bill is very fortunate I have been trying to figure out a creative accounting way to get my company to pay

 

[Mr. Bill]

I do consider myself fortunate, although maybe not so much when I work the next two months without any days off. At the end of the day, I think it comes down to the Durango being the more practical vehicle. I'm partial to the Durango's looks. The question is whether it will have enough HP to keep me entertained as a DD. It seems that Gregtay has gone through a similar switch in vehicles. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[KC Geezer]

As others mentioned having the extra HP would be fun on occasion, but as a Durango SRT owner, 475 HP is a lot of power. Quicker than almost any other vehicle you come across on a given day. Plenty of power to tow your boat, and with the 3rd row down, there's all kinds of room for gear and 4 passengers. In my opinion the Durango has a better looking grill, hood, stance, and rear end. I believe it also sits a little lower, at least there's less space between the top of the tire and fender well. Imo it has a more aggressive sporty look, says SRT all over it and doesn't have the "wordy" badging of "Supercharged Grand Cherokee". I am a little biased as a SRT owner, but even if they were the same price, I'd choose the Durango.

 

[Gregtay]

I do consider myself fortunate, although maybe not so much when I work the next two months without any days off. At the end of the day, I think it comes down to the Durango being the more practical vehicle. I'm partial to the Durango's looks. The question is whether it will have enough HP to keep me entertained as a DD. It seems that Gregtay has gone through a similar switch in vehicles. Thanks for all the replies.

I’ll find time to write more details (currently in a plane over the Pacific headed to Tokyo) but yes, compared to the RS5 I think you would find the 475 SRT power a little more usable. The RS5 just didn’t have a ton of torque and I felt like you didn’t really get to have fun unless you had the tach above 6k... and the problem with that is that you are moving pretty good in 1st @6k rpms... so around town (and I mean city streets, etc) the RS5 wasn’t all the fast (but sounded awesome)... don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t slow, but just when you got into the power band you had to lift because your speed was getting too high for suburbia. Freeway onramps were fun, but it was clearly setup to be driven at high speeds (autobahn)... and I am sure it is wonderful in that element. I tried to rent an RS5 sportback in Germany a few years ago but Sixt didn’t have any available in München when I was there that week which was a bummer, would have been fun. In many ways the Durango feels a lot like driving the RS5 (suspension wise, both are a bit heavy NA power, etc) and the SRTs extra torque and different power as just makes it feel like the power is always there ready to the second you put your foot down(and it sounds pretty good too... but RS5 good... but still enough to make you smile.) Both are ‘old’ platforms but the Durango has actually done a little better keeping up with the latest tech (obviously the new RS5 is a different story.. but ugly and no more V8.)




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[1BADR/T]

Get the DSRT, don't look back.

 

[Mr. Bill]

I only look back when changing lanes or backing up.

I thought I recognized Gregtay's name from somewhere, and it must be from one of the Audi forums. That's an interesting perspective on the impact of the higher torque on how the DSRT feels. I have been a long time manual driver, so I frequently shift my RS5 manually (on the console, not the wheel paddles), and found the power to be fine. If the DSRT feels like it has more usable power due to the extra torque, then that may be sufficient. Thanks again for the replies.

 

[Dr. Jim]

I have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and a 2018 Durango SRT. One thing about putting a Thule box on top is that if you order a sunroof, on the Durango the sunroof is a "regular" size whereas the Jeep has the panoramic sunroof which cuts into the rear area between the roof rails. The SRT models have plenty of power. You would probably spend at least another $20,000 for a Trailhawk for 232 additional horsepower. I'm not sure that's worth it.

 

[Gregtay]

I only look back when changing lanes or backing up.

I thought I recognized Gregtay's name from somewhere, and it must be from one of the Audi forums. That's an interesting perspective on the impact of the higher torque on how the DSRT feels. I have been a long time manual driver, so I frequently shift my RS5 manually (on the console, not the wheel paddles), and found the power to be fine. If the DSRT feels like it has more usable power due to the extra torque, then that may be sufficient. Thanks again for the replies.

Manually shifting the SRT isn’t nearly as rewarding as the RS5... the tranny is great in auto mode but manual shifting (mainly downshifting) is a little clunky compared to a dual clutch.... but I still manually shift the SRT quite a bit(like you I almost always manually shifted the RS5)

Yes, might have been me from the Audi forums... been on them for years(same username). Sadly down to just one Audi these days... a TT roadster we keep down in AZ.


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[66nova]

I have had my DSRT for about 2 months now. I absolutely love it. I came from a truck, that while it is by no means sporty it does accelerate well. My truck is supercharged and makes over 600hp. But, I also have 4 kids so even my crewcab truck is too small for the family, but needed something that would tow my drag car. While the Durango makes less power, the way it is applied is quite impressive. SRT has paired the power band of the 6.4 very well with the transmission and gearing. It really feels stronger than it should. I too would have been all over a trackhawk Durango, but this platform has a lot of potential. You could easily supercharge the SRT for less than the price of the Trackhawk.

 

[Lip]

I have had my DSRT for about 2 months now. I absolutely love it. I came from a truck, that while it is by no means sporty it does accelerate well. My truck is supercharged and makes over 600hp. But, I also have 4 kids so even my crewcab truck is too small for the family, but needed something that would tow my drag car. While the Durango makes less power, the way it is applied is quite impressive. SRT has paired the power band of the 6.4 very well with the transmission and gearing. It really feels stronger than it should. I too would have been all over a trackhawk Durango, but this platform has a lot of potential. You could easily supercharge the SRT for less than the price of the Trackhawk.

I daily a CTS-V and bought this for my wife. Have an older 997s as a weekender.
I have to agree about the power deliver, and it has plenty of hustle for a family hauler. The 6.4 liter sounds like some engineers spent some time getting the sound just right. Transmission:Compared to the VW AG DSG in the RS5, yeah maybe not as quick but we’re remember this is a 5500lb SUV. More than adequate and it can tow more than 4 tons. I like the long wheelbase too.Not only can throw more gear in the back but, the balance is excellent for such large thing. Only wishes are that they offered a full leather option and the Harmon Kardon like they do in the summits and wk2 SRTs. Also, I prefer the scoop less hood of the wk2. Find another vehicle in this class with as much utility for under $70k. Doesn’t exist. The GL 63 or whatever they’re calling it these days damn near double the price with options. Even gets almost 18 on road trips now that it’s broken in.

The Cherocat is obviously next level. In terms of real world performance without pushing a bunch of buttons to achieve the objective, this rig will walk most of what’s out there at the stop light. Those 6.2s sound vicious. It’s special. However, it’s hard to beat the sound of the 6.4. Naturally aspirated induction sound is just so epic. The afformentioned RS5s v8 not withstanding, I think the 392 is over the better sounding motors. Guess it just depends on what you’re looking for. For $100k, I think the choice gets a bit more complex and I might be going with a new CTS-V(with change to spare) E63 or M5. Just depends. I think I go Durango for this reason.

I love that Dodge included similar hardware on my three row suv

Brake dust is my nemesis...