Dodge Durango R/T

:
2017 CX-5 GT
So our poor CX-5 is in the shop getting repaired yet again because some lady in her Yukon just couldn't wait.


Anyhow, we dropped our CX-5 off at the Mazda collision shop this past Tuesday. Signed the paperwork and they called the nearby Enterprise rental location that they work with to pick us up. 5 minutes later we're at the Enterprise location giving them our info. Our insurance pays for the rental of a similar vehicle while our car is out of service, so towards the end of the info-gathering, the Enterprise rep asks us what model our car is. I tell him it's a CX-5. He turns to the other rep and asks if they have anything comparable to a CX-5 or if they need to bring a car in from another location.

2nd rep scans the lot from behind the counter and says: "They can have that Durango over there". So rep#1 steps outside, walks over to the Durango, starts it up and drives it over to the office. As he pulls up I see the "HEMI" badge on the side. "Huh", I think to myself. "This could be interesting"

After driving it for the last few days, I...uh...well...uh...kinda really like it.

Ride is firm but not overly stiff. Handles well and corners flatly. Relatively quiet inside except for the sound of the V8 rumble. Cabin could be a bit nicer but it's not bad. My biggest beef is you can only control the heated seats/steering wheel controls via the touch screen. But then again, the steering wheel is heated around its entire circumference (ahem, Mazda). Build quality seems good; no rattles that I can hear but it's only got 16K km on the odo.

It's not overly large, or at least doesn't feel like it. The Expedition Enterprise gave us last time did not give me the same feeling.

The engine is always good for a laugh, as long as someone else is paying for gas. It's not too bad on the highway; I was seeing 11l/100km cruising at 120 km/h. Start having fun though and watch the gas needle drop.

Nothing I would buy, but it does have me thinking about trading our 2.5 NA GT for a 2.5T GT.
 
I have the 2.5T GT and I would encourage you to at least take one for a test drive. They are fun and not nearly as thirsty. I drove the Durango hemi years ago, best I could get out of it was 14l/100km ( I had a heavy foot, was also a rental.
 
IMO, if you thought the 2.5 NA was adequate for your commutes, its worth holding on to until Mazda figures out the inline 6 engine/platform, SPCCI, Skyactiv-X, etc. But if you've been longing for more power, go for the GT Reserve.

Enterprise gave us a Ford Flex while our CX-9 was getting some paint work done. I didn't mind it at all, pretty nice car, good power. But after a few days I just wanted my CX-9 back. Mazda interiors are just so much better IMO.
 
So our poor CX-5 is in the shop getting repaired yet again because some lady in her Yukon just couldn't wait.


Anyhow, we dropped our CX-5 off at the Mazda collision shop this past Tuesday. Signed the paperwork and they called the nearby Enterprise rental location that they work with to pick us up. 5 minutes later we're at the Enterprise location giving them our info. Our insurance pays for the rental of a similar vehicle while our car is out of service, so towards the end of the info-gathering, the Enterprise rep asks us what model our car is. I tell him it's a CX-5. He turns to the other rep and asks if they have anything comparable to a CX-5 or if they need to bring a car in from another location.

2nd rep scans the lot from behind the counter and says: "They can have that Durango over there". So rep#1 steps outside, walks over to the Durango, starts it up and drives it over to the office. As he pulls up I see the "HEMI" badge on the side. "Huh", I think to myself. "This could be interesting"

After driving it for the last few days, I...uh...well...uh...kinda really like it.

Ride is firm but not overly stiff. Handles well and corners flatly. Relatively quiet inside except for the sound of the V8 rumble. Cabin could be a bit nicer but it's not bad. My biggest beef is you can only control the heated seats/steering wheel controls via the touch screen. But then again, the steering wheel is heated around its entire circumference (ahem, Mazda). Build quality seems good; no rattles that I can hear but it's only got 16K km on the odo.

It's not overly large, or at least doesn't feel like it. The Expedition Enterprise gave us last time did not give me the same feeling.

The engine is always good for a laugh, as long as someone else is paying for gas. It's not too bad on the highway; I was seeing 11l/100km cruising at 120 km/h. Start having fun though and watch the gas needle drop.

Nothing I would buy, but it does have me thinking about trading our 2.5 NA GT for a 2.5T GT.


Out with it! How much fun are you having stomping on the go peddle?
 
When my 4 month old 2019 CX-5 Reserve was rear ended & totaled a few months back, I also got a rental from Enterprise while I waited for the insurance to get sorted out. My insurance also paid for a "similar" SUV & they initially gave me an Infiniti QX-60. I didn't like it at all. Too big & too isolating to drive. Swapped it out & they gave me a Nissan Rogue, opposite end of the spectrum. Under powered & cheap interior compared to my Reserve. I also used the insurance waiting time to retest drive just about all the competitors I had driven before I bought the Reserve. A few had been updated since that time.
Net result (other than the $25-$50 test drive bribes), I replaced my totaled 2019 Reserve with it's clone.
 
First world vs third: in Colombia even top of the line insurance doesn't include any rental car if your car is incapacitated.
 
How does Dodge get away with lots of high HP low MPG cars while Mazda has to deal with the EPA? Does Dodge even have hybrids/electric cars?

I get tempted to buy a Dodge simply because you can get high horsepower cars for cheap.........then again the reliability questions.
 
A bigger sized SUV, but had to fly back to NJ for a funeral late last week and was given a 2019 Dodge Journey as a rental. Not impressed. Those who dislike the Mazda Connect system will likely be horrified by the "infotainment system" in this vehicle, or at least the base model version in the one I had. Clunky ride, even accounting for the rental car abuse factor (but just 19k miles on it). I can't remember the last time I drove a car still with the factory audio system which had acceleration whine interference in the speakers. Auto transmission searching all over the place for the best gear. Supremely poor rear visibility. I was so happy to get home yesterday to my CX-5.
 
There is quite a bit of difference between the Journey and the Durango. I have driven both. Last year when I rented for a couple weeks I was given a Journey. Kind of like a mini-van vs an SUV. The Durango RT is a nice ride...sucks gas though. Lol.
 
How does Dodge get away with lots of high HP low MPG cars while Mazda has to deal with the EPA? Does Dodge even have hybrids/electric cars?

That's a real good question.

I cannot find anything that shows how any individual manufacturer (or group of manufacturers) are doing regarding these requirements. It's all just goals and corporate-speak.

I wonder how "flexible" the regs are.
I wonder if some are given "indulgences."
 
A bigger sized SUV, but had to fly back to NJ for a funeral late last week and was given a 2019 Dodge Journey as a rental. Not impressed. Those who dislike the Mazda Connect system will likely be horrified by the "infotainment system" in this vehicle, or at least the base model version in the one I had. Clunky ride, even accounting for the rental car abuse factor (but just 19k miles on it). I can't remember the last time I drove a car still with the factory audio system which had acceleration whine interference in the speakers. Auto transmission searching all over the place for the best gear. Supremely poor rear visibility. I was so happy to get home yesterday to my CX-5.
My 2019 GT-R still isn't up to par with my 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee for OEM audio system. Bose is just trash.

The Journey is a terrible vehicle.

Chrysler does actually do infotainment systems right. HK sound, and one of the best interfaces in the business. Love uConnect. The ONLY thing Mazda got right was the rotary dial/knob > Touch Screen. The rest of the infotainment is straight outta 2008.
 
Bose has always been overrated.

But they have great marketing.

That being said, I'm not that disappointed with my CX-5's sound system. I wish it had an equalizer in it. Those can fix a multitude of sins...and the mid range really needs a boost.
 
Bose has always been overrated.

But they have great marketing.

That being said, I'm not that disappointed with my CX-5's sound system. I wish it had an equalizer in it. Those can fix a multitude of sins...and the mid range really needs a boost.
Agreed. I don't find the sound system to be upsetting except when I compare it to similar vehicles with much better systems. By itself, it's entirely decent. It's just not up to the competition from 5 years ago, even.
 
Got our CX-5 back yesterday. The shop did a really good job; looks good as new.

As much fun as the Durango was, it sat in our driveway since last Thursday. It was a nightmare to drive in bad road conditions. Rental companies really should be forced to put snow tires on their vehicles. This thing had really wide all-seasons which were terrible.

We parked the Durango in the same spot we park the Mazda, on the "ramp" next to the house. They brought in a lot of fill when they built our house, so the house sits maybe 10' higher than the surrounding land. We have a gravel ramp on one side of the house that leads down to the backyard (maybe a 10 degree slope). Anyhow, it took me 10 minutes and a bunch of ash from the woodstove to get the Durango unstuck last week because of an inch of snow

We just opted to take the wife Golf R which has WS80's into work after that.
 
So our poor CX-5 is in the shop getting repaired yet again because some lady in her Yukon just couldn't wait.


Anyhow, we dropped our CX-5 off at the Mazda collision shop this past Tuesday. Signed the paperwork and they called the nearby Enterprise rental location that they work with to pick us up. 5 minutes later we're at the Enterprise location giving them our info. Our insurance pays for the rental of a similar vehicle while our car is out of service, so towards the end of the info-gathering, the Enterprise rep asks us what model our car is. I tell him it's a CX-5. He turns to the other rep and asks if they have anything comparable to a CX-5 or if they need to bring a car in from another location.

2nd rep scans the lot from behind the counter and says: "They can have that Durango over there". So rep#1 steps outside, walks over to the Durango, starts it up and drives it over to the office. As he pulls up I see the "HEMI" badge on the side. "Huh", I think to myself. "This could be interesting"

After driving it for the last few days, I...uh...well...uh...kinda really like it.

Ride is firm but not overly stiff. Handles well and corners flatly. Relatively quiet inside except for the sound of the V8 rumble. Cabin could be a bit nicer but it's not bad. My biggest beef is you can only control the heated seats/steering wheel controls via the touch screen. But then again, the steering wheel is heated around its entire circumference (ahem, Mazda). Build quality seems good; no rattles that I can hear but it's only got 16K km on the odo.

It's not overly large, or at least doesn't feel like it. The Expedition Enterprise gave us last time did not give me the same feeling.

The engine is always good for a laugh, as long as someone else is paying for gas. It's not too bad on the highway; I was seeing 11l/100km cruising at 120 km/h. Start having fun though and watch the gas needle drop.

Nothing I would buy, but it does have me thinking about trading our 2.5 NA GT for a 2.5T GT.

The Durango R/T does 0-60 in 6.2 seconds. The 2.5T CX-5 also does it in 6.2 seconds and uses way less fuel!
 
The Durango R/T does 0-60 in 6.2 seconds. The 2.5T CX-5 also does it in 6.2 seconds and uses way less fuel!
RAV4 Prime would be faster and use FAR LESS fuel than either...I'm curious how it pans out! 5.7 0-60, and supposedly deep into the 30's mpg wise.
 
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