[SilverQShip]

this was on titantalk, i thought u guys might be interested

" Verdicts out !! Armada smoked Hemi Durango!!
My brothers family and mine went to Lake Tahoe for a week and a half. My brother rented an Aramda 4x4 and I, the Durango Hemi AWD/4x4! In snow up to a foot and a half, the Armada dominated. I was stuck and the Armada had tow duty! I really thought and was told that the Durango Hemi will beat the Armada/Ttian on a roll but to my frustration of losing many rolling races I thought I would try my luck at the light. Once again I was really wanting to feel some power come out of the hemi but it again dissapointed me. Some would say that it was because of the AWD on the hemi but we also put the Armada in Auto 4x4 and 4 hi. Again the Durango lost. We tried to get he hemi to win but it lost EVERY time. The best it did was off a 30 Mile per hour roll. And at the end of that it was at the Armadas quarter panel with the Armada still gaining. The Moral of the story is if anyone tells you that the Durango is faster dont believe it. I know better.


(disclaimer: I do not condone street racing, nor should you EVER EVER EVER race on the street. Leave it to the bone heads like me. Only go the speed limit and NEVER NEVER NEVER break the law!!)
__________________
04 Silver SE 4X4 KC
Rockford Fosgate
Utility package (usless tray) divider and extender
OEM Fog light kit
Low profile deep tool box
K&N drop in
Sylvania SilverStars
Kenwood touchscreen Nav system
Mods:
My beautiful wife in the passenger seat!! "


-son of SQS

 

[Mike Up]

I was looking at a 2005 SLT Hemi 4X4 and thought the vehicle sucked. I tried to like it but it just had to many negatives.

The worst was the engine. Don't know if the AWD sucks the life out of it but it was a dog. Even the magazines say it's in the over 8 second bracket for 0 - 60 mph. Besides the lack of performance, the vehicle has terrible body roll.

I was actually comparing today when I dropped my Pathfinder off for skid plate installation, tire rotation, and oil change.

The Durango is no bigger in side than the pathfinder. The front headroom and front legroom feels identical to the Pathfinder. The rear seat room was the same with no more knee room than the pathfinder and no more headroom. Shoulder room and width from door to door was just as wide as the Pathfinder.

The only area that was better was the 3rd row seat where my knees just touched the back of the 2nd row seat. With the Pathfinder, my knees are pegged with brute force while being forced in opposite directions. I'm 6' so I would think a 5'6" person should fit with their knees just hitting the back of the 2nd row.

So in actuality, the Durango offers no more seating space for the 1st and 2nd row, yet feels extremely heavy from it's poor body rolling handling.

It is obviously heavier by about 500 lbs but that seems to be in a beefed up front end for the bigger hemi and beefed up frame and suspension for heavier 1700 lbs payload and 8700 lbs towing compared to the Pathfinder's 1308 lbs payload and 6000 lbs towing.

BTW, the Durango doesn't even offer limited slip on it's axles, so it's really 2WD at best.

The seats don't fold flat either creating a pronounced bump at the fold for the 3rd seat and 2nd seat while the 2nd seat ramps up when folded. Pretty much useless for cargo storage since there's not a flat cargo floor. One of the main reasons I passed besides the other negatives.

I liked the towing capacity and 3rd row seat room (in comparision to Pathfinder kid seats) but the vehicle had to many negatives for these benefits.

They should had stuck with the older design, it couldn't be any worse than this and perhaps a lot better. I know I actually loved the design of the older vehicle while not thrilled with the new Durango's looks.

Have a good one.

 

[92TripleBlack]

Hemis pull 20-30 less hp/tq on the Dyno. I've never seen a test where one was faster, 1500 or Durango.