2005 Dodge Durango 5.7 Hemi Limited
Purchased summer of 2012 with 76K miles, we were sold on the roomy interior and excellent towing capacity for an SUV.
A brief history
We bought our 2005 Dodge Durango in July of 2012 for about $16,000. It had 76k miles and seemed to be in decent shape. Over the last 10 years we have added another 60k miles to the odometer, mostly trouble free. I’m a firm believer in buying vehicles used and gravitate towards higher optioned trim levels, so our Durango is a ‘limited’. With that package you get some nice options like heated leather seats, automatic climate control (with a separately controlled back seat unit), a large screen DVD based navigation system, and body colored running boards. Pretty basic and outdated by today’s standards.
Why we bought it
This is our second Durango. We traded the first one (a 2001 model) for an economy car (2005 Toyota Matrix) when Mrs. Mile was working further from home, but really missed the space. When our kids were younger, we often had need of a third-row seat and looked at many other SUV options from a wide range of makes but didn’t find any other gas-powered SUV in our budget with a towing capacity comparable to the Hemi powered Durango (8650 lbs). We didn’t yet own a travel trailer but had plans to borrow a 30’ model from a friend for a camping trip later that summer.
What we’ve used it for:
- Towing – utility trailer, boats, PWC’s
- Camping
- Road-trips
- Anytime we are bringing more than 3 people
- Snow driving
Pros
- Roomy
- Powerful
- Parts and maintenance are inexpensive
- Turning radius
Cons
- Cheap plastic interior parts crack
- Stereo/navigation screen has stopped working
- Poor fuel economy – 9 to 10 towing, 13 city, 18 hwy (best tank on a road trip was 19.5 mpg)
- Handling could be better
Don’t take my word for it
Check out this review by Motortrend when the 2nd generation Dodge Durango first hit the streets.
During this long-term review Car and Driver really put the Durango through it’s paces over 40K miles.
