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2018 Dodge Durango SRT 392 Rocky Mountain Review By Larry Nutson


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On the Road with Mopar Performance
2018 Dodge Durango SRT 392

By Larry Nutson
Senior Editor and Bureau Chief
Chicago Bureau
The Auto Channel

I’ve had a number of opportunities to drive the Dodge Durango in its many variants. Last January a 2018 Durango SRT powered by the famed Hemi with 475 horsepower was my “wheels” to go from my Chicago home to the Detroit Auto Show and back.

Just recently I again found myself driving the Durango SRT. On the invite of Dodge and Mopar I was taking in the sights and sounds at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Powered by Mopar at Bandimere Speedway near Denver, Colorado. The Dodge/SRT brand was marking its first year as title sponsor at Bandimere Speedway of the NHRA Mello Yello drag race series.

At the Chicago Auto Show in February Dodge and Mopar introduced a number of custom accessories for the Durango. Car customizing has been around since the 1950s. Yes it has changed some over all the years, but today many car owners still want to add their personal styling statement.

My Denver-Durango finished in White Knuckle Clear-Coat came equipped with 10-inch wide X 20-inch gloss black alloys fitted with 295/45 series summer performance tires.


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Complementing the wheels, low gloss black dual racing stripes ran from front to rear. The stripes come in four additional colors and are priced at $1,195.

The stance of my Durango SRT was further enhanced with a Mopar performance spring kit. Priced at $325, the springs lower the Durango SRT by 15mm (0.6 inches). More than just an appearance item, Dodge SRT engineers tuned the lowering springs to the factory dampers. With the new springs there is less rear-end squat during acceleration, less nose dive under braking and reduced body roll while cornering.


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I drove from my Golden, Colorado digs that sits at 5,800 feet in the Rockies up to the top of 7,377 foot Lookout Mountain and the burial site of William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The twisty-windy road up and back down the mountain with many 10-mph hairpins was easy to tackle with the well-handling Durango SRT.

Another add-on to my Durango SRT, and one to make me even more tempted to step into the throttle, was the new $1,850 performance exhaust system that has been factory tuned for improved flow, sound and overall performance. The 475 – horsepower Hemi has a great exhaust note right from the factory but with this new exhaust kit it was even better.


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The Durango SRT does zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and covers the quarter mile in 12.9 seconds. I tried a few of those zero to 60 runs!

Of course the interior deserves some attention too. A SRT interior appearance group adds carbon-fiber instrument panel and door bezels to the premium-wrapped instrument panel, Dinamica soft-touch headliner and accent panel on speaker trim rings. This all for $2,495.

Check out my February 6 review of the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT right here.

More info on the Durango is at www.Dodge.com and the performance parts at www.mopar.com.

Also check out Dodge Garage at www.dodge.com/dodge-garage, a digital hub and destination where muscle car and race enthusiasts can hang out to get the latest on all things Dodge, SRT and Mopar.

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© 2018 Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy