The Dodge Durango Is the Testosterone-Boosted Version of an SUV

You see them everywhere these days: middle-aged men defying nature with muscular builds that look straight off the covers of fitness magazines. Some come by them through hard work; many with help from surgery, supplements, or pharmaceuticals. Occasionally all three.The trend has become so prevalent that it is now official government policy, following War Secretary Pete Hegesth’s declaration that men in the United States Armed Forces will be screened annually for low testosterone levels and provided treatment free of charge, if they want it.The program is aimed at keeping them stronger for longer while also getting the best return for the American taxpayer’s investment in its warfighters. Why replace something old if you can just fix it?It is the same strategy Dodge has been following with the current Durango SUV. The midsize, three-row model was first launched in 2011 and has never been fully redesigned. Fifteen years is about twice the typical lifecycle for a new vehicle, but Dodge has been incrementally improving it over the years.Its platform remains the same, but it has received many facelifts and updates along the way to keep it competitive, and had its best sales ever in 2025. It is on pace to match or beat that result this year. The current-generation Durango first went on sale in 2011. Dodge After years of selling it with an economical V6 option, Dodge has now positioned the Durango as a “muscle SUV” with three V8 engines to choose from and will soon discontinue the V6 for retail customers altogether.The $45,670 Durango GT Hemi AWD comes with a 360-horsepower 5.7-liter V8, the $51,990 Durango R/T 392 a 475-horsepower 6.4-liter V8 6.4-liter V8 and the $81,990 Durango SRT Hellcat a 710-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter V8.I recently tested the Durango R/T 392, which is very much a Goldilocks model. It makes the Durango GT seem wimpy, while the Durango SRT Hellcat is far too powerful to appreciate fully on a public road if you value your license.The Durango R/T 392 is outfitted with a vented hood to keep its enormous engine cool, 10-inch-wide tires, computer-controlled shock absorbers and brakes from Brembo, a company that supplies Formula 1 teams.The Durango R/T 392’s interior is outfitted with deep bucket seats that highlight its sporty personality. DodgeIt has seating for six with second-row captain’s chairs and deep, sporty front buckets. The biggest tell that it is far from a brand-new design is that it still has analog gauges instead of a full digital instrument cluster, as is common today. There is also a foot-operated parking brake and plungers for the door locks that make a satisfying old-fashioned clunk when you hit the button.The gas pedal creates even better sounds as it summons the engine to send power through the eight-speed automatic transmission and you on a sprint to 60 mph that takes just 4.4 seconds. That is quicker than the Dodge Charger R/T coupe, which is priced exactly the same as the Durango R/T 392, but settles for a 420-horsepower turbocharged inline-six engine. You can confirm the time with a stopwatch that is incorporated into the speedometer.The Durango actually has a smaller footprint than the Charger and feels far more nimble and responsive than you’d expect from its looks. It doesn’t wobble around at all on a winding road, thanks to the adaptive suspension, but still manages to soak up bumps nicely.Not off-road. It is definitely not that kind of SUV, but it is very much a utility vehicle. The Durango R/T 392 is rated to tow up to 8,700 pounds and has plenty of storage space, especially if you don’t need to use the third row of seats. It also has a roof rack with crossbars that can hold up to 150 pounds and store lengthwise in the side rails when not in use, to reduce wind noise and aerodynamic drag. You’ll want to cut down on the latter as much as possible, because the Durango R/T 392’s fuel economy rating is just 13 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway, so every bit counts.The Durango R/T 392 has wide tires and large brakes to enhance its performance. DodgeIf there is one downside to buying an old or new SUV, it is that its bones are more brittle than the younger stock it matches up against. The Durango holds a four-star NHTSA safety rating on a five-star scale, but it does have automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, and a lane departure prevention system that all work to keep you from hitting things in the first place.There is no need to rush to your local Dodge dealer if you want one, because the Durango just re-upped for a few more years of service and isn’t expected to be replaced until 2029. Then again, it probably should have retired around 2019, so who knows when it will finally fade away.

The Dodge Durango Is the Testosterone-Boosted Version of an SUV

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