August 24, 2015
Craig and Deanne Conover

It seems to us that over that past few years, minivans have lost much of the appeal that has previously been enjoyed with the mommy set. As millennial’s transform into motherhood and start families of their own, they are looking for a more athletic looking larger vehicle to transport the little ones and enjoy their free time as much as possible, without being tied to the pavement all the time. Dodge has come up with the perfect answer in the recently redesigned Durango, part minivan, part SUV and all sprit in the Citadel edition, which sported more family friendly accoutrements that would keep even the rowdiest children quite during a long family vacation.

We had the opportunity to take the Citadel on a long Sunday Drive the week we had it. We drove up and over the Nebo Loop road from Payson to Nephi, the scenic byway rises to over 9000 feet with twists and turns that were handled without any complaint from the Durango. The athletic ability was evident from the moment we entered Payson Canyon taking on the twisty road with little to no effort from Craig at the wheel, the electronic steering kept him in touch with the road with all the confidence he could have ever wanted.

The new 8- speed transmission that Chrysler is putting most all of their new cars performed extremely well no matter if we were asking for a quick down shift to handle the steep climb, or needed a moment of quick acceleration on the freeway coming home from Nephi at 80 miles per hour.

We should point out at this point that the new Citadel comes standard with only a 3.6 liter V6 that put out a very nice 290 horsepower, and would be fine for pretty much any family to use every day or on the long family vacation. During out day out in the mountains and throughout the rest of the week we never one wanted for more power from the Durango. There is a Hemi option for those that might need the extra 70 horsepower for towing, but mpg drops a couple of points also.

Not being built on a truck frame as some of the larger competition like Tahoe and Expedition, the Durango has a much smoother ride. From the first day we were very impressed with how nice and comfortable the ride and seating were in the Citadel, comparing it will recent drives in larger SUV’s we would have to admit the Durango would be our choice for a better cursing the open road vehicle.

In fact, Car and Drive lists the Dodge Durango as the number one choice in the midsized SUV and crossover market, ahead of the likes of the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander. Out of 12 different competitors in this field we were in agreement, especially with the Citadel edition with all the luxury anyone could want form an all wheel drive vehicle.

Source
Daily Herald