2018 Dodge Durango SRT Tells Compromise to Shove It [w/ Video]

A couple weeks ago, we reported on the scuttlebutt that an SRT-tuned Dodge Durango with its Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT cousin’s 475 horsepower 6.4L Hemi V8 would be announced soon, and that an even kookier Hellcat powered version could be confirmed sometime in 2018. Well, the jury seems to still be very much out the psychotic latter, the merely unhinged former is most definitely a go and, if you have the dough, it’s definitely the Dodge SUV to have.

The exterior has certainly been made to look suitably battle-ready, with fascias that extend closer to the ground, a mesh grille insert, scooped and vented hood, and two fist-sized exhaust tips, plus 20” wheels wearing your choice of Pirelli all-season or P Zero performance tires. Dodge says that more hardcore rubber helps catapult the all-wheel-drive and 8-speed automatic equipped Durango SRT to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and through the standing quarter-mile in 12.9 seconds.

We know what you’re thinking: “That’s neat and all but, based on previous muscle trucks and SUVs, this thing is now useless for normal segment strong suits like towing and hauling.” Well, that is usually the case, but the SRT team decided to flip the script and make the ‘roided-up ‘Rango more capable than the regular 5.7L Hemi model. Towing capacity swells by 1,200 lbs. to 8,600, while max payload checks in at a decent 1,350 lbs. In other words, the Durango to buy (provided you can wait until this fall) if you plan on pulling a big travel trailer, boat or other unpowered wheeled vehicle on a regular basis is also the quickest and most fun one. How great is that?

Source: Dodge