2005 Dodge Durango consumer reviews

My wife and i bought our 05 limited with 60 thousand miles on it about 2 month ago. We love it!! The Hemi has plenty of power. We get about 17 to 18 mpg on e way at about 70 mph. In the city we get 13 to 15mpg. One of the only flaws that I can see is the plastic around the front seats. They has a tendency to crack .I purchased a new piece for 50 dollars and that is all that I have not liked. It has plenty of room it handles really good in the snow and I can see that we will have it for years to come

I purchased my 2005 Durango 3 months ago and got a good deal. $14,000 and 26,000 miles clean and looks brand new. I can honestly say it was the first SUV I've ever brought and I was pleased, BUT.. I just experienced going through the ice/snow on the streets in Kansas City and the braking system locks easy. I even put it on 4 wheel drive and still the same. Maybe I need to put it into 2nd gear or something, but that's kind of dangerous for the brakes to slide like that. I'm going to have it checked out and my brakes are in good shape, but other then that the car is nice. Well, there is the gas issue like someone said in the other reviews.Driving in the city you can run out a full tank in 3 days. But the locking brakes is my issue and it's scary. Advise; get a 2007/2008 I'm sure they handle much better.

I love this Durango! Although quite horrible on gas, the handling is great, its comfortable, (although I wish the second row seat was back a little further so I don't constantly get kicked in the back of my seat by my 4 year old), and it looks wonderful. I feel safe in it and that is most important when you have young children with you. The Hemi engine is quite powerful, which means it eats gas like mad, but other than that, it is probably the nicest car I have ever owned and the newest. I bought it with 50,000 miles on it 1 year ago and have had no problems with it. Took it on a 1800 mile road trip 2 months after getting it and it was great. The gas mileage on the highway was surprisingly good. Its all the stop and go that eats up the gas.

I waited until I was 19 to purchase my first car because I wanted to avoid the inevitable crummy car choices available to me at 15-16. The Durango was a go-to choice because 1) I love SUVs and 2) it fit me (I'm 5'10"). It took me from early April to the end of June, car shopping with my father at every dealership we could find before I found my Durango. I find her (Black Betty as she's nicknamed) to be an excellent buy for me. Its not that bad on gas - I can get about 450 miles to the tank, which is helpful on a college budget. I plan on keeping this car for another 8 to 10 years and maintain it regularly. My only negative is that I have replaced the windshield wipers 4 times in the last year but I am a stickler for a clean windshield :) After taxes, I paid 19,000 for the car with $5,000 down and a 6 year loan term. (The car is entirely in my name - a financial responsibility that has helped me budget better).In my opinion, it was the best decision I've made to date!

Great roomy SUV for family of six.Rides like a dream but lacks low end torque. Great for long trips. Turns surprisingly sharp for such a large vehicle. Ride is very quiet and comfortable. Only complaint is that the V6 isn't properly geared to deliver much power or torque, but delivered an avg 20mpg wich isn't very bad for a large SUV.

I have owned my 05 Durango since Feb of 2005. It is by far the best SUV I have driven (my fourth). We have a HEMI and it really performs when we need to get out of a jam on the freeway or just showing up the young punks and their little foreign rides. This Durango took us on a road trip to the Mall of America in Minnesota starting from Milwaukee. There was 4 adults and one child in a car seat. The 5 hour drive was great and everyone was comfortable. The ride back was great and it included everyone's shopping bags! Very roomy and ... with the 1300 lbs passanger capacity, this SUV is well worth the money! It does drink a lot of gas. But if you buy a big SUV believing gasoline will be cheap, then your just fooling yourself. I have had only one problem, the gas tank keeps acting up and they are replacing it for me. My local Chrysler dealership just tested it and said it faile, needing to be replaced. Other than that, I completely love my Durango!

I really like this vehicle, it is comfortable, powerful, and has excellent bad weather behavior (both going and stopping.) There are 3 areas I think needs improvement: the economy/mileage, the torque converter and the door hinges. First, the Durango line DESPERATELY needs a diesel and or hybrid option to up the fuel economy. We currently get as low as 11mpg around town (usually its between 13-15.) One of the reasons is it's all city driving, the other is the tires like to leak air even when there is nothing "wrong" with them - you have to keep a constant eye on them in the cold weather (and I am kind of lazy about doing this) and finally that darn torque converter/transmission. The issue with the torque converter/transmission is someone at DCX had the "bright idea" of messing with an automobile part that has worked fine for the past 40 years and "improved it." What happens is that when you first start your car until it "warms-up" after a block or two, you'll press on the gas and hear the engine rev, but it moves sluggishly. I was going to take ours in for service (assuming it was broken), but a friend who works for DCX's engineering division told me this is a feature to help protect the high-tech torque converter/transmission (which is there to IMPROVE FUEL ECONOMY BUT HAS THE OPPOSITE EFFECT- aaarg!) Finally, both my 2005 Durango and Dakota have hinges on the doors that drive me crazy. They refuse to let me be lazy and just shove them open and stay open (instead they try to swing back closed on me, so I have to carefully position them open for them to stay that way.) They also seem to be kind of weakly attached to the vehicle as I had the drive side door get caught by the wind at a gas station and swing open rather forcefully. I heard a crunching sound and since then, I get alot of wind noise from that door when I am at highway speeds. Overall though, I have been very happy with the vehicle. The points above are things I think should be changed to make a good car a great one and I am seriously considering buying out the lease when it comes due.

I've been driving the vehicle at work during the past two years. It's leased by the company I work for. We haven't had any mechanical problems. I feel very safe driving it, including on the highway. A bell sounds for long durations of time whenever I don't bother to put on the seat belt. It's comfortable and stylish. I'd like to own one of these myself but I wonder if I could afford to pay for the gas at 13 or 14 miles per gallon (city). I also don't know what types of mechanical problems one might encounter after 50,000 miles.

Very comfortable and good looking SUV. Ride quality is great, which is important on New York roads. Bought this as used, only less than 10K miles on it, and for that it was of a great value. No problems after a few thousand miles.

I love my new stylish durango. I have 4 kids and I downsized from an excursion, we love it.I love the way the body looks,I wish I had a sun roof but otherwize the gas makes up for it and the price. I will wait to see how it holds up mechanically.I feel smart driving it, its so sporty outside and we compared it to all the smaller suv's in its size.Its practical without going to a minivan.