I agree, 1st gen was the best especially when it came to looks and in my opinion the 2nd gen was one of the ugliest looking suv that has ever been sold(yes uglier then the Aztec) the only good thing it had was probably the power from the 5.7 hemi but still nothing that would entice me over its ugly looks...3rd gen looked way better......but 1st gen will be the best in my view due to its offroad capable looks.....where the 3rd gen looks to be only for the streets.....
I remember when my mom came home with one of these back in 1998 and the styling really caught my eye. This was a very sleek looking SUV for its time. Trend setting for its era.
Just picked up an 03 with the 5.9 in it today. Bought it from a dealer 70 miles away in Lake Havasu Arizona. Not perfect by any means but it made the trip home. With a little TLC it will be a nice Durango again. Wanted one with the 5.2 or a Dakota. Couldn't find one so I settled on the one I bought. Most of the ones I was spotting were over 200,000 miles. The one I got was at 133,000. For an 03 at the end of 2023 that is fairly low miles. The nice thing about living in Arizona is cars don't rust out. I got it at book value and for around here from a dealer that isn't to bad. Most want twice book value for vehicles anymore. I do agree with the being thirsty pigs thing. For the distance I drove it the gas gauge moved a little over a quarter tank. It was pretty comfortable though and pleasurable to drive. It cruised nice at 75.
@@hellkitty1014electronic gremlins, transfer cases. My buddy works for chrysler, I hear about it. He still likes them though and I agree they're fine suvs.
@@BigWheel.Broo the hellcat dursngo is a monster you take things tk track theyre going tk break period. Dodge is not known for eletric issues. They are actually quite reliaboe now. This isnt 1985.
....many now may scoff at the 8.3sec 0-60, but 16.4 for quarter was fast for it's time especially for a full size SUV, remember that a Mustang GT of that era was good for 14.7secs.
@@KenanTurkiye That's a flat lie, the mustang GT in 2003 was recorded doing the quarter mile in 15.1 with an auto and 14.8 with a manual. From car and driver 2003. 2002 Ford Mustang GT 260-hp V-8, 4-speed automatic, 3495 lb Base/as-tested price: $23,845/$27,125 C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 6.3 sec 1/4 mile: 15.1 @ 93 mph
The first-gen Durango had so much swagger when it first came out. Dodge gave 2 V8s at a time when many didnt have a single V8 offering. It also offered plenty of room inside. The 360 V8 was bulletproof but just as thirsty as the much larger Ram 1500.😂
Bless you for dropping a Durango video! Im right now restoring my fathers old 1998 Durango SLT plus and its really such a gem of a car. Really stand out here in Sweden nowdays even tho if it cost a fair amount to run :D
I love the Dodge Durango. It's one of my favorite SUVs. I want one with full-time 4WD with low range. This R/T version would be perfect for me. The perfect family off-road vehicle.
I hate when people make inflation on old car prices relevant. By that logic gas is cheap today since $3 in 2002 is 6 today. And gas is what 4 avg today and people complain. It was 37k in 2002 thats it.
@@blue_lancer_esthey are comparing it to the price of today, what the world are you talking about? Inflation is a real thing and it puts prices into perspective.
@@sleeksilver no it doesnt. Then a model a is 140k today? Its a dumb thing to bring up. Even when reviewers say it I cringe. In 20 years. Oh that durango is 130k in todays money. Sooooo what!!n.
Those first gen Durangos had a much more muscular, truck-like design than the Explorer and Trail Blazer. Ones equipped with the 318 would make great sleepers seeing the 318 small-block is an easy engine to tune and play with.
I had a 2002 base model Dakota, only new vehicle I've ever had, and I loved the design. At the time, my boss was driving a 2002 Durango R/T and I wanted it so bad. In 2008 I found a mint 2003 Durango R/T for a great price and only 100,000 miles. I drove that truck across the country several times, was homeless in it a couple times, and really loved it. However, I had to put two different transfer cases in it, not because they were bad, but because I was careless with the tire pressures. Remember, esp. in AWD powertrains, just 3 pounds more or less in a tire can change the circumference of that tire over 1/2" and that translates to slip in the transfer case. Constantly slipping transfer cases (and differentials) cause premature wear of the gears and certainly result in failure. I'd love to have another one of these again.
The prices are going up but a rusted out one is still $900 or less. Easy to repair down to complete body and chassis separation for restoration. Most of the underpinnings are all Dakota parts. One metric bolt size assembles the entire exterior.
Interesting how much slower the Durango 5.9 was compared to the Grand Cherokee 5.9. All that extra heft cost a second off the 0-60. Chrysler was doing some cool stuff back then.
My Dad's friend had one of these things and I remember lusting after the thing. He let me drive it once (he was drunk and pounding beers in the back... RIP Johnny lol) and I thought it was a rocket ship. I laughed when he said the 0-60 was 8.3 seconds. My little crossover does it in 6 seconds these days!
I daily drive a 98 Dodge Durango SLT 5.2 and I love the thing. It's utilitarian, the looks still hold up, and it's just a good reliable SUV. The interior is still in amazing condition for the year. These things were well built and mine proves it. I have kids so it definitely gets used as a family vehicle. I plan to keep mine for a very long time.
These were fun 20 years ago, but I took a brand new Durango R/T on a 4000 mile cross country trip and the new ones are crazy fast. 8 speed autos and north of 400 HP. 60 mph in under 5 seconds is a blast, but I am willing to bet that the new ones won't last 200k miles much less 20 years.
It was not considered good then, now it literally makes the truck unusable as a work truck or as a daily driver. This was at the time a very nice suv, now it is a massive pile or s*** 😂
Never cared for the Durango or Dakotas. My uncle had a 99 dak 3.9 5spd he bought brand new. Ended up getting passed down to me in 2020. That’s now my work truck and I have a low mileage 01 Dakota RT single cab in pitch black 186 made in USA… Love these trucks never let me down takes me where I need to go every time I need it. And the RT is smiles every time I drive it
Bro we like lived almost the same life! LOL!!! My dad passed down a 2000 Dakota 3.9L v6 5spd and we used it for work as well! However it got into an accident and i took that check and bought a Black 2000 Durango R/T 5.9 and i wont ever let this thing go! I had the dakota when i was in highschool and didnt care for it either, until i saw another one with a "5.9" badge on it and did some investigating and lusted for one ever since LOL!!
@@dylanornelas454 that’s awesome bro! I’m glad that there’s people out there that still love these durangos and daks. These with the 5.9 are awesome man if my uncle never had it I probably wouldn’t have known about them at all. Keep em pushin! Much love from Oakland California!
I remember when this came out and was in aw of it. Yet another game changing vehicle by Dodge / Chrysler. One of the best SUVs of all time of you ask me.
I just bought a silver 2001 Dodge Durango R/T. Will be making some videos on it soon on my small channel. It's going to be getting a lot of work done. New timing chain and gears, intake, exhaust, other tasteful mods. Lowered etc. Stay tuned!
The 1998 Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited was a good chunk faster. Does 92 mph in the 1/4 mile which for the time was fast (a Mustang would run 96mph on a good day)
Durangos are so easy to drift in when it rains. At least the ones without the LSD. I have no idea how normal people kept from crashing them, because I literally learned how to hold a slide while driving just because it became necessary to know how to do so once the streets got wet. And once you got used to it, holy shit, you could almost go full ken block in one. They had literally like zero weight over that rear axle.
@@preciadoalex123 they were the Goodyear Wranglers that came on it(i think that's what those came with.) But yea, those tires definitely didn't help the matter.
@@PhillyDee215It’s impossible to find early 2000s Toyotas in the rust belt. There’s Ford Dodge and Chevys everywhere. There probably having tons of issues because they don’t take care of them.
@@PhillyDee215 The difference is Dodge never had to recall their frames because they were made out of Swiss cheese. My Durango is 20 years old and still looks better then the 2016 Taco TRD I was looking at. Toyota frames have a bad reputation for a reason.
@@tezalehall2818 yeah I can see that. Mine lived it’s whole life in GA so it’s good. Actually was purchased by a Heisman trophy winner. Somehow ended up with me
We had a '98 Durango in 1999 with the Magnum V8. Roomy but poor gas mileage and the standard A/C without the 2nd row vents SUCKED in the Summer as it could not keep anything past the front row sufficiently cool. Really glad when they got rid of it a few years later.
There was no 3rd row vents for the first model year. It was a design flaw. When Dodge made the Durango they discovered the factory Dakota A/C couldn't cool the extra cabin space on the chassis. So they added a 2nd A/C compressor in the back with its own A/C vents. Eventually on premium trim levels in later years the headliner was re shaped to allow an additional set of air duct for the rear cargo area.
These were everywhere and now they're nowhere. Much like every '90s Mopar design. These were surprisingly bad on fuel economy though for the size. It's average combined mileage is as bad as most full size SUVs of the era.
@@SimpleAsBDCs lol yeah it’s just how they were made. They didn’t have RU-vidrs complaining about every detail with calipers hahahah My 93 ranger was the same way
a good reminder of how far we've come - this was 8 cylinders and 5.9L of displacement and now GM's introducing a 2.5L turbo 4 that will have much more hp and just about the same amount of twist.
I mean Saab was producing a four cylinder that produced that same power in the mid-1990s. More of an issue of Daimler Chrysler using dated emissions technology in the 2000s.
@@oldieznut1 I mean, saab was certainly anomalous at that time though, and GMs turbo is very much the norm of today. the point being that tech advancements are impressive indeed, even for ICE despite EVs getting all the attention nowadays
The V-8 "may be" great off the line, but you will be replacing the front rotors faster than replacing tires. The front brakes are inefficient for a V-8...
You had to edit your typical generic comment? I don't see what you changed, it's the same comment you leave on all of these videos. "Blah blah 2002 cars make 2002 numbers dur da dur" Way to go! Glad you brough some knowlege that none of us here knew about!
The 5.9 was silly because it made the same power as the 5.2, but worse mileage. Great pulling engine, but not really that fast. I drove one once, not as quick as I expected, but I imagine it would pull a load just as fast.
Not the same power the 5.2l made 230hp whereas the 5.9l made 245hp Torque is 335 lb fts vs 300 lb fts for the 5.2l. I own a 99 Dakota with the 5.2l and 5 speed and have owned a R/T as well
@@BrownBomber92181 The Jeeps have a weight advantage of over a 1000lbs difference 3,901 lb for the V8 ZJ and the Durango weight was 5,313 lbs. Even my 2wd Dakota CC 5.2l 5-speed outweighed the ZJ 4620lbs hence why the ZJ was quicker off the line.
The original Durango had a predisposition for rusting. It was great looking but I can remember many looking pretty down in the mouth after a few years.
The issue was large drip channels and rain sipes on the body that ran all the water to the exterior corners, like on your house gutters, and it collects in that area and freezes solid in winter with snow and ice melt. This eventually will rot out the bodywork if not kept up. Mine rusted in the rocker panels from collecting in the B pillar channel, and the left side fender started to rust, as well as the tailgate lid on the bottom and the rear interior bumper frame.
The 98 Grand Cherokee 5.9L and Durango R/T both use the same 4x4 system/transfer case. NP249J case. Not sure if the axles are the same(Dana 30 front, Dana 44HD rear for the Jeep)
Oh wow, I don’t think that I’ve seen one of those in years - in probably over a decade, yet I see old 90s and 2000s suburbans and Yukons now and then in LA. Were Durangos pieces of Chrysler crap that disintegrated after 30k miles?🤷🏼♂️
2+ ton SUV with a 5,9 ltr. V8 with supposedly 245 HP. By this time European cars had 300 HP with 3 ltr. 6 cylinders. No wonder it all got sideways for Chrysler in 2008... I understand the fun and cruise argument... I just don't think that is enough to really justify cars like this.
Oh the good old days, before half of the price of your vehicle went directly to another manufacturer like Tesla, to buy carbon credits for them to spend on algae experiments
