2024 Dodge Durango: The Next Generation Durango SUV Review

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2024 Dodge Durango despite rumors that the Durango could be discontinued for 2023, it seems that the SUV will stay alive and may get a redesign for the 2024 model year.

The current generation of Durango has been around since 2011 and only got the latest update in 2021, so it’s not necessarily out of date. Nonetheless, the Durango has stiff competition with platform-sharing vehicles, the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee.

Since they share the same unibody architecture, Durango and Cherokee have some sort of rivalry between them. The Grand Cherokee and the regular Cherokee have always been more popular and seen as more of a performance car.

Jeep has boosted that trust even more since it recently moved to Giorgio’s Stellantis platform for the Cherokee. Although Jeep has more popular models, the Durango is on track to sell 60,000 units this year in America alone. So while production of Durango at its current factory will be discontinued, Durango is not.

Today, both the Durango and Cherokee are built at the Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit. Because Cherokees were in high demand, however, factories had difficulty keeping up with their global production. For this reason, Durango production was moved to the Warren Truck Assembly plant in Warren, MI.

This is where the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer were built. Since, for 2024, Durango is abandoning the unibody frame in favor of a body-on-frame architecture like the Wagoneer has, this move makes sense.

Changing the frame should bring some major improvements to Durango, as one of its gripes is towing capacity. The Durango can currently only tow 8,700 pounds while the Wagoneer can pull up to 10,000 pounds.

If switching frames help the Durango get the same boost, it will surely help close the gap that exists between the Durango and other models it rivals.

The 2021 update for the Durango includes new technology, a new instrument panel, a new front bumper, and a new engine, but with the revamped frame, we can imagine that almost everything will be updated again.

While we don’t fully know what this redesign will look like, it’s reasonable to expect that this next-generation Durango will also share a decent number of powertrains and other aspects of the Wagoneers, perhaps including the upcoming 3.0-liter turbocharged.

GME-T6 inline six-cylinder engine. That engine should be in the upcoming PHEV version of the Wagoneer. If this is true, it could mean Durango will also see a PHEV version in the future.

2024 Dodge Durango Review

The Dodge Durango has only gone through three generations over the past 23 years, with the current generation surviving the longest. Its architecture can be traced back to 2011, along with the WK generation Jeep Grand Cherokee.

2024 Dodge Durango

However, through continuous updates to the Durango, it maintains a modern design, passes current safety regulations, and is one of the most powerful and athletic three-row vehicles on the market. Dodge is even crazy enough to put the Hellcat V8 in about 3,000 of them. That said, the future of the Dodge Durango for the 2024 model year onwards looks bleak.

With the Jeep Grand Cherokee on the all-new (WL) platform, and even offering three lines with the long wheelbase Grand Cherokee L, the hope is that the Dodge Durango will follow soon after the 2023 model year, and continue to share space at the Jefferson North Assembly complex in Detroit, Michigan. as we see now.

However, if recent reports are to be believed, it probably isn’t.

According to Mopar Insiders, the next-generation Dodge Durango will go into production alongside the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer at the company’s Warren Truck Assembly Plant, about 20 minutes north of Detroit.

This means the Dodge Durango 2024 will adopt a full-sized body-on-frame architecture that will compete effectively with the Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition. That would be a significant increase in size.

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2024 Dodge Durango Report

Having been with us for a decade, the Durango is one of the few vehicles in the Dodge lineup that can take advantage of more than just a bigger V8. But while a Dodge revival is coming, with the Challenger and Charger redesign potentially on the way to 2024 along with that electric muscle car, the Durango doesn’t appear to be the clear beneficiary.

Instead, Automotive News reports that production of the current Durango will continue into that year, with no known successor model in the works. Mopar Insiders indicated in 2018 that the new-generation Durango could move to a body-on-frame architecture based on the Ram 1500, like the competing Chevy Tahoe, though such a significant change isn’t the kind that can escape the usually well-connected Automotive News.

If Durango has a future, there’s a high chance that Stellantis has yet to finalize how it will execute its next-generation model.

Despite its age, the Durango remains an attractive family SUV and has received regular updates to maintain its status. 2021 saw the introduction of the long-awaited Durango SRT Hellcat, which in addition to pushing the top speed of the three paddlers to 180 mph takes its tow rating up to 8,700 pounds—only the Ford Expedition surpasses those in its class.

And although the Hellcat doesn’t continue past 2021, those two ratings apply to lower SRT models, which also benefit from standard technology that continues to improve. For 2022, the Durango gets standard blind spot monitoring as well as rear traffic alerts, not to mention another upgrade to the lower trim.

Not all cars are gracefully gray, but the Durango is one of the lucky few to own one.

2024 Dodge Durango Payload

There are many benefits to adopting a variation of the Ram DT body-on-frame architecture for the next-generation Dodge Durango 2024, including increased towing capability, increased transportability, and more interior space.

2024 Dodge Durango

By comparison, the current Durango has a towing capacity of 8,700 pounds with certain configurations, while the Jeep Wagoneer can tow up to 10,000 pounds on certain models.

This gives the SUV more capability and allows Dodge enthusiasts to do more with their vehicles, such as pulling the Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak onto the road with minimal effort.

We’ve leveraged our resources to learn more about the potential for the Dodge Durango 2024 going back to its truck platform roots, and what it might take for customers. Are they going to put Hellcat V8 in it? Stay tuned for more.

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2024 Dodge Durango Release Date

The next-generation Durango is expected to go into production sometime in late 2023, so it could be ready for the 2024 model year.

2024 Dodge Durango Price

The current Dodge Durango starts at an MSRP of $35,472 with a unibody frame. We expect this price to increase, but so far we don’t have an official price range.

2024 Dodge Durango

Moving to body-on-frame could also help with costs, as it would provide consumers with a more affordable F-segment truck and could help reduce the overall cost of the Wagoneers architecture.

2024 Dodge Durango

Q: Will the Dodge Durango be discontinued?
A: According to a new report from Mopar Insiders, Dodge will discontinue production of the current generation Dodge Durango in 2023.

Q: Is Durango getting a redesign?
A: In fact, we don’t expect many changes to the Durango 2023, although rumors have been circulating about a redesign that will take the Durango from a unibody frame to body-on-frame vehicles like the recently introduced Wagoneer. This change is likely to occur in the future for 2024.

Q: Is Dodge making a new Durango?
A: Production of the current generation is slated to end in 2023, which makes one think Durango was canceled. Plus, the Jeep Grand Cherokee used to share the platform with the Durango, but now the Jeep Grand Cherokee L uses the Stellantis Giorgio platform.