autoevolution
 

2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 Comparison – Who Did It Better?

Say what you want but, at the end of the day, it's pretty hard to justify the existence of these vehicles rationally, if not even impossible. They are seven-seat SUVs meant to offer room for an entire big family and all that comes with it, so what's the need for supercar-like performance?
2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 10 photos
Photo: Everyman Driver / YouTube screenshot
2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 632021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 632021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 632021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 632021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 632021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 632021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 632021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 632021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Vs Mercedes-AMG GLS 63
There isn't, which means the horsepower is only there for show. Bragging rights, as they say. It's to give you a better chance to win the next pissing contest at the bar with the rest of your seven-seat SUV-owning friends. Take that away, and you could definitely do with a less powerful engine just fine.

Both the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat and the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 can be had with more affordable, less expensive powertrains. Well, you'd have to let go of the AMG badge with the Merc, but that's not to say you would be losing anything other than the power or the fact your engine was hand-built by someone in Germany.

As for the Durango, the choice is even easier: on the one hand, the 2022 Durango Hellcat doesn't exist, so buying a new one is technically impossible, and on the other, even if Dodge had extended the Hellcat into the new model year, you still would have had a great alternative in the standard SRT with its 6.4-liter V8, above-average performance, nearly identical interior, and considerably lower price tag.

So, the best way to settle this unlikely rivalry is to see what's left once you strip away all the performance. Well, things sure don't look too good for the Dodge. The Durango feels old, particularly on the inside, and even though it's a spacious car, it's not on the same level as the other seven-seaters out there, the new GLS-Class included.

Mercedes claims the GLS is the "S-Class of the SUVs", and that's precisely what it feels like. Even if the interior design – particularly the dashboard – of the German company has evolved very quickly lately (it feels like the dual-screen setup you get in the GLS wasn't introduced that long ago and they've already released the Hyperscreen in the EQS), it still feels modern enough. As for elegance, it almost seems unfair to compare it to the Dodge's.

On the other hand, if you remove the performance aspect, there's is no other reason left to even bring these two vehicles up in the same sentence. The Mercedes-AMG is roughly $60,000 more expensive, and that's the kind of money that can buy you a brand-new Dodge Durango SRT. The GLS 63 was always going to be the better car all-round, so the only real question was whether the Hellcat engine could offer a big enough argument in the American's favor. Answer? If money is no object, then it's a "no."

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Vlad Mitrache
Vlad Mitrache profile photo

"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories