Dodge Durango R/T Drag Races Acura MDX Type S, They're Worlds Apart

Pictured in black, the MDX weighs in at 4,741 pounds (2,150 kilograms) from the outset or 4,788 pounds (2,172 kilograms) with the so-called Advance Package. Said option is $5,350 and sweetens the deal with nine-way massage front seats, quilted stitching, a power lift tailgate with hands-free access, and an ELS sound system.

The Durango R/T, meanwhile, is a bit on the heavier side of three-row sport utility vehicles due to nodular iron for the 5.7-liter block and pretty old underpinnings. Lest we forget, the WD-series Durango was developed by the Auburn Hills-based automaker when DaimlerChrysler was a thing.

When equipped with all-wheel drive, the Durango R/T weighs 5,313 pounds or 2,405 kilos for those who prefer metric units. The naturally aspirated engine produces a respectable 360 horsepower and 390 pound-feet (just under 530 Nm), with most of those ponies and pound-feet going to the wheels by means of an eight-speed automatic transmission.

As opposed to the rear-biased Durango R/T, the MDX Type S is based on a front-biased platform. It more than makes up for it with SH-AWD and a 10-speed automatic developed in-house rather than ZF Friedrichshafen AG. The 10-speed transaxle in the MDX is manufactured in Tallapoosa, Georgia.

The 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 is five horsepower down on the Durango R/T's 5.7-liter HEMI, and it also plays second fiddle in terms of peak torque. On the other hand, its 354 pound-feet (480 Nm) are delivered at 1,400 revolutions per minute compared to 4,250 for the better-sounding Eagle engine.

Despite being down on power and torque, Acura's range-topping sport utility vehicle makes easy work of the Durango R/T in the quarter mile, posting 14.2 seconds and 5.7 clicks from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour). The Durango R/T, on the other hand, posted 14.8 and 6.3 seconds.

Sam CarLegion and his buddy also raced the mid-size sport utility vehicles from a roll in auto for the transmissions. Be it 37 or 50 miles per hour, meaning 50 and 80 kilometers per hour, the Durango R/T could not keep up with the Acura. Had it been the 392-cube HEMI or the Hellcat, the results would have been very, very different.

The Stellantis-owned Dodge brand rolled out the SRT 392 AlcHEMI special edition in January 2024, promising that additional special editions will be revealed throughout 2024 for the 2025 model year. One of them is based on the SRT Hellcat, signaling the bitter end of the iron-block monster topped by an IHI-supplied blower.