The Dodge Charger of the SUV Segment Gets All High-Techy for 2022

The Durango family was born back in the late 1990s as mid-sized SUVs, and constantly grew on people so that its maker kept... making it, in some form or another, to this day. The Durango is, presently, one of just three models in the Dodge portfolio, alongside the four-door Charger and the two-door Challenger.

Just like the other two, the Durango will, of course, live on into 2022, and it will do so with probably the most extensive set of upgrades in the entire Dodge range for the new model year, most of these upgrades tech-related.

But let’s see what stays, first.

Just as before, the Durango will stick to its five distinct models, namely the SXT, GT, Citadel, R/T, and SRT 392. Three engines are on the table, with the opening hardware being the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 good for 295 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. (352 Nm) of torque (for the Citadel, GT and SXT).

Coming next is the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 that is fitted as standard on the R/T model, and can be had as an option for the Citadel. This one is rated at 360 horsepower and 390 lb.-ft. (529 Nm) of torque.

But the star of the show is, of course, the 6.4-liter going under the hood of the SRT, and rated at 475 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. (637 Nm) of torque. Sadly, the supercharged Hellcat variant of this powerplant is no longer in the cards for the new model year.

As standard, these SUVs come with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and towing capacity between 6,200 pounds (2,812 kg) for the Pentastar and 8,700 pounds (3,946 kg) for the 392 HEMI.

All of the above are not new numbers and pieces of hardware for the Durango, but Dodge did strive, or at least made it look like so, to modernize the SUV a bit. And it did so by going for more driver assistance technologies.

Starting with the launch of the 2022 model year, the Durango gets a wealth of such new features. The first ones on the list are the Blind-spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path detection, which now come as standard across the Durango lineup.

For the SXT model, Dodge throws into the mix as standard three-row, seven-passenger seating, power driver’s seat, ParkSense rear park assist system, and bright roof rails.

The GT is now gifted with remote start system, heated front seats and steering wheel, and power liftgate. When fitted with the Plus Group (adaptive cruise control with stop, advanced brake assist, and lane departure warning), the SUV also gains a memory system, rain-sensing automatic wipers, bright cargo area scuff plates, leather seats with suede inserts, and first and second-row heated seats.

The R/T with Plus Group now puts on the table nappa leather with perforated inserts and accent stitching, sunroof, forward collision warning with active braking, Harman Kardon premium audio system, and the Premium Interior Package.

And lastly, the Blacktop Package now comes with the performance hood on the GT, and new P265/50R20 performance all-season tires on GT and R/T.

At the time of writing, the Durango lineup for the new model year is not available on the Dodge configurator, and the carmaker did not say anything about prices.

For reference, the existing lineup of Durangos kicks off from $32,962 for the SXT, and can go as high as $81,390 for the SRT Hellcat, still listed for the 2021 model year.