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A good road trip car has to check a lot of boxes. As an enthusiast, if you want to have a pleasant time with a big group of people in one vehicle, your options aren’t exactly vast. Sure, vans do the trick, but they’re not exciting to drive. Same goes for full-size SUVs like the Chevy Tahoe or Ford Expedition; they’re designed to be normal, practical cars, not toys. But the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat manages to be both a useful, functional vehicle and deeply, hilariously entertaining on long road trips—at the cost of being absolutely terrible on gas.
Digital editor Aaron Brown and I, along with three of our friends, got the chance to take a Hellcat-powered Durango on a week-long 5000-mile drive to Wyoming and Montana to see just how well the 5710-pound SUV could handle the quintessential American road trip. Over ten days of driving, we managed to average just around 15 miles per gallon. Keep in mind the vast majority of that driving was uneventful highway cruising with the Hellcat in Eco mode. The few times we did leave the beaten path to blast down an exciting backroad or do a few launches, our onboard mpg calculator displayed a number in the 11s.
Of course, terrible fuel economy is about the least surprising thing about the Durango SRT Hellcat. It’s a full-size SUV with a supercharged V-8 designed to haul thousands upon thousands of pounds of people, gear, and anything else you can attach to the tow hitch. More surprising is the truck’s ability to hide its ferocity when you’re just trying to get from point A to point B.
Thanks to its onboard SRT drive modes, flipping the Hellcat into a more relaxed setting and popping on cruise control makes this hot-rod truck no more intrusive or less relaxing than a normal Durango when you want it to be. The lightened steering, softened suspension, and dampened throttle almost make you forget the type of power you’re packing under the hood. Almost.
Flip the Durango SRT into Track, its most aggressive mode, and it fully assumes the mantle of the Hellcat badge. The throttle is quick and snappy, exactly what we’ve come to expect from the legendary 6.2-liter engine. Though redline is set to a relatively low 6000 rpm, there’s no shortage of thrust, with a fat, torquey powerband that carries all the way to redline. The noise? It’s enough to make me want to get a massive American flag tattooed on my forehead. You don’t ever get tired of it.
The most impressive bit of the Durango Hellcat’s powertrain isn’t the engine, though. It’s the gearbox. As recently as ten years ago, SUV transmissions were lethargic, primitive devices that sacrificed shift speed for durability and towing capacity. The eight-speed torque converter used here can snap off brutal launch after brutal launch without complaint. No, the shift speeds aren’t as quick as they are in something like an M5 or an F-Type, both of which use a version of the same ZF gearbox. But still, when you pull the paddles, shifts happen fast. Deeply impressive when you consider this monstrous thing also has to be able to tow up to 8700 pounds when asked. It’s a testament to just how far SUV transmissions have come in the past decade.
The ZF’s short ratios combined with the engine’s relatively low redline make for easy, addicting acceleration runs whenever the opportunity arises. Flat-out, the Durango doesn’t feel quite as quick as its closest relative, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. But given the 347-pound difference in curb weight between the two, that’s not all too surprising. Make no mistake, it still feels mighty quick; I don’t doubt the manufacturer-quoted 3.5-second 0-60 time or the 180-mph top speed for a second. In a full-size SUV, that’s nuts.
Tossing the Durango Hellcat into a corner reminds you just how big of a vehicle it really is. Trying to drive this thing like a legitimate sports car is an exercise in physical comedy, since the driver sits so high up and has to deal with so much heft. The Hellrango can handle a twisty backroad, sure, but don’t expect the brakes to last the entire time. Is this fun? In a way, yes. The same way parking a massive car into a compact-only parking spot and getting it just right is fun. The Hellcat takes up virtually the entire width of its lane, so there’s little room for error. Hustling it requires a surprising amount of precision.
Some might find themselves a bit disappointed by the Hellcat’s cabin. It’s standard Durango inside, save for a few SRT-specific appointments and a collection of embroideries to remind you you’re driving the top-of-the-line trim. It’s not particularly bad, mind you, with acceptable materials, an easy-to-read gauge cluster, and plenty of adjustment for the first row. There are heated and cooled seats up front and a wireless smartphone charging pad that actually works every time you use it (we’re looking at you, Chevy). But fit and finish can be questionable in some places, and the third row doesn't exactly have enough leg room for full-size adults. A couple of our taller passengers were especially irked whenever they were chosen to sit back there. It was one of the only complaints we heard the entire drive. With an as-tested price of $92,840, buyers with a lot of seat time in BMW X7s or Cadillac Escalades might be let down.
No, the Durango SRT Hellcat isn’t the most logical road trip vehicle. One look at our massive gas bill accumulated by the end of this trip will tell you that. But as enthusiasts, we very rarely ever pick the logical choice. That diesel Suburban we previously tested, with its 600-mile range and massively spacious cabin, is better suited for this drive, objectively. But if you’re into as driving as I am, you’ll choose the Hellcat every time. It might not do everything quite as well, but it has that fun factor, a specialness that the Suburban just doesn’t. If you love speed and don’t mind stopping for gas every 200 miles, you’ll agree.
Brian Silvestro is Hearst Autos' Lead Deputy Editor for rankings content. He spent over seven years as a staff writer for Road & Track Magazine, and still contributes regularly with car reviews, industry interviews, and more.
He also has a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
