Last Auto Reviews Blog: The 2009 Dodge Durango HEMI Hybrid: Another Jolly Green Giant

The 2009 Dodge Durango HEMI Hybrid: Another Jolly Green Giant

Once a member of the environmental blacklist, the new Dodge Durango Hybrid is joining the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid on the growing list of eco-friendly SUVs. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of American automotive engineering aggressively refusing to be outdone on their home turf, the new 2009 Dodge Durango HEMI Hybrid.

Still featuring a hefty curb weight of 5,609 lbs. and a towing capacity of 6,000 lbs, with the new Durango Hybrid, drivers are no longer forced to choose between power or fuel efficiency. With a redesigned intake manifold and revised exhaust gas-recirculation system [EGR], the new Durango 2-Mode Hybrid will hit the market in the fall of ’08 with its famed 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine and an EPA fuel estimate of 18mpg city/19 hwy.

Using much the same technology as Chrysler’s own green can of whoop-ass, the ’09 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, the new Durango Hybrid features a Multi-Displacement System [Chrysler/Dodge’s word for “cylinder deactivation] that turns the traditional gas-guzzler into a dainty sipper [well, we mean the term “dainty” in a relative sense]. Although the HEMI’s green makeover causes a slight [11 unit] drop in the ICE’s [Internal Combustion Engine] horsepower, thanks to the additional power generated by the Durango Hybrid’s twin electric motors, the net power output is boosted to 385-hp.

Quietly efficient battery packs that power most of the Durango Hybrid’s auxiliary components are discreetly installed beneath the rear passenger seats and are automatically recharged via the Durango Hybrid’s regenerative braking system. Unfortunately, the Dodge Durango Hybrid’s eco-friendly modifications make for a $45,340 sticker that’s a little pricier than those of past Durango models – but if you ask us, it’s money worth spending.